Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Early Kentucky Derby Favourite Tops Smarty Jones In Season Debut



Early Kentucky Derby Favourite Old Fashioned crushed a field of lesser likes at Oaklawn Park on Monday evening.



The 1 mile dirt race was completed in an extremely relevant 1:37.41.



Old Fasioned broke sharply and was quickly taken in hand by Jockey Ramon Dominguez while pesky speedster Silver City trained by Bret W. Calhoun controlled the early fractions.

Silver City blew through the first six furlongs at a rapid 1:11.04 before being joined on the front end by a hard working 2-5 race favourite Old Fashioned.

"He had to work a little hard then the typical 2-5 shot has to, but Old Fashioned pulled clear late and came up on top in his 2009 debut" say’s Evan Hammonds of racing industry standard The Blood Horse.



It’s true Old Fashioned, trained by the newly famed future hall of famer Larry Jones whose Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles regrettably broke down just second after crossing the finish line in last years Kentucky Derby had to work a little bit to acquire a win in his season debut but it was hardly a lead of single.



Old Fasioned who had not seen competitive racing since November 28th, 2008 when racing as a two-year old in the Remsen Stakes (Gr. 2) at Aqueduct Racetrack had an excuse for being a little rusty following the three month lay-off. Old Fashioned won the Remsen (Gr.2) by 7 ½ lengths going a mile and eighth, completing a perfect 3 for 3 rookie campaign.

The colt (Old Fashioned) looked sharp and very professional breaking from the gate on Monday evening. He had very little trouble catching race leader Silver City when asked by Jockey Ramon Dominguez to close the gap and even less trouble eclipsing both the 1: 37.41 put down by last year’s race winner and Kentucky Derby show horse Denis of Cork and the 1:37.57 run by 2004 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones.



That’s right Old Fashioned ran a faster mile then Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones did back in 2004 when Smarty nearly claimed North-America’s elusive horse-racing triple-crown.



Big news, right? Wrong!





The big news regarding Old Fashioned and his Southwest Stake performance wasn’t that he beat the time set down by a horse six years his elder and long since retired.


No, the big news was that Old Fashioned eclipsed a time set down just twelve months ago by eventual Kentucky Derby show horse Denis of Cork.


Why is this big news? Easy.


Denis of Cork who finished third in last years Kentucky Derby and appeared to be closing ground on race winner Big Brown was a quality horse that proved his worth on horse racing’s biggest stage. It’s clear already at this early juncture of the racing season that this years field of Derby Contender has no Barbaro or Big Brown, heck the field hardly has a Curlin or a Street Sense to its credit, so a horse on par with the likes of Denis of Cork should easily be the top dog in this years Derby class.



The only thing Trainer Larry Jones need be concerned with from here on out is making sure his colt makes it to the big dance with all his nut and bolt in order, from here on in its clear sailing through the Rebel Stakes (Gr.3) past the Arkansas Derby (Gr.2) and on to the big dance on May 2nd @ Churchill Downs.



Zoltan Black



 



Sidenote:



I noticed during the Southwest Stakes that on the final turn for home, Old Fashioned seemed slightly distracted by the crowd that had gather to witness the his season debut.



I’m not really sure how a trainer goes about correct this problem, but what I am sure of is that it is in fact a problem.



When the Run for the Roses rolls around in May the horses on the track will gaze into a sea of humanity (Over 150'000 on the lawn at Churchill Downs) and their at the top of the stretch staring into a drunken mob the Kentucky Derby will be decided by the contender that flinches the least.



 





 

 

 


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