This is a week that could make or break the Bluegrass Derby of many sim horses.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There are three graded dirt route races for three-year-old colts this week and each of the races could play a factor in who gets to run in the Derby.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, for the Grade 1 points, the place to be is Kentucky for the $500,000 Corkscrew Stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The Corkscrew will be contested on the Kentucky dirt at a mile and one eighth. \u00a0<\/SPAN><\/P> \u00a0 Super7\u2019s Virtuoso <\/B>is the highest-ranking colt running in the Corkscrew.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, there are other highly rated colts running and others that seem to be peaking at the right time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Funster\u2019s Depravity<\/B> answered some questions last time out by winning the Grade 3 Gary Asher in Kentucky and could be peaking at the right time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The second place finisher in that race, Vuja Day,<\/B> could also be peaking at just the right time.<\/P> \u00a0 While debate exists amongst trainers in the sim that there is or isn\u2019t such a thing as \u2018pace\u2019, the Corkscrew will put both theories to the challenge.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There is really only one horse in the race that enjoys to run on the lead.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That is triscay\u2019s Koorawatha<\/B>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Expect Koorawatha to take the lead with Bubba Jess <\/B>also being close to the front.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>From there theories will be proven or disproven.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Will Koorawatha be able to hold the lead for the whole nine furlongs, especially since he should get an easy lead?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Or will the late runners be able to gobble him up in the stretch?\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/P> \u00a0 The pace scenario does not bode well for the fast finishers of the Gary Asher.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In that race there were several speed horses, including Bubba Jess, who sprinted to the front and set up the late runners.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The Corkscrew doesn\u2019t really set up like the Gary Asher did.<\/P> \u00a0 Below is the field with the horses name, jockey, odds, owner\/trainer, and breeding \u2013 all in post position order.<\/P> \u00a0 Husker Du, C Kendall, 10\/1, mikehusker, Empire Maker x Deputy Minister x Native Charger<\/STRONG><\/P> \u00a0 Mikehusker\u2019s Husker Du enters the Corkscrew as a veteran of the graded stakes wars.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Five of his nine career races have been of the graded stakes variety.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Husker Du has a couple of third place finishes in those graded stakes, but no victories.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A career best speed rating of 90 was achieved last time out during a dull ninth place finish in the Grade 3 Swale Stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A large improvement will be required for Husker Du since on paper he looks like an outsider this week.<\/P> \u00a0 To A Pulp(IRE), L Cardinal, 16\/1, dundey5, Daliapour(IRE) x Pulpit x Mt. Livermore<\/STRONG><\/P> \u00a0 Owner\/trainer dundey5 is taking a shot with To A Pulp.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His credentials are not as sparkling as the others in this field, but this may be a good time to take a shot with this colt.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Though he finished in the money in seven of eight starts as a two year old, he did not find the winners circle until his three year old debut in a maiden race at Malaysia.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He narrowly missed next time out in the Graphic Crest Bonanza Stakes in week 2762 by finishing second by three-quarters of a length.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The win in his last race was against non-winners of two lifetime, but it also included an eye popping speed rating of 95.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Certainly a candidate for the bounce factor, consider he won easily last time out and is facing graded competition for the first time, he also could be peaking.<\/P> \u00a0 Vuja Day, D Sherman, 6\/1, haulinoats, Dayjur x Storm Cat x Diesis(GB)<\/STRONG><\/P> \u00a0 Before looking at the credentials of Vuja Day, it should be noted the impressive credentials of his game dam, Firing With Cat.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Of the four sim horses that share Firing With Cat as their game dam, Vuja Day is the most successful so far.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>My Red Jag(AUS) is a stakes winner, and two year old Storm\u2019s Fire won his debut in an owner restricted maiden race here at Kentucky.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Vuja Day\u2019s impressive family credentials doesn\u2019t mean much on a race to race basis, but it does lend a air of classiness to haulinoats\u2019 best three year old.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Vuja Day tends to linger in the back of the pack and relies on a huge kick at the end.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>With so many other horses with the same running style, this is the week he must prove he has the largest late kick of all.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 Depravity entered the Derby picture with this impressive win last time out in the Grade 3 Gary Asher Memorial Stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In that race he ran a career best 101 speed figure.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, that race set up very nicely for his late running style.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This race doesn\u2019t set up as nicely.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Being the 15th<\/SUP> ranked classic distance colt he is on the borderline of being in the Bluegrass Derby.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A good showing in this Grade 1 race could help Depravity punch a ticket for the Derby.\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 Koorawatha may be coming into the Corkscrew with a number 11 ranking, but he has that ranking based on his victory in the Grade 1 GSR Diamond as a two year old.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So far his three year old season has been disappointing.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Last time out he couldn\u2019t hold the lead against non-winners of three lifetime allowance horses and finished third.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That race was at today\u2019s distance of nine furlongs.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>With this being said, Koorawatha is the only one in the race that will willingly go for the lead.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>If he can get an easy lead he may have enough energy to hold off the expected calvary charge that will be coming in the stretch.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 Blue Orchid has an impressive record of nine starts and eight times in the money.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unfortunately for Blue Orchid, this only time out of the money was last time out in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Which way should his ninth place finish be viewed \u2013 glass half full or glass half empty?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The glass half full theory means that looks at the Florida Derby as a good learning experience for Blue Orchid.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Now he knows what to expect in a big race and he can use that experience in the Corkscrew.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Looking at the last race with the glass half empty means that he probably isn\u2019t good enough to run with the Grade 1 crowd.