Will Pyro burn it up, or has he burned out?
April 28th, 2008 | Published in News and Features
By his presence, Pyro affects the Kentucky Derby. (Photo at right: Pyro and Dominic Terry tested Churchill Downs’ track Sunday | Mark Cornelison.)
Was his abject failure on Keeneland’s Polytrack an aberration? Will he recover his winning ways of earlier this year and be the one to beat?
By his absence, the injured War Pass influences the 134th Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs. How will trainers adjust their strategy without his front-running style to help set the pace?
Questions can be raised about each of the 20 3-year-olds who will enter the gates that will spring one of them to racing glory.
Pyro was among the Derby favorites when he finished 10th of 12 and was beaten by 111/2 lengths in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on April 12.
So what if he didn’t like the all-weather surface; they run the Derby on dirt. But did he get enough work (while “running” a 73 Beyer Speed Figure) to be fit for the demands of the 11/4-mile Derby?
Pyro was second to War Pass in the Champagne and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (both Grade Is) last year and had his best Beyers as a 2-year-old. But a last-to-first comeback in the Risen Star and a victory in the Louisiana Derby established him at or near the top of Kentucky Derby favorites.
Pyro’s folly on the Poly only can be redeemed by a complete turnaround Saturday. As horses can “bounce” down after a good race, they can “bounce” up after a poor performance. But who knows until the gates open?
A full field of 19 contenders is ready to challenge Pyro.
Santa Anita Derby winner Colonel John hasn’t raced on anything but the artificial surfaces in California. His 57.80 seconds was the fastest 5-furlong workout Sunday at Churchill. But how will he react when hit in the face by clumps of dirt? Unless he leads gate to wire.
Big Brown, who might be the post-time favorite Saturday, has the best Beyer among Derby probables at a distance this year. He ran a 106 when he won the Florida Derby by 5 lengths.
Big Brown could give Rick Dutrow a Derby victory in his first try as trainer. The colt went from allowance winner to Derby favorite by running away with the Florida Derby in his third start.
Tale of Ekati returned trainer Barclay Tagg to Louisville by winning the Wood Memorial over War Pass.
Gayego punched his ticket to Louisville by winning the Arkansas Derby as the 2-1 favorite.
For some weeks, two fillies trained by Larry Jones — Proud Spell and Eight Belles — were considered entrants for the Derby rather than the Kentucky Oaks. Former Kentucky governor and owner Brereton Jones said Sunday that Proud Spell will run in the Oaks. Eight Belles is more likely to start in the Derby if she gets a good post position in Wednesday’s draw.
Monba won the Blue Grass to assure a Todd Pletcher trainee in the Derby. He returns to Churchill Downs, where he was an allowance winner last fall.
As for War Pass, his stature had dropped this year before a slight fracture in a sesamoid bone removed the 2-year-old champion and early Derby favorite from the Triple Crown campaign.
War Pass’s credentials had taken a hit with a last-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby at 1-20. He redeemed himself with a runner-up finish by a half-length in the Wood Memorial. He apparently was injured late in the race.
Mike Watchmaker of the Daily Racing Form wrote that War Pass needed the early lead to run his best. The handicapper now wonders how the pace scenario will play out minus the juvenile champ.
Who, then, will benefit from War Pass’s absence and Pyro’s mysterious Blue Grass?
Recapturetheglory, Z Humor, Court Vision, Z Fortune, Adriano and Smooth Air complete the top 12 on the earnings list.
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Colonel John flies through five furlongs
Notes on the Derby, from the Associated Press:
LOUISVILLE — Colonel John ran the fastest 5 furlongs Sunday in his last major workout before the 134th Kentucky Derby, when the California-based colt will race on dirt for the first time.
Colonel John completed 5 furlongs in :57.80, quickest of 62 workouts at the distance, on a sunny, breezy morning under the Twin Spires without any urging from exercise rider Karine Lhuillier.
“It wasn’t my intention to go that fast, but it wasn’t my intention the track was going to be this fast,” trainer Eoin Harty said. “I think it’s more the track conditions than my horse doing a little too much.”
The big question at the start of Derby week was how Colonel John would handle a dirt surface because he has raced and trained almost exclusively on the newer synthetic surfaces in California since beginning his career at Del Mar last summer.
“I thought he handled it very well. It looks like he hasn’t changed his style or his motion,” Harty said, pointing out that Colonel John trained on dirt as a 2-year-old before coming to his stable.
Harty originally scheduled Colonel John’s workout for Monday, but the forecast calls for rain so he moved it up.
Also going ahead of schedule were trainer Bill Mott’s duo of Court Vision and Z Humor. Both went 5 furlongs, with Court Vision timed in 1:00.80 and Z Humor in 1:01.20.
Colonel John likely will be the second favorite behind Big Brown when post positions are drawn Wednesday for Saturday’s 11/4-mile Derby. The Santa Anita Derby winner has won 4 of 6 career starts and wasn’t worse than second in his two losses.
Big Brown galloped once around the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and was scheduled to arrive in Louisville on Monday evening. He will test the track on Thursday.
Sunday’s second-fastest workout was turned in by Eight Belles, who covered the same distance in :58.20. Trainer Larry Jones said he’s pointing the gray filly, on a four-race winning streak, toward a start against the boys in the Derby.
“She’s run as fast as they have,” he said. “I feel better with her at a mile-and-a-quarter than I did with Hard Spun. You have to pull on her in the morning to get her to stop. With Hard Spun, you’d tell him to stop and he’d say, ‘OK.’ ”
Hard Spun finished second behind Street Sense in last year’s Derby. A filly hasn’t won since Winning Colors in 1988, and none have started since 1999.
Trainer Bennie Stutts Jr. was feeling relieved Sunday after checking in on his colt Smooth Air, who has had a low-grade fever. The colt jogged just more than a mile in his first time on the track since last Thursday.
“I didn’t sleep well last night, but I will tonight,” Stutts said. “I came in this morning and saw that empty feed tub and knew he was all right.”
On Smooth Air’s way to and from the barn, two black cats crossed his path.
“If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it,” owner Brian Burns said. “Maybe two black cats mean good luck. I think it was a setup for us that they had the cats in a cage and just let them out when we went by.”
Compared to Colonel John and Eight Belles, Lane’s End Stakes winner Adriano went a leisurely 1:00.80 over 5 furlongs in his final workout. He finished ninth in the Fountain of Youth, his only start on dirt at Florida’s Gulfstream Park
