Derby Memories 2005
When 2005 rolled around, another promising crop of three-year-olds found their way to Kentucky. The race promised to be wide open, featuring a lot of talent and diverse running styles. The day dawned bright and clear as the colts (and a very nice filly) prepared for the race of their lives.
Anticosti, a spectacular gray son of Unbridled’s Song, came into the Derby looking like a monster. Out of Stoners’ Champions4 stable, the colt was on a roll. The bettors recognized it and sent him off as the 9/2 favorite. He broke his maiden on first asking down in Louisiana. Stoners promptly moved him up to stakes company, but he wasn’t ready yet and finished sixth. But he learned from the experience and finished second in his next outing. And won the next two easily. He moved up to graded company, finishing a respectable fourth in his first shot (also his first attempt at two turns), then winning the Grade II Club Stakes by six lengths. After a two-month break, he made his three-year-old debut, and what a debut it was. He won the Grade I SRF Three Year Old Series handily. Then he joined the Derby trail, taking the Fountain of Ute with a remarkable 111 speed figure. That race was the fastest Derby prep of the year. He wound up his Derby preparation with style, winning the Grade I Corkscrew. Undefeated as a three-year-old and the fastest colt around, Anticosti was the one to beat.
In a very deep field, Fly for Buda stood out. GG bred Sadler’s Wells to a Blushing Groom mare and knew that the result would want to go long. He broke his maiden on the turf, but his trainer thought he might show something more on the dirt. GG gambled and sent him straight to a Grade III on the dirt. The colt perked up immediately and finished a respectable fourth. The colt stepped back down in class to great success, winning an allowance and an overnight stakes, where he ran explosively in his first route. He proceeded to the Grade I Globalsim Special, where he finished a fast-closing second to juvenile champ Cader Ydris.
Dubai Prospector continued the tradition of a top filly heading to the Derby. She started out strong as a juvenile, never off the board in six starts. Her races included a win in the Grade I Getaway Stakes and a strong second in the Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile Filly, her first route attempt. She took a long break over the winter and returned to the track with a bang, winning the Grade II Louisiana Oaks in impressive time. Off these two preps, where she soundly trounced quality fillies, trainer Ezywin decided to send Essence of Dubai’s daughter to the Derby. She had shown the ability to win from the front or to stalk the pace, and her trainer felt confident she could handle any scenario that arose. Ezywin told jockey J Piotrowski to play it by ear and confidently patted the filly and sent her to the track.
Afc was back in the mix this year, trying to redeem the “Eruption Bounce” of 2003. Orca was a different colt and looked like he might be peaking at the right time. His juvenile year was up and down, but he had shown blazing speed in winning the Grade II End of the Line Futurity. The son of Seeking the Gold had a very different spring than his older stablemate – he ran only twice before the Derby. He debuted with a thrilling wire-to-wire victory in the Grade I Vermont is for Lovers and followed up with a second to the tough Anticosti in the Grade I Corkscrew. It was late March and he would not run again until the big race.
Most people expected the race to being with a speed duel between Orca and Juvenile Champ Cader Ydris. The son of Giant’s Causeway was undefeated as a juvenile, running only four times but displaying his dominance with a gritty win by a head in the Breeders Bowl. After a break of almost three months, he wasn’t quite fit when he finished second in an overnight stakes. But he was back to himself for a win on the front in the Grade III Thousand Island. He followed up with an overnight stakes win, but after this relatively easy spring he needed a stiff race. He headed to the Wooden Indian, where he won by a dwindling half length. He looked like he might not get the ten furlongs, but on the other hand he had never been worse than second in his life.
AND THEY’RE OFF
Orca went immediately to the front. The expected speed duel with Cader Ydris didn’t materialize, as the juvie champ simply never fired. The filly Dubai Prospector was sitting pretty in fourth, less than two lengths behind the leader. Fly for Buda was sitting right at her hip, while Anticosti bided his time midpack. By midrace, Orca was still almost a length in front and running well, though he could not shake free of the pack. Dubai Prospector, Fly for Buda, and Anticosti all maintained identical positions, waiting for their opportunities to pounce. At the top of the stretch, Orca began to tire and Dubai Prospector grabbed the lead. Anticosti went wide around horses and began to bear down on the filly. Flying for Buda was running hard at his hip. Once he gained momentum, Anticosti was impossible to stop. Dubai Prospector gamely held him off for a bit, but he pulled free and went under the wire ahead by two. Dubai Prospector ran a game second and Fly for Buda hung on for third. At 2:01.2, it was a fast race, just a tick behind the record and equaling I Seek U’s time.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Compared to previous years, this crop didn’t accomplish a lot after their spring battles. Only Anticosti, Fly for Buda, and Tempest went on to win big races. This is neither here nor there, but it is interesting that this was a particularly early-peaking bunch.
Even before the Derby, Stoners announced that Anticosti would not attempt the Middle Jewel. The Derby victory did not change his mind. The colt rested, then returned to the track. He won the Swamps and finished third in the Grade I Citation Cup and the Louisiana Derby. But he ran disappointingly in the Breeders’ Bowl Classic and did not win another graded race. He did place in some graded fields at four and continues to run in allowances.
After the Derby, Dubai Prospector returned to racing against fillies. Harried by injury, she took a long break after the Derby, ran dismally in the Grade I Exam, and took another break. She looked like she could return to form when she won an overnight stakes in the fall, but ran poorly in the Breeders’ Bowl. She ran lightly and unsuccessfully as a four-year-old and has been on hiatus since last summer.
Fly for Buda had a spectacular season, winning the Middle Jewel and finishing a close second in the New Yorker. He went on to finish second to Anticosti in the Swamps and won the Grade I Citation Cup. He ran lightly at four in allowance and overnight stakes company, but has revived his career at five. So far this year, he has won the Grade II Willing and able in impressive time, finished a close second in the Grade I Glenn, ran third in the Grade I Oaktree, and just last week won the Grade II Statewide Pinhead. He is currently ranked seventh among older “classic” dirt horses.
Orca never ran well again in stakes company, but remains competitive in allowances.
Cader Ydris returned to form in the Middle Jewel, where he grabbed the lead early and lost narrowly to Fly for Buda. He tried the turf and experimented with a variety of distances, but never won another big race. He continues to win in allowance company.
Tempest, who ran poorly in the Derby, continued to run inconsistently, but sometimes brilliantly. He won the Grade II Flat Land Derby at three, then at four won the Grade III Smart School, the Grade II Statewide Pinhead, the Grade II Abraham Lincoln, and the Grade I Woodward. He set the stakes record for the Woodward and tied the record in the Pinhead.
NEXT UP: a Super spring