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Whichever way you want to look at it, and I am pretty sure that owner\/trainer bulletwork is a glass half full kind of guy this week, Blue Orchid is another horse in this race whose late kick will need to be better than everyone else\u2019s late kick.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 Talk about peaking at the right time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>As a three year old, Virtuoso is having a terrific year.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He is two for two this year with two stakes wins, including last time out in the Grade 2 Mexico 2769 Stakes (note to sim old timers\u2026remember when most of the stakes races were named for the track and week run\u2026)\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There really isn\u2019t anything not to like about Virtuoso this week.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Sure, he will be another racer coming from off the pace but so far this year he is perfect.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Until he missteps Virtuoso deserves the benefit of the doubt.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 As good as 2005 ended for Azroc Red N Yellow, 2006 has been just the opposite.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He finished eleventh in the Grade 1 Fainting Goat Nightmares Stakes and finished fifth (beaten by only 3.5 lengths) last time out in the Dakota Skull Memorial Stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Though he only lost by 3.5 lengths in the last race, it was a slow race and he posted a speed rating of 89.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Azroc will be closer to the pace than many of the others in this race so that is a plus but he must find that late 2005 form and he must improve upon that to be a factor in the Corkscrew.<\/P> \u00a0 Belmont Bomb, L Goodburn, 13\/1, graywolf20, Sarava x Stormin Fever x Septieme Ciel<\/STRONG><\/P> \u00a0 With 16 career races, Belmont Bomb has the most race experience of his rivals in the Corkscrew.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He is also a veteran of graded stakes, both as a two year old and as a three year old.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He just hasn\u2019t had much success in those graded race tries.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His best finish was third place in the Grade 3 Thousand Island Stakes at Nebraska in week 2755.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Big improvement will be needed for Belmont Bomb to explode for a win in the Corkscrew.<\/P> \u00a0 Elusive Infinity, S O\u2019Calslew, 12\/1, 2die4, Elusive Quality x Danehill x Seeking the Gold<\/STRONG><\/P> \u00a0 In his three year old season, Elusive Infinity has faced graded competition each time out.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Two races back she finished second by only a half length in the Grade 3 Myocardial Infarction Stakes (if you were wondering, yes I did look up in the dictionary what myocardial infarction means.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Basically it is not a good thing for your heart).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Elusive Infinity is trying against colts for the second time in her career.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She finished second in an allowance race as a two year old the first time against colts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She will need to run a big race to have similar success this week.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 Armstrong enters the Corkscrew after a disappointing eighth place finish last time out in the Grade 2 Fountain of Ute.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Armstrong has yet to post a speed rating greater than a 90.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He will need to vastly improve in order to be a factor in the Corkscrew.<\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 A lot has been said in this article regarding the pace for the race this week.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Paragon is a tweener when it comes to frontrunner or back of the packer.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He should settle in closer to the pace than most, and that may be an advantage for Paragon.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His third place finish in the Pam\u2019s View Challenge last time out at Kentucky was a good tuneup for this race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/P> \u00a0 \u00a0 So far in his three year old season, Wylde Cat has run respectfully.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He also has increased his speed figures with each of the three races so far this year, with a career best 97 in this last race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That type of upward trend is a big plus for zewango3 and Wylde Cat.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A question that Wylde Cat must still answer is whether he can get the nine furlongs in the Corkscrew.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Wylde Cat was is in second place in the stretch in the Gary Asher last time out but could not hold that position and ended up finishing fourth.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It would not be surprising to see Wylde Cat in the winners circle this week, but it also wouldn\u2019t be surprising if he once again tires in the stretch.<\/P> \u00a0 Bubba Jess, M Ketron, 10\/1, stephany00, Hubba Hubba x Little Vagabond(GB) x It\u2019s Fleetwood Mac<\/STRONG><\/P> \u00a0 If you are a bargain breeder you will definitely be cheering for Bubba Jess.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Using the same lineage, this horse could be bred for 25 breeding points.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It is rare to see a horse with such humble blood to be on the Bluegrass Derby trail.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Actually, in the Dam Sire line, the sire\u2019s sire has the dreaded \u201c???\u201d (has anyone out there ever heard of Amney Prince?).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Bubba Jess was leading in the stretch last time out in the Gary Asher but tired and finished third.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, that race was on an off track so Bubba Jess did have an excuse in that race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That excuse won\u2019t be available this time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ran a career best 98 speed rating and could bounce in this race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He is additionally handicapped by the number 14 post position.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Look for Bubba Jess to get out of the gate fast, get to the rail and then try to hold off the latecomers in the stretch.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This is not an impossible scenario, and definitely is one that stephany00 would like to see.<\/P> \u00a0 The Corkscrew Stakes will be run as the fifteenth race.<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ninth Ranked Virtuoso Head Field of Fourteen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"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-1967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967","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\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Depravity, T Belser, 6\/1, funster, Red Bullet x Deputy Minister x Mr. Prospector<\/FONT><\/H1>
Koorawatha, P Cadigan, 8\/1, triscay, Fusaichi Pegasus x Unbridled x Alydar<\/FONT><\/H1>
Blue Orchid, B Sipe, 12\/1, bulletwork, Kingmambo x Sadler\u2019s Wells x Danehill<\/FONT><\/H1>
Virtuoso, D Givins, 8\/1, super7, Cryptoclearance x El Prado(IRE) x Fit to Fight<\/FONT><\/H1>
Azroc Red N Yellow, I Hoge, 20\/1, cjt, Green Desert x Diesis(GB) x Habitat<\/FONT><\/H1>
Armstrong, C Turner, 18\/1, paddy, Afleet x Irish River(FR) x Secretariat<\/FONT><\/H1>
Paragon(IRE), S Garber, 12\/1, irshaman, Perfect Soul(IRE) x Danzig x\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Forty Niner<\/FONT><\/H1>
Wylde Cat, K Bortz, 7\/1, zewango3, Storm Cat x Wild Again x Mr. Prospector<\/FONT><\/H1>