{"id":10090,"date":"2012-03-28T21:14:17","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T21:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=10090"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=10090","title":{"rendered":"The Florida Derby"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Florida Derby is a lock-in, prep race for the Bluegrass Derby. \u00a0<\/SPAN>It is set at a distance of eight and a half furlongs and will be run on a fast dirt track.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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Last year\u2019s winner was Joya, who charted a speed of 109.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Since winning last year\u2019s event, Joya has gone down hill and not hitting the board in the eight succeeding races he appeared in.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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In 2010, Begone Oasis won the race but failed to produce any results in the triple crown run.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He later moved on to be a turf specialist.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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You have to go back to 2007 where you will find Awesome Force winning the Florida Derby with a lukewarm speed of 92, and would come up one race shy of taking the triple crown with wins in the Middle Jewel Stakes and the New Yorker.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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Another Florida Derby standout was 2005 winner Fly for Buda, who won the Florida with a speed of 107.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>If racing were baseball, you may say he hit the cycle with a first in the Middle Jewel, a second in the New Yorker and a third in the Bluegrass.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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The\u00a0 <\/SPAN>above are examples of how horses fared in this big event.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It has been a while since the winner has been a big factor in the triple crown, but this 9 furlong dirt race could definitely produce a top challenger in May.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Here are the contenders:<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/SPAN>9-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Biescas<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

This son of Medaglia D\u2019Oro has won 4 of his last 5 starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Biescas only loss in this streak was in his only grade start, the Eruption, where he finished well back.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He picked up his second non-grade win last month in the 9f Oyster Pub Rocks wiring the field with a career best speed of 99 over this Florida track.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Undoubtedly he\u2019ll make a bid to wire the field and this may be the right place and time to pull it off.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>12-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Always Charming<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

A light grey colt who is the son of Silver Charm and winner of two races, however, has been on the board eight times in nine races.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s made three grade level starts, picking up thirds in the Charcoal Breeder\u2019s Cup and The Scam.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His top speed of 98 was scored in The Scam in February.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Early in March, he struggled in the Immense Derby Challenge and had no excuse.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Takes a marginal drop in distance from 9f and may be the right ticket.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>11-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Onewaki<\/SPAN><\/B><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P>

Silver Charm is the sire to this colt who has a pair of wins in eight races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He has struggled at the graded level with four runs and out of the money three times.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He does have a win in the G3 Legoland, and established his top speed of 101 in that race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, the Vermont is 4 Lovers was his last race, and he finished with an 84 speed and in eleventh.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019ll face others again from that race and will need to improve quickly to show he\u2019s better than they are.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>11-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Clash of Kings<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Clash of Kings is the son of Awesome Again\u00a0 <\/SPAN>and already has four wins in five career starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Like others in this race, his biggest downfall came in his sole grade appearance, in his case, the Movieland Futurity.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In that event, he had nothing going for him and finished near the rear of the field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He does have a pair of non-grade stake wins, both charted speeds of 95.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He looks well rested, taking a chunk of time off for most of the winter before returning and picking up a stake win in late February.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Expect improvement in speed number off that start.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>9-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Candy Shop<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

This sweet horse is the son of Candy Ride and has only four races and a nice record of 3-1-0.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In January he won an allowance race at 8.5 furlongs with a speed of 87.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He topped that in his only stake race, the non-graded Magical Merlin Dirt Challenge at 8.5f with a very impressive 104.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s one to watch as a speed in that vicinity could very well win this derby.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>10-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Too Many Questions<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Son of Discreetly Mine has won four times in nine starts. \u00a0<\/SPAN>Included in the win column are three consecutive wins in the G2 The Stanford, G1 The Hopeless and G1 End of the Line Futurity.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He took a near 2-month winter break, returning with a fourth in the Vermont is 4 Lovers G1 with a career best speed of 96.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The second race back from a break may fire this one up.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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7.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u00a0<\/SPAN>12-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Newstead<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

