Three Year Old Diary

THREE-YEAR-OLD DIARY

MAY 9, 2007

by James Scully

Brilliant and lucky. James Tafel's STREET SENSE (Street Cry [Ire]) rolled to

a convincing 2 1/4-length triumph in Saturday's $2.2 million Kentucky Derby

(G1), collaring pacesetter HARD SPUN (Danzig) shortly after turning into the

stretch and drawing clear quickly. When Street Sense kicks it in, he can really

fly. A Derby winner needs some racing luck and Street Sense benefited from clear

sailing, never having to check his momentum while passing about 15 horses up the

rail on the far turn. It was a perfect performance from the best horse in the

field.

Carl Nafzger sealed his Hall of Fame credentials with his second Derby

victory, and the 65-year-old conditioner was rewarded for sticking to his guns.

He immediately mapped out a plan for only two prep races following the colt's

scintillating 10-length score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and never

wavered in his support for 40-year-old jockey Calvin Borel, who lacked big-race

experience (winless in four previous Derby attempts aboard overmatched longshots)

and faced tremendous pressure as the pilot of the early Derby favorite. Street

Sense was in top form and received a terrific ride.

The winner and runner-up both got to the rail quickly. Hard Spun, who broke

from post 8, had some speed to his inside in COWTOWN CAT (Distorted Humor) and

SEDGEFIELD (Smart Strike), but he broke running under Mario Pino and got over in

front of his rivals by his initial pass under the Twin Spires, entering the

clubhouse turn with a short advantage. The Larry Jones-trained colt ripped off

fast early splits (:22 4/5, :46 1/5 and 1:11), but he was doing it easily. He

continued to travel beautifully into the stretch, hitting the mile mark in 1:37

with a three-length lead, but Street Sense was just too powerful to contain in

the final quarter-mile.

Borel quickly guided Street Sense to the fence after the break and was

content to lag far behind, running 19th at the opening half-mile mark and 17th

after six furlongs. After getting away with a rail-skimming trip in the

Juvenile, Borel employed the same tactics in the Derby. And he was riding with a

ton of confidence, having won three races on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) undercard.

Street Sense closed from 17th to third in the fourth quarter-mile and came

blasting into the stretch. The dark bay colt went past Hard Spun on the outside

and immediately moved back to the rail, in complete control for the final

furlong. Street Sense finished the 1 1/4-mile test in 2:02, earning a 108 BRIS

Speed rating. Hard Spun registered a 105.

The first two finishers distinguished themselves, and the rest were never a

serious factor. It was 5 3/4 lengths back to the previously unbeaten CURLIN

(Smart Strike), who led a congested pack of runners in third. The talented, but

inexperienced colt was in a bit tight early and shuffled farther back off the

pace than normal, but he really had no excuses. No unraced juvenile has won the

Derby in more than 100 years, and the lack of seasoning probably hurt Curlin.

Outsider IMAWILDANDCRAZYGUY (Wild Event), who was bet down to 28-1 because of

his fan-friendly name, just missed third with his late run and was closely

followed by Sedgefield, the longest shot on the board at 58-1, in fifth. The

difference between third and eighth was about two lengths.

While Nafzger gets the opportunity to bask in spotlight, the Todd Pletcher

stable had to be down on their luck afterward. A three-time reigning Eclipse

Award winner, Pletcher could take a page from Nafzger. Or even his mentor D.

Wayne Lukas, a four-time Derby winner. Pletcher sent out 25 percent of the

field, including the winners of the Florida Derby (G1), Louisiana Derby (G2) and

Illinois Derby (G2) as well as the horse who finished second by a nose to Street

Sense in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), but none finished in the top five. As Nafzger

pointed out, there's no reason to think about the Preakness S. (G1) until after

the Derby's over. Just like Lukas, Nafzger trained his horse hard in advance of

the Derby. But one has to question the preparation of Pletcher's runners this

year. He had to be worried about saving something for the Preakness because of

its timing -- it's only two weeks after the Derby and doesn't fit into his

training regimen. And his horses all came up short on Derby Day.

"It worked yesterday (bringing Rags to Riches [A.P. Indy] into the Oaks off

an eight-week layoff), but it didn't work out today," Pletcher said following

the race.

The Derby is simply a much different beast than the Oaks. It's not just

another race.

The focus now shifts to Pimlico. Six of the last 10 Derby winners captured

the Preakness, but none were a confirmed closer like Street Sense. Plenty of

speed is lining up for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, with front runners

FLYING FIRST CLASS (Perfect Mandate) and XCHANGER (Exchange Rate) joining the

fray along with Hard Spun, and I certainly wouldn't sell Street Sense short.

He's got an excellent chance at Old Hilltop.

What's difficult to imagine is rival jockeys allowing Borel to slip up the

rail once again. They've got to take it away from him or cynics will be screaming collusion. Street Sense's three career stakes wins have all

come in the same fashion, and he'll probably need to circle rivals to win in

Baltimore.

We'll preview the Preakness next week.