Derby Post #5: BLACK CLOWN
BLACK CLOWN draws post five at 15/1 in this years running of the Bluegrass Derby. Oh what a feeling to have a runner in the Big Dance. Trainer Semi3 who is usually pretty well composed was seen pumping his fist and yelling oh yeah when the entry was pulled. The five hole in a full field of twenty is not a bad place to be said the trainer of the number 11th ranked classic distance runner in the division. While I had the trainer’s ear, I asked if the six weeks since the last start was a concern? The reply I received was if you are going to make a run at the Triple you need a well rested horse and this horse knows this strip pretty well. He has been a handful in his morning works going 6 furlongs in 112.2/5 while under tight wraps from the Jockey who gets the assignment this Saturday P.Cadigan. After the work I caught up with the Jockey and asked him how his mount went. He said he is as sharp as a tack, I was so lucky to get the mount on BLACK CLOWN. Cadigan went on to say that he believes the patience that his trainer has shown should pay dividends come Saturday. He also said that the fact that he is winless this year is of no concern, his last race shows he is on the upswing and I am just the guy to get the job done. I plan on rewarding Semi3 for putting his faith in me.
BLACK CLOWN Afleet x Gone West x Broad Brush 3yo Brown Colt
12 starts 2 wins 6 places 1 show $528,280
BLACK CLOWN enters the Derby at the longest odd’s he has ever gone to post at. He made his first start in AK in Wk 2433 a 6f T sprint and finished a game second beaten just a length for the win. Trainer Semi3 gave him five weeks and made the switch to the main track while keeping him in AK where he scored his first victory in a 5 furlong dash, winning as the favorite. Five weeks later it was time to try Stakes quality horses for the first time going 6 f and he just missed as third choice on a head bob after opening up more than two lengths in that one. True to form the trainer opted for that five week rest period but this time tried graded company at 5.5 furlongs in the Montana Futurity G3. Drawing the outside post of 14 in this race, he was not as close in the early stages as he had been in his previous but did close well for the place beaten less than a length for the win. In his next race, he stretched out to a mile for the first time in KY and ran a very impressive race again finishing in the runner-up position with a stellar 93Sp in the G3 Pea Peach Juvenile. Six weeks later Semi3 shipped to IL to run in the G2 Darling Squash Futurity where BLACK CLOWN scored a going away victory for his first and only graded victory to date. He shipped to NY for the Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile G1 in his next start and ran a big race finishing 2nd at 10/1. He ended the year with a bit of a disapointment in the Movieland Futurity G1 where he ran 6th the only time he was off the board in eight attempts as a 2yo.
BLACK CLOWN started this years march towards the Derby right where he left off. On the West Coast of CA with much the same result a dismal showing in the G3 The San Somebody Stakes where he finished 7th. With two off the board showings it was time to leave California and head elsewhere and trainer Semi3 opted to change surfaces as well as he pointed BLACK CLOWN to a non graded 9 F T Stakes. That resulted in a place showing being beat by just a head as the overwhelming favorite. Three weeks later he was back in KY and caught an off track in the G3 Gary Asher Memorial Stakes where he made a run before flattening out late and finishing fifth. His last start was a promising third in the Sleepy Fan G2 where he ran a 99 SP and that race should serve as a good tune up for the Derby.
I like his chances in this race, he is well rested, has a nice post position. The trainer seems to have mapped out a plan all along, although I am sure he would have liked to have seen a little more than he has seen in his four attempts this year. In a field this big any thing can happen and just having a starter is a big deal. Great job by the trainer just getting him here. Best of luck Semi3 in this race and going forward…..