Colonel John hopes for a promotion
If he can win the Swaps today, next races would be the Travers and the Breeders' Cup Classic.Another road trip could be in Colonel John's future.
The $1-million Travers on Aug. 23 at Saratoga would be the destination for the son of Tiznow if all goes well in the $350,000 Swaps Stakes today at Hollywood Park.
Unquestionably California's top 3-year-old after his consecutive victories in the Sham and Santa Anita Derby, Colonel John had a bad experience in his first venture outside of the state.
Colonel John, the 9-2 second choice in the Kentucky Derby, had trouble both at the start and around the first turn. But he did make a menacing move around the far turn, but took an awkward step and struggled through the stretch.
Ultimately, he finished sixth, a bit more than 14 lengths behind Big Brown.
Colonel John has trained well for his return. He will be looking for his fifth win in seven starts in California in the Swaps, a Grade II at 1 1/8 miles.
"He looks fantastic now and I could not be happier with him," said Eoin Harty, who trains Colonel John for owner-breeder WinStar Farm LLC. "I think he's coming into this race as good as he was going into the Santa Anita Derby."
Doug Cauthen, president and chief executive of WinStar, is optimistic Colonel John will be a force in the second half of 2008. Although Cauthen is in Kentucky, he has been able to watch Colonel John's recent workouts courtesy of Youtube.com after they were posted by Harty's wife Kathy.
"By all accounts, he's doing great and I thought his last breeze [seven furlongs in 1:26 3/5 on July 1] was very good. I think he's ready to get back into the game," Cauthen said.
None of those connected with Colonel John lost faith after the Derby because he did have legitimate excuses.
"He got slammed coming out of the gate," Cauthen said. "He made a big move on the turn, but then he took a funny step and lost all momentum. It was minor and I think it was just a hard switch of leads. He lost his action, but it was going to be tough to beat the winner that day no matter what the circumstances."
After the Swaps, the two primary goals for Colonel John are the Travers and the Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at Santa Anita, a track where the colt is undefeated in three starts.
Jockey Garrett Gomez, who last rode Colonel John in the Sham, is back aboard, replacing Corey Nakatani.
The horse Colonel John will have to catch in the Swaps is Two Step Salsa. A son of Petionville owned by breeder Jeff Nielsen's Everest Stables and trained by Julio Canani, Two Step Salsa has won two in a row at Hollywood Park. The dark bay showed he could handle two turns in the Affirmed, winning by 3 3/4 lengths June 15 in his first start beyond seven furlongs.
Four others -- Tres Borrachos, Nownownow, Madeo and Trevor's Clever -- are scheduled to run while Lexington winner Behindatthebar skipped the race because of a foot problem.
The California Horse Racing Board recently reached an agreement with the tote company Scientific Games regarding a quick pick snafu.
A problem with the quick pick wager was discovered after a bettor at Bay Meadows purchased $1,300 worth of quick picks on the Kentucky Derby superfecta, then discovered that the No. 20, which was worn by Derby winner Big Brown, was missing from all of his tickets.
As part of the agreement, Scientific Games will reimburse the CHRB $50,000 for the costs of the investigation, will pay $150,000 to horse racing-related charities and will pay refunds to people who placed quick pick wagers between July 1, 2007 and June 2, 2008, provided the person can show proof that the wager was made.
(c) 2008 Los Angeles Times
Charmo tries the main track
Charmo, who has spent his whole career on the turf, will make his main track debut in the $75,000 Ferdinand Handicap on Thursday night at Hollywood Park. The race is part of a pick six with a carry-over of $87,021.
Because of the holiday Friday, Hollywood Park has a first post of 7 p.m. on Thursday and will race in the afternoon (1:20 p.m) on Friday.
Trained by Julio Canani for the Lanni Family Trust and Ernie Moody's Mercedes Stable LLC, Charmo has four wins and earnings of more than $459,000 on grass.
