It begins in late summer, continues into the fall, slides into winter, and blossoms in the spring.
All of the preps, the triumphs and heartache on the Road to the Kentucky Derby are in the rearview mirror.
The 151st edition of the Kentucky Derby is Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Here then, is a look brief look at Post Positions #8 through 14. The final six runners will be reviewed on Friday.
8. JOURNALISM [ML 3-1] Jockey: Umberto Rispoli. Trainer: Michael McCarthy. A very deserving morning-line favorite. Finished 3rd in his debut and is unbeaten since then. Was pinned along the inside in the Santa Anita Derby and shuffled back, but showed some tenacity when moving outside and Winning by less than a length. If there’s a knock it’s that 4 of his 5 races had fields of 5 or less horses. How will he handle the jailbreak that is the Kentucky Derby?
9. BURNHAM SQUARE [ML 12-1] Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr. Trainer: Ian Wilkes. Bounced back from a 4th place finish in the Fountain of Youth Stakes to close strongly and Win the Blue Grass Stakes in the final stride. His jockey Won this race last year with a great rail ride, but he may need to bob and weave a bit here – which is tricky in a field of 20.
10. GRANDE [ML 20-1] Jockey: John Velazquez. Trainer: Todd Pletcher. This lightly raced colt closed in the stretch to finish 2nd in the Wood Memorial and earn a spot in the field. Comes from A-one connections and is on the improve. Can add some nice value underneath in exotic wagers…or maybe take the Roses.
11. FLYING MOHAWK [ML 30-1] Jockey: Joseph Ramos. Trainer: D. Whitworth Beckman. Another novice when it comes to racing on dirt. He was 2nd in the Jeff Ruby Steaks. He may take to the distance but seems to be on the slow side of the bell curve when compared to others here.
12. EAST AVENUE [ML 20-1] Jockey: Manny Franco. Trainer: Brendan Walsh. This guy loves Kentucky. He’s 2-for-3 in the Bluegrass State with the loss being by a nose. Outside of Kentucky he’s 0-for-2 losing by a combined 36 lengths. But it is the KENTUCKY Derby, so… It will be the toughest test ever for his speed and stamina. Came up inches shy of going gate to wire in the Blue Grass Stakes and could be tough to catch if he is left alone on the lead.
13. PUBLISHER [ML 30-1] Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Trainer: Steve Asmussen. He’s a Maiden. Perhaps not your typical Maiden. He ran a strong 2nd in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby which, seemingly, makes him a live play in the KD. But, while he might land in the top four, it’s hard to back a Maiden to Win in a spot like this. Even with Irad aboard.
14. TIZTASTIC [ML 20-1] Jockey: Joel Rosario. Trainer: Steve Asmussen. A Winner of two of his first three starts, then lost four in a row before Winning the Louisiana Derby in his last out. Does that signal that he’s on the upswing? Or just an anomaly in his recent races? We shall see on Saturday.
On Friday the Daily Racing Blog will take a look at the final six entrants, as well as make some bold predictions. So stop on back
