Derby 136 Post Position Draw; Endorsement OUT, Make Music For Me IN

With just hours prior to the noon Post Position Draw for the 136^th running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands, another contender went down with an injury. Winstar Farm’s Endorsement, winner of the Sunland Derby suffered a non-displaced lateral condylar fracture of the right front ankle, according to Dr. Bo Landry, the attending veterinarian. The injury occurred during the colts’ final pre-race workout on Wednesday morning.

The defection of Endorsement made way for the California based Make Music For Me, to complete the full field of 20 (18 colts, 1 gelding and 1 filly). With the unfortunate injury to Eskendereya on Saturday, who would have been the clear cut Morning Line (M/L) favorite, that label now belongs to Lookin At Lucky at 3-1. The 2 year old Champion, trained by 3-time Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert, drew the No. 8 Post. The entire field will break from the gate as follows…

PP            Horse                      Jockey / Trainer                      M/L    GQAPT odds*

 1    Lookin At Lucky               G. Gomez / B. Baffert               3-1          7-2

 2    Ice Box                             J. Lezcano / N. Zito                 10-1         13-1

 3    Noble’s Promise                W. Martinez / K. McPeek         12-1         17-1

 4    Super Saver                     C. Borel / T. Pletcher               15-1         15-1

 5    Line of David                    R. Bejarano / J. Sadler            30-1         40-1

 6    Stately Victor                   A. Garcia / M. Maker               30-1         39-1

 7    American Lion                  D. Flores / E. Harty                  30-1         24-1

 8    Dean’s Kitten                    R. Albarado / M. Maker            50-1         57-1

 9    Make Music For Me          J. Rosario / A. Barba               50-1         35-1

10   Paddy O’Prado                 K. Desormeaux / D. Romans   20-1         18-1

11   Devil May Care (f)            J. Velazquez / T. Pletcher       10-1         11-1

12   Conveyance                     M. Garcia / B. Baffert              12-1         29-1

13   Jackson Bend                  M. Smith / N. Zito                     15-1         18-1

14   Mission Impazible             R. Maragh / T. Pletcher            20-1         22-1

15   Discreetly Mine                 J. Castellano / T. Pletcher        30-1         33-1

16   Awesome Act                  J. Leparoux / J. Noseda          10-1         8-1

17   Dublin                               T. Thompson / D. W. Lukas     12-1         21-1

18   Backtalk                            M. Mena / T. Amoss                50-1         51-1

19   Homeboykris                    R. Dominguez / R. Dutrow       50-1         65-1

20   Sidney’s Candy                 J. Talamo / J. Sadler                5-1          5-1

(f) – filly                   * – G.Q.’s Anticipated Post Time odds

There are more handicapping angles when trying to figure out who will win the Derby than you can shake a stick at, but here’s one that I discovered after browsing through the Past Performances which contradicts the belief of many handicappers, including myself.

Over the past years, many tracks have changed over from conventional dirt surfaces to various types of synthetic racing surfaces (Poly-Track, Tapeta, Pro-Ride). IN the Past Performances these are identified as All-Weather (AW). In it’s short history, these types of surfaces tend to favor horses with turf runners in their bloodlines.

Of the 20 potential Derby starters, 8 of them began their racing career either on the turf or synthetic surface. When each of them made their initial start on conventional dirt, the result might surprise you…

1)       Lookin At Lucky – Won G2 Rebel Stakes (Oaklawn Park)

2)       Noble’s Promise – 2^nd by a head to Lookin At Lucky in G2 Rebel Stakes (Oaklawn Park)

3)       Line Of David – Won G1 Arkansas Derby (Oaklawn Park)

4)       Mission Impazible – 3^rd by 2¾ in G3 Kentucky Juvenile (Churchill Downs)

5)       Conveyance – Won G3 Southwest Stakes (Oaklawn Park)

6)       American Lion – Won G3 Illinois Derby (Hawthorne Park)

7)       Dean’s Kitten – 5^th, 33 lengths behind the winner (Eskendereya) in $150k stakes race on a “good” (Belmont Park) track in Oct. ‘09

8 )       Awesome Act – Won G3 Gotham Stakes (Belmont Park)     

There are two (2) Derby starters who have not run a race on a conventional dirt surface, Sidney’s Candy and Make Music For Me.

Now before you decide that I’ve just narrowed down the potential winner Derby to one of these two colts,  consider this…of all 20 Derby starters, Sidney’s Candy has the highest Tomlinson Rating Number (372) for the Turf. This rating system gives one a gauge for a horses potential liking of that surface. With that being said, the only runner who failed to run well in his turf/synthetic-to-dirt debut, Dean’s Kitten, holds the 3^rd highest Turf number (335), just behind Backtalk (339). Make Music For Me just made it into the Derby field, a few hours before the Post Position Draw due to the defection of Endorsement (broken ankle). Though a longshot, he has run second twice to Derby favorite Lookin At Lucky  by less than one length, but in Sprint races last Summer. Getting the 1¼ mile Derby distance will be a challenge for Make Music For Me  whose broodmare sire was a Sprinter (Carson City).