Trying to end a losing streak that has reached seven races, the 7-year-old Charnwood Forest horse will switch to the local Cushion against five opponents in a race named in honor of the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner.
Tyler Baze, a few days removed from his first Hollywood Gold Cup victory on 10-1 shot Mast Track, takes over on Charmo in the race at 1 1/16 miles. The Ferdinand is the fifth race on the card, meaning it is the first leg of the late pick four.
Drawn directly inside of Charmo is the comebacker Lang Field. A 5-year-old gelded son of Langfuhr owned by Nigel Shields and trained by Art Sherman, the gray has been away since finishing fourth in the Thunder Road Handicap on Feb. 2 at Santa Anita.
This will be the first start away from turf for Lang Field since he finished second behind Out Of Control on conventional dirt at Santa Anita on Feb. 23, 2007. Jon Court will ride the six-time winner.
Race of the day: After a claim, Positive Prospect, a winner in her turf debut May 30, will go for a new barn in the seventh race Thursday at Belmont Park. Rajiv Maragh stays with the 3-year-old Sasha's Prospect filly for Byanose Racing Stable and trainer Greg DiPrima in the $49,000 starter allowance at seven furlongs. DiPrima, who wins regularly first off the claim, took the Florida-bred for $35,000. The race is the penultimate leg of the pick six with a carry-over of $$49,720.
One for the road: Cookie Crumbles could run her best trace and should be prominent in a race lacking speed in the fifth at Pleasanton. Francisco Duran will ride the 6-year-old Swiss Yodeler mare for owner-breeder Mike Powers and trainer Ed Moger Jr. in the $3,200 claimer at 5 1/2 furlongs.
Exotically speaking: An early pick four using Albacore Bob and It's In The Fridge in the first; Bea's Cee and America's Friend in the second; Bob Benoit and Sir Dynamite in the third; and Preachintothechoir, Corvinus and Caddymaster in the fourth.
Winners: (previous day/meet total): 3/128. Money (previous day/meet total): $23.40/$758.20. Total money bet: $884.
(c) 2008 Los Angeles Times
Nothing's for sure at Belmont Stakes
After a five-week wait, the big day finally has arrived. From the second he cavorted across the finish line at Churchill Downs on May 3, Big Brown looked like a cinch to run off with thoroughbred racing's big prize.
A Triple Crown is well within reach for the long, fluid strides that have carried Big Brown to ridiculously easy triumphs in the Kentucky Derby and, two weeks later, the Preakness Stakes. After watching the strapping brown colt handle adversity and his overmatched rivals at Churchill Downs and Pimlico, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which Big Brown loses today's Belmont Stakes and is denied his quest to become racing's 12th Triple Crown champion.
(c) The Boston Herald
Tim Brown: Pick Up Some Ground With Yahoo!
It's just strange. The overwhelmingly favored Big Brown not only failed to win the Belmont Stakes, he finished dead last.
It was a bizarre twist to the third-leg of the Triple Crown and one that left viewers with more questions than answers. The stage was set for the colt to make history, and all the cards appeared to be falling in place when the only apparent challenger to Big Brown, Casino Drive, withdrew from the race.
The horse's owner had been talking all week like the race was already won and many were anxiously awaiting the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. Affirmed was the last horse to achieve that feat in 1978.
The horse won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. However, Saturday's race in the sweltering heat at Belmont Park was quite a different story.
Maintaining the third spot for three-quarters of the race, the horse started fading fast, according to jockey Kent Desormeaux. He moved to the outside and Desormeaux eased up.
While it is surprising that Big Brown lost, the real shock comes in the way it all went down. There appears to be nothing physically wrong with the colt, according to his owners and people who examined him after the race and the following day. It wasn't the crack in one of his left hoofs. It wasn't the lack of a steroid shot, which the pony has had in the past, that led to the disappointing finish either.
In fact, it supposedly wasn't a physical problem at all. Co-owner Michael Iavarone reportedly said it's possible Big Brown just didn't like the track.
