{"id":2395,"date":"2006-05-05T22:26:00","date_gmt":"2006-05-05T22:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=2395"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=2395","title":{"rendered":"Derby Post # 11: San Pellegrino"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SuperFour years ago, my beat reporting job for the then-SRF sent me to Kentucky<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I was assigned to cover a horse I had never heard of before.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her name was Post Position 4 for the Bluegrass Oaks.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Well, that was the assignment.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>When the posts were drawn, I found out that I had to cover a horse named Rosella<\/B>, owned by bryan24<\/I>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>At the time, I thought it was awesome, because my name was also Bryan<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After talking to her trainer and getting some background information, I had enough for my article.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It was published, and she ran on May 4, 2002.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After writing the article, I felt that she might actually have a chance, even though she was 15\/1.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>9 furlongs and 1:49.6 after the gates open, I realized that I was right.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Rosella was able to wire the field en route to her first Grade 1 victory.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I have always felt that I brought a little bit of luck to the little filly.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>For years, I have been turning down assignments in Kentucky<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> for fear of the superstition that I did not want to destroy.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But this year, I felt that maybe it was time to try and give another horse a little more luck.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That horse is super12\u2019s<\/I> San Pellegrino<\/B>.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

San Pellegrino was born to the super12 stable early in 2005.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His stablemates\u2019 successes put high expectations in his owners\u2019 minds, but he didn\u2019t seem to mind.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His father, War Chant, certainly lived up to his expectations, as did Dam-Sire Pleasant Colony and Dam\u2019s Dam-sire Caerleon.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>According to Whirlwind, co-owner of San Pellegrino, he was bred to be a distance turf horse.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He took to the track for the first time on March 12, 2005.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Based at DelPenn, he was shipped to Tennessee<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unfortunately for him, it rained the night before and the Tennessee<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> turf does not have great drainage.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That did not prevent \u201cPelle\u201d from running a 65.3 speed figure, good enough for 2nd<\/SUP>, beaten by future Stakes placed horse Over The Moon<\/B>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The supers saw potential, and they brought him back 2 months later in a 6f turf MSW at Kentucky<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The run was not as good.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The grass was firm, but he was beaten by 6-3\/4 by Easy Shard<\/B> (who has since been retired).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After losing ground throughout the race, the supers started to rethink their plan.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Although the speed figure was higher (67.4), they could see that he probably wasn\u2019t suited for this type of race.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

The switch to dirt would come 6 weeks later.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It was a controversial one.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was bred for the turf, and switching to the dirt could stunt his turf growth.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, the supers realized that something had to be done.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A workout on the dirt showed that he might like the dirt better, and they entered him in a $31800 MSW in Vermont<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Being bred for distance races, the owners opted to run him in an 8f race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He promptly gave his owners exactly what they were looking for, pouncing from 4-1\/4 back to win by 1-1\/2, with an 85.8 SP at the beginning of July.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Seeing this \u201cinsane\u201d run, they chose to ship him back to home base Delaware and run him in the ARSE Goes Down<\/U> Stakes on August 20.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Again, rain decided it would try and mess with the outcome of the race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This time, however, San Pellegrino was prepared, and unfazed.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Off as the 7\/1 third choice, he let off a huge move around the far turn, with a sweeping move from 8 lengths back to take the lead in the middle of the stretch.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He pulled away, winning by 1-1\/2 with an 89.5 SP.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Whirlwind acknowledged that San Pellegrino got much better after the switch to the main track.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was eating more and maturing faster.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This is when the owners decided to send \u201cPelle\u201d to the Darling-Squash Futurity<\/U>.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Sadly, the stakes win for San Pellegrino would be his last.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was able to be a fast closing 5th<\/SUP>, but the pace was too slow for him.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The best he could do was finish 4-1\/2 lengths behind the winner.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This run made the owners think he would appreciate longer races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>They shipped him up to Minnesota<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> to contest an 8.5f dirt stakes the week before the Breeders\u2019 Bowl.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Going into the 9th<\/SUP> post, he put up a little bit of a fuss.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>When the gates opened, he broke a step slow, even for him.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He quickly fell to 9 lengths back.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A furious attempt by leading jockey Ken Friar roused him up to 5 lengths back at the start of the far turn.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A huge move brought him to within 3 lengths of Clan of the Cat<\/B>, but he could not catch him and finished 2nd<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Clan of the Cat breaks from PP 2 in the Derby<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