A winner of four races in seven starts, this Tapit son will give it another shot in graded company.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Newstead has one start at this level in the January running of the Legoland where he finished eighth by six lengths after trailing by a dozen early on.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He has a non-grade stake win that was earned last November and set his career best speed last month with a 93 with a third in the non-grade Tabitha Dirt Memorial.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Newstead is a stretch runner that looks to have his best shot if he can be within 10 strides by the halfway mark.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>6-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

No Siree Bob<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Sired by Medicean, No Siree Bob has an impressive record of 3-5-0 in 9 races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s had one start in graded company coming last November in the Club Stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He wasn\u2019t quite ready for this level of competition, finishing 7th<\/SUP>, his only off the board finish.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, his last two starts were non-grade stake events where he finished 2nd<\/SUP> and won his last time out, sporting very competitive career best speeds of 100 in each race.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Looks to fare much better this time out at this high level.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>10-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

For Good<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

This son of Distorted Humor came out on fire at the start of his racing career, winning his first four starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The win streak came to an end three weeks ago in his first grade level race, the G1 Winter is Coming.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He set the early pace but relinquished the lead by the third call and settled for fifth with a speed of 92.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He can do better than that as in February he established his career mark of 95 on a good track.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s got early speed and this nice looking colt will be put to the test once again.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u00a0<\/SPAN>6-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Skitzoid<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Skitzoid is the son of Awesome Again and has won four out of eight starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He comes off a big win in the Vermont is 4 Lovers, hitting a career speed mark of 101 running 9.5 furlongs.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s a slow starter and can charge like an express train coming through the stretch.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Tough runner looks to make it 3-in-a-row.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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11.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>11-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

El Gato\u2019s Mark<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Badge of Silver is the sire and El Gato\u2019s Mark is the only grade winning horse to this sire.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He has won three races, all occurring between June and September last year and was highlighted with a win in the G3 Buckeye Juvenile.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s made three subsequent grade race appearances, pulling off a second in the Sparkling Wine a fourth in the Breeder\u2019s Bowl Juvenile and finished off the board in the Movieland Futurity.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>El Gato took a two month sabbatical and returned in February in a non-graded race with a second and a career best speed of 92.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Could make nice improvement off of that in this race.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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12.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>15-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Portrayal<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Portrayal has been in the money five times in six starts with three wins to his credit.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This son of Midnight Lute\u00a0 <\/SPAN>has a non-grade win in February in the Tout Ou Rien Dirt Challenge where he scored his career best speed of 94.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Two weeks ago, he took his first shot in graded company when he ran in the Felipe Alou Stakes finishing quite a ways back.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019ll try 9 furlongs for the first time but with such a short rest break and considering the last wasn\u2019t the best of performances in graded company, it looks like he\u2019ll be facing a tough task in this race.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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13.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u00a0<\/SPAN>10-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Weekly Express<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

Weekly Express is the son of Special Week and has gathered up 4 wins in his 7 starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s had one start at the graded level, and that came in the Gian Slayer at 8.5f, finishing fourth.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He picked up a stakes win in the non-graded Kimo Teemu Tribute winning on a sloppy track at 8.5 f with his career best of 96.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He stretches a little in distance and that looks like it work to his favor.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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14.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>20-1<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

A Wild Storm<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

A Wild Storm compiled a win streak of 5 in a row from November through February.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It wasn\u2019t until this son of Elvstroem made his first stakes appearance in the G1 Immense Derby Challenge that his streak would end.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In this race, he was never a factor as the 29-1 longshot although he equaled his career best speed of 89.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Most of the wins were in minimal sized fields and his speeds have been improving on the dirt, however, they haven\u2019t reached the level of the competition in this field.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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Skitzoid gets my vote to win this event.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He beat a few of the entrants in this race in the Vermont is 4 Lovers event with a very strong effort, and drawing off by three strides.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Could make it three in a row.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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No Siree Bob put in a pair of 100 speeds and looks ready for better results in graded level, gets my second choice.\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P>

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Candy Shop has the fastest speed going in this field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It may be a fluke, but then again, it could be the real thing.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I\u2019m going that the number is for real, making him my third choice.<\/o:p><\/FONT><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lock-in Race for the Bluegrass Derby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10090\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}