It's always puzzling when a big-timer doesn't perform and there are no real reasons behind it. Some of the highest-priced teams with the largest collection of world-class talent come up short. It happens, but never ceases to amaze me.
Keeping with the theme of underperformance, today I'm going with Yahoo!YHOO. I've seen a lot of press accounts about Yahoo!'s management, but regardless of whether the negative accounts are true or not, I think this company has a lot of upside.
Despite the fact that Microsoft'sMSFT Steve Ballmer says a deal between the two companies is dead, many still think there is a good chance it will happen. More recently, activist investor Carl Icahn launched a bid to replace Yahoo!'s board. He put's Yahoo!'s value north of $34 a share.
Right now the stock is trading at $26.44, well above its 52-week low of $18.56. However, it still has plenty of room to grow before hitting that $34 mark too. I think Yahoo! is a solid play for today and gives us a good shot to make some money.
(c) 1996-2008 TheStreet
Big Brown's hoof not a concern entering Belmont
NEW YORK (AP) - Big Brown's bombastic trainer has no concerns about the colt's slightly cracked hoof.
Rick Dutrow Jr. wishes everyone else would stop worrying how his horse will handle running with a patch on the quarter crack.
"I don't understand it," Dutrow said Tuesday. "The horse is fine, the quarter crack has not been an issue for some time now. He breezed great, he's cooling out good, there's no blood. What else is there?"
Only a shot at racing history. When Big Brown tries for a win in the Belmont and the first Triple Crown since Affirmed completed the sweep 30 years ago, the colt will do it with an acrylic patch on his left front hoof.
Dutrow become agitated with each question about the crack. He was right when he predicted Big Brown would win the Kentucky Derby. He was on the money with his bold boasts about the Preakness. And he expects to win big again in the Belmont on Saturday: Big Brown will sweep the three jewels of the Triple Crown, bad feet and all.
"We have the best horse," Dutrow said. "I'm as confident as I've ever been."
Dutrow said Big Brown's hoof has held up strong after his workouts this week, and no blood has been spotted. That might have been the only issue that could give Dutrow any reason to pull back on his grandiose Triple Crown proclamations. Fittingly, Big Brown has pulled through like a champ.
"This horse has got good karma," Dutrow said. "No matter what you throw at him, he's going to be ready."
Big Brown walked a few laps around the barn under the hold of exercise rider Michelle Nevin on a gloomy, rainy Wednesday morning. Big Brown stopped at one point to pose for the clicking cameras, causing a three-horse backup in the barn.
He's expected to take a jog Thursday and gallop Friday, when hoof specialist Ian McKinlay is set to glue the acrylic patch on the hoof.
Big Brown wowed a small crowd on Tuesday morning, running five furlongs in 1:00.03 with Dutrow and co-owner Michael Iavarone looking on near the finish line. Even Funny Cide, whose 2003 Triple Crown bid was derailed on a sloppy Belmont track, stood near the rail watching Big Brown in between his stable pony duties.
Thousands more - fans, family, and bettors - will hold their breath and watch Saturday with a Triple Crown at stake. This is the first time since Smarty Jones raced for the most prestigious title in the industry in 2004 that the Belmont can decide a Triple Crown winner.
Iavarone can't believe the ride of a lifetime is almost over. At least he'll have the memories.
"That's what a DVR is for," he said.
A year ago, Iavarone was still clamoring for that one special horse that could put him in this coveted position. He was mostly unknown outside the industry then, and now he stands out in the messy barns with his slicked-back hair - never a hat - and designer suits. Iavarone enjoys the perks of fame and said he was having dinner with Archie Manning and his quarterback sons while he was in town, and counted the football family as fans of the big ol' colt.
Actually, Iavarone counts an entire league's worth of rooters backing Big Brown. He expected over 800 friends and relatives to attend Saturday's race leaving him with a bigger headache than Big Brown's hoof: who to pick among the 50 allowed in the winner's circle?