The 86.7 SP was encouraging, and Super decided to keep him at the 8.5f distance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>They decided that it would be best to test him again, this time in the Movieland Futurity<\/U>, a Grade 1 event in California<\/st1:State><\/st1:place>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He broke much better this time, and was in good striking distance up until the end.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A mere 5 lengths back, he was in 9th<\/SUP> at the 3rd<\/SUP> call.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He made a huge move to pass all but Magical Merlin<\/B> in the stretch, finishing 2nd<\/SUP> again at 15\/1.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This race marked his fastest so far, with an SP of 91.3.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Super decided to keep \u201cPelle\u201d out in CA for his 3rd<\/SUP> birthday, and ran him on the 14th<\/SUP> for his first 2yo race of the year out at Northern California<\/st1:place>\u2019s Silver Fence Derby<\/U>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Another 8.5f Graded Stakes attempt, and it was just more of the same.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Although he could not catch Half A World Away<\/B>, he did gain ground at the end, finishing 2nd<\/SUP> yet again.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Super then got the call from DelPenn, saying that San Pellegrino was going to be their representative to the Clinton Potts<\/U>, a 9.5f dirt race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>For the first time since those first couple of dirt races, it looked like \u201cPelle\u201d would have a shot in this one.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Dropping way back out of the gate, he made a monster move at the end, picking up about 7 lengths in the stretch, missing by a mere \u00be length.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>To top off his best run, he earned a 95.9 SP.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Just when it looked like he was on top of his game, something happened.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

The trip from Vermont<\/st1:State> to Upper New York<\/st1:place> was a rocky one.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The roads were unpaved, and the driver got lost.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There was bumping, and San Pellegrino took a slight hit.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He came out of it a little off, although the trainer decided that he was good to go.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was a 6\/5 favorite in an Upper New York Stakes, but he did not close at all, and finished a dull 3rd<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>To make matters worse, the owners then shipped him over to France<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, for the Green Monkey Derby<\/U>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>San Pellegrino dropped farther back than he ever had, more than 12 lengths, and made a slight move to pick up 5.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>However, he finished 7th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The 93 SP was his second best ever, but he clearly could have been better.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Super immediately shipped San Pellegrino home to Delaware<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>, where he was given two weeks off.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was then sent to Kentucky<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>, as has been back at work since.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A bullet 5f workout in :58.3 last week shows that \u201cPelle\u201d may be back to the form that he left off with after the Equinics.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Whirlwind has said that San Pellegrino \u201cseems to have tailed off a bit since the Equinics or he resented the turn back in distance for his last outing.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He does appear to have a bit of seconditis syndrome but since young horses mature are change in leaps and bounds, we hope he is ready to put it all together this weekend.\u201d\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Furthermore, Whirlwind explained what he expects to see out of San Pellegrino this weekend.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u201cI would expect him to sit mid pack and begin to move after the first mile.\u201d<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

San Pellegrino has looked sharp in the week leading up to the Derby<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The question is simply whether he is good enough to contend with this class.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Whirlwind said \u201cwe have been very lucky getting 5 horses in the gate on Saturday and hopefully the timing will be right for one of them.\u201d\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Personally, I\u2019m hoping it will be time for San Pellegrino.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He can make a hefty penny at 26\/1 odds.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But more importantly, if he wins, I can continue to say that I am the luckiest beat reporter out there.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Good luck to Super12, San Pellegrino, and everyone on Bluegrass Derby day.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>May your bets be plentiful, and your horses run fast.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But not too fast, if you\u2019re in the claimers ranks.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I could use a win.<\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/P>

Bryan<\/I><\/st1:place><\/st1:City> (shagfarms) can be reached at TripleCrown@suscom.net<\/A><\/o:p><\/I><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Mineral Water to the Bluegrass Derby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"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":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-horses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395","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\/384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}