Kentucky Derby Report

KENTUCKY DERBY REPORT

JANUARY 22, 2009

by James Scully

The Holiday Weekend featured a couple of upsets and an oddly named winner.

San Rafael -- I thought he might have been named after a dessert or a

piece of furniture, but THE PAMPLEMOUSSE (Kafwain) is a fancy restaurant in

Vegas and also means grapefruit in French. Regardless of moniker, the Julio

Canani-trained colt established himself as a Kentucky Derby (G1) prospect with a

two-length tally in Saturday's San Rafael S. (G2) at Santa Anita.

The Pamplemousse, who just broke his maiden on December 14 at Hollywood,

wasn't given much of a chance against Grade 1 winner and Breeders' Cup Juvenile

(G1) runner-up SQUARE EDDIE (Smart Strike), who returned to the races for Doug

O'Neill as the 3-5 choice in the five-horse San Rafael. The stage was set for

the heavy favorite following quick splits in :23 and :45 4/5, but The Pamplemousse never weakened, extending his margin late under Alex Solis. The

gray Kentucky-bred registered a 97 BRIS Speed rating for the gate-to-wire

decision.

Canani didn't want to talk Kentucky Derby afterward, and The Pamplemousse

looks like a sprinter/miler based on pedigree. He'll get the chance to stretch

out in his next start, possibly the 1 1/8-mile Sham S. (G3) on February 28.

O'Neill didn't have Square Eddie cranked up, but he finished a disappointing

second nonetheless. The pace was solid and the chestnut was in position to

strike turning for home, but he lacked the necessary rally and never threatened.

Much more was expected considering the competition and the way he finished his

races last fall. However, it's still January and the California races are on

synthetic surfaces. Square Eddie's next start, the one-mile Southwest S. (G3) on

February 16, will give us a better indication of his Derby potential.

The Southwest will be Square Eddie's first start on a dirt track, and it's

also the scheduled starting point for unbeaten Remsen S. (G2) hero OLD FASHIONED

(Unbridled's Song). It will be an exciting day at Oaklawn Park.

Smarty Jones -- Monday's one-mile Smarty Jones S. headlined the Martin

Luther King Jr. Day card in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and PROFESSOR Z's (Grand

Slam) clunker left me shaking my head. What is happening to the Aqueduct horses?

QUALITY ROAD

(Elusive Quality), a smashing debut winner at the Big A on November 29, was the

first big name to take a tumble in the early Derby rankings, dropping his

seasonal debut, a seven-furlong entry level allowance at Gulfstream Park on

January 10, as the 3-5 favorite. Professor Z is the latest, faltering badly as

the even-money choice, and I'm concerned about the prospects of

WELL POSITIONED (Awesome Again), who was last seen winning a maiden race in

Ozone Park, New York, by 14 1/4 lengths on November 22.

Professor Z, who looked good breaking his maiden at Aqueduct on November

1 but really drew attention following his dynamic 5 3/4-length allowance tally

over the inner track on December 7, didn't beat a horse in the Smarty Jones. After

dueling on the front end through the opening three-quarters of a mile, he spit the

bit readily upon reaching the top of the stretch and quickly retreated to the

back of the pack. And he wasn't flattered by SILVER BAYER (Smoke Glacken), who

contested the pace from the start and threatened to win it all in upper stretch

before easily holding the place. The runner-up was claimed for $50,000 out of an

eighth-place finish two starts earlier.

Oxbow Racing's FLAT OUT (Flatter), a maiden winner at Fair Grounds on

December 14, made the most out of his first start against winners, rallying

strongly from off the pace to win going away by 3 1/2 lengths. The Charles

Dickey trainee earned a career-best 96 BRIS Speed rating for the encouraging

performance, but the Florida-bred colt didn't appear to beat much. Flame Out

does own a more favorable pedigree for routes than The Pamplemousse, so it will

be interesting to see how he fares against better competition next time.

California Derby -- CHOCOLATE CANDY (Candy Ride [Arg]) was visually

impressive in Saturday's California Derby, rallying boldly to win the 1

1/16-mile event over Golden Gate Fields' Tapeta, and the two-time listed winner

will return to graded competition in his upcoming starts. The Sid and Jenny

Craig Trust colorbearer already banked $100,000 in graded earnings via his

third-place effort in the CashCall Futurity (G1), so trainer Jerry Hollendorfer

could afford to ship the colt north to his favorite stomping grounds for a

confidence-building score over listed rivals.

Out of Seattle Slew mare, Chocolate Candy remains an interesting Derby

hopeful, but I was disappointed to see him earn only a 92 BRIS Speed rating. And

that's a career-best. He'll be running late if he makes it to the starting gate

at Churchill Downs, but the bay colt is a no-fig performer so far.

Sprint stakes -- TAQARUB (Aldebaran) is by 2003 champion sprinter

Aldebaran (Mr. Prospector), but his sire owns plenty of stamina influences in

his bloodlines and the three-year-old colt is bred to be an outstanding turf

router on his dam side. Despite the mouth-watering pedigree, Taqarub is

obviously well-suited for sprints at this point in his career, recording an

eye-catching performance in Monday's six-furlong Jimmy Winkfield S. The Shadwell

runner stumbled at the start but quickly sling-shotted to the front on the

Aqueduct inner track, eventually drawing clear to a commanding 8 1/4-length

decision. The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee received an whopping 107 BRIS Speed

rating.

MUSKET MAN (Yonaguska) is another who will likely try a route at some point,

but he's probably best suited to sprint/middle distances. The Derek Ryan trainee

rallied wide off the far turn to the lead in Saturday's seven-furlong Pasco S.

at Tampa Bay Downs, repelled the challenge of a fast-charging rival in

midstretch, and then drew off with authority, notching a 101 BRIS Speed rating.

The unbeaten colt is going well presently.

SILVER CITY (Unbridled's Song) concluded his juvenile campaign with a smart 4

1/2-length score in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance at Churchill Downs and many

wondered whether he would develop into a Derby prospect over the winter. Trainer

Bret Calhoun elected to bring the gray colt back in Friday's 5 1/2-furlong

Dixieland S. at Oaklawn Park, and Silver City made short work of his overmatched

rivals, winning by four lengths. Out of a Mt. Livermore mare and a half-brother

to up-and-coming sprinter Elope (Gone West), the Kentucky-bred colt may wind up

preferring distances up to a mile, but he hasn't tried two turns yet. Silver

City will get the opportunity to carry his speed in upcoming starts.

Upcoming -- There are no graded events for three-year-olds until the

Hutcheson S. (G2) on January 30, followed by the Holy Bull S. (G3) on January 31.