Iavarone also dismissed the idea that shaky pasts for him and Dutrow didn't make Big Brown any less worthy of winning the Triple Crown or earning fan support. Big Brown's mug hasn't been on the cover of national magazines or seemed to capture the hearts of the casual fan in the same way Funny Cide, Barbaro or Smarty Jones did.
There was a human athlete with a Triple Crown pursuit on the cover of last week's Sports Illustrated, only it was Texas Rangers standout Josh Hamilton.
"There are 125,000 people here" on Saturday, Iavarone said. "I'd say the majority of them, I hope, would want Big Brown to win."
Iavarone and Dutrow are already looking beyond the Belmont. The pair - Dutrow especially - have been adamant that Big Brown will race beyond Saturday. Dutrow talked about plans to train the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner at Aqueduct, then ship him to Saratoga for the Travers. Then it's off to the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in October.
"I can't wait to try him on the Polytrack or whatever the Santa Anita track is called," Dutrow said.
Iavarone said the stud deal with Three Chimneys Farm, where Big Brown will begin his breeding career as part of a $50 million deal, will not affect IEAH's decision to continue to race their prized colt.
"We call the shots on the race track all through the end of the year," he said.
It appears that eight rivals will take on Big Brown, with Japanese-bred Casino Drive the only one besides the Derby/Preakness winner likely to have single-digit odds.
Casino Drive is scheduled to work out Wednesday, the same day Anak Nakal, Da'Tara, Denis of Cork and Macho Again are expected at Belmont. Icabad Crane, Tale of Ekati and Ready's Echo are already on the grounds.
(c) 2008 The Associated Press
Preakness Picks: Kentucky Bear 14 to 1 contender against Big Brown
Another of the 13 Preakness picks contenders is Kentucky Bear. Due to his lack of winning Kentucky Bear was excluded from the Kentucky Derby and will be making attempt to upset Big Brown in the Preakness Stakes. Bear Stables believes that Kentucky Bear has a chance e and that Big Brown was only better than the horses in the Kentucky Derby. The oddsmakers at BodogLife.com have Kentucky Bear at 14 to 1 for your Preakness picks.
"If we didn't think we could win, we wouldn't be here at all," stated Baker from Bear Stables. So far Big Brown is undefeated in four career starts, but Baker still feels the colt has something to prove despite his Derby performance.
"Everybody is talking about him like he was a star," Baker said. "He was just better than those horses at Churchill Downs that day, that's all. He would earn the title as a star if he can be competitive in the Breeders' Cup Classic this fall when he faces the likes of Curlin ."
The Preakness is the shortest of the three Triple Crown races at 13/16 miles. The Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 miles, then the 1 1/4 mile Belmont, which is run three weeks after the Preakness. Kentucky Bear's three career starts have all been as a three year old and he has been conditioned perfectly to be dominant Preakness pick.
After being bumped at the start on the polytrack at Keeneland in the Blue Grass Stakes Kentucky Bear finished a strong third. The speedy three year old figures to have the best shot to upset Big Brown in the second leg of the Triple Crown picks.
(c) 2008 Sports Handicapping
Clinton's derby pick put down
From correspondents in Louisville, Kentucky
May 05, 2008 08:17am
THE only filly in the legendary US Kentucky Derby, which Hillary Clinton urged her supporters to put their money on, broke both its ankles and was destroyed on the track after the race ended.
Senator Clinton will be hoping Saturday's derby does not prove to be a political omen.
Runner-up Eight Belles, whom Senator Clinton had urged supporters to put their money on as the sole female runner was humanely destroyed on the track minutes after the race ended.
Barack Obama, Clinton's African-American rival for the Democratic White House nomination, may draw comfort from both the winning thoroughbred's name and its comparative lack of experience.
Big Brown was the first Derby victor since 1915 with just three prior career starts.
Copyright 2008 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT +10).
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