{"id":35627,"date":"2016-04-07T11:41:59","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T15:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=35627"},"modified":"2016-04-07T11:48:26","modified_gmt":"2016-04-07T15:48:26","slug":"g1-wooden-indian-fourteen-colts-seek-first-ever-grade-1-win-derby-ticket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=35627","title":{"rendered":"G1 Wooden Indian: Fourteen Colts Seek First-Ever Grade 1 Win, Derby Ticket"},"content":{"rendered":"

The biggest Saturday of the year thus far is Saturday, April 9, when several tickets to the Bluegrass Derby (G1) are punched.\u00a0 One of those will be handed out to winner of the venerable G1 Wooden Indian<\/i>, a Derby Lock Prep run at 1 1\/8 miles.\u00a0 The main track is expected to be fast.\u00a0 As one would expect, the prestige of the Bluegrass Derby has lured a full field of fourteen.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fourteen entrants have raced a collective 103 times, winning 49 of those starts.\u00a0 Yet only four of these colts have won in graded-stakes company (Grade II winners Honest Reason, Phenomenon Ted, and Tapit Seeking Gold and Grade III winner Shade of Grey) and three (Bloodboiling, Wrath of Heaven, and Cane River Lake) have never won a stakes race of any kind.\u00a0 It\u2019s no surprise then that this hodgepodge has produced a field in which the eight most-favored entrants are listed at between 7-1 and 9-1 on the morning line (with two more at 11-1).<\/span><\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s look at the graded stakes winners:<\/span><\/p>\n

#2 Honest Reason 8\/1<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Tale of Ekati scratch-bred annexed the G2 Swale<\/i> at 6 \u00bd furlongs after just missing in the G3 Special Bid<\/i> at six panels.\u00a0 His 105 speed fig in the Swale<\/i> win is on par with the top figs of others in here.\u00a0 But he regressed in his last two races \u2013 both routes, even though he ran a good third in the G2 Fountain of Ute<\/i> \u2013 to figures of 102 and 103, in even efforts.\u00a0 He was a solid fourth last time out in a G1 Derby Lock Prep in the Bayou, but the \u201cmerry-go-round\u201d style of his last two races is hardly encouraging.\u00a0 Perhaps he was being held back from his usual front-running tactics as part of a schooling effort.\u00a0 A return to his front-running style may move him up again, but trying that may well be ill-advised given the presence of fireball Tapit Seeking Gold.\u00a0 Dicey.<\/span><\/p>\n

#4 Tuesday War 8\/1 <\/span><\/b>\u2013 Four-for-seven lifetime, this son of War Front took the G2 Ransom<\/i> in New York as a two year-old, but hasn\u2019t improved since.\u00a0 Is this deep closer bred for the distance?\u00a0 You bet he is.\u00a0 His distinguished dam won four Grade I races, including three at the classic distance, amongst them the G1 Birmingham <\/i>and Players Club National Oaks<\/i> in New York.\u00a0 This is her only graded stakes winner.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible he bounced off the paired tops in his last, a 96 SF fourth in listed company.\u00a0 Needs to recover here.<\/span><\/p>\n

#9 Shade of Grey 11\/1<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Quality Road colt has never missed the exacta in six tries (four wins).\u00a0 Grinder took the G3 Gary Asher Memorial<\/i> in workmanlike fashion (SF 102) last time out at 1 1\/16 miles.\u00a0 He should get a good trip just behind the speed and, as a lightly raced colt, has every right to continue to move forward.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

#11 Tapit Seeking Gold 7\/1 \u2013 <\/span><\/b>Lukewarm (gently chilled?) favorite is about as fast early as you\u2019ll ever see.\u00a0 He has led at each of the first three calls in his eight career races, winning five times.\u00a0 Scratch-bred son of Tapit won the G2 Hutchingson<\/i> last time out at 7 \u00bd furlongs (SF 103).\u00a0 While he\u2019s five-for-six in sprints he sports just a 2-0-1-1 in routes, including an allowance loss.\u00a0 You have to understand why the connections want to try to go onto the Derby (who wouldn\u2019t?), but my guess is that this one becomes a future Grade I performer at the six to seven furlong range.\u00a0 His fading speed is very unlikely to hold in this race, as he adds a panel to his career longest trip.\u00a0 Looks like a spoiler for all the other speed types.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rest of the field, from the rail out:<\/span><\/p>\n

#1 Bloodboiling 8\/1 \u2013 <\/span><\/b>This son of Violence is the first foal of a Tiznow mare who won nearly $600,000, including a runner-up finish in a Grade II race at two miles <\/i><\/b>so there should be no question about the horse\u2019s stamina.\u00a0 He was a fast-closing second behind Shade of Grey in the G3 Gary Asher Memorial<\/i> last out, making up nearly three lengths on that one in the stretch while missing by a neck.\u00a0 Deep closer will be picking them off late and should relish the extra sixteenth today.\u00a0 And, as a lightly-raced colt, he has every right to move up, especially off the paired 102 SFs.<\/span><\/p>\n

#3 Phenomenon Ted 11\/1 <\/span><\/b>\u2013 Son of Giant\u2019s Causeway comes in off an out-of-nowhere SF 105 after never having topped 95 in his first nine races.\u00a0 Can we trust the giraffe fig?\u00a0 But he\u2019s a stakes winner at 1 1\/16 miles and could be any kind, especially with his pedigree, with Street Cry and Teofilo in the female side.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

#5 Kluj Napoca 7\/1 <\/span><\/b>\u2013 Son of Galileo has just two dirt races in his career, a listed stakes win and a close third in the G2 Moises Alou Cap<\/i>, both at 1 1\/16 miles.\u00a0 His last race was a huge effort (SF 106), and this one\u2019s family is phenomenal.\u00a0 Dam Indyauror (A.P. Indy) has thrown two other graded stakes-winning colts (G3 winner by Kitten\u2019s Joy and a G2 winner by Unbridled\u2019s Song).\u00a0 Presser\/stalker might get the garden spot behind dueling speeds.<\/span><\/p>\n

#6 Nextgen Jet 9\/1 <\/span><\/b>\u2013 Experienced colt has raced 10 times thus far, tied for the most in here.\u00a0 Comes in off paired 102 SFs, a listed stakes win at 1 3\/16 miles and a 6th-place finish in the Land\u2019s End<\/i>.\u00a0 Two graded stakes efforts have resulted in off-the-board finishes.\u00a0 He looks a bit over his skis here, though he\u2019s a half to a G3 winner and could move up.\u00a0 Midpack closer\u2019s best chance is to make one run.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

#7 Mount Midoriyama 9\/1<\/span><\/b> \u2013 After a huge win two back (SF 105 at 1 1\/16 miles in listed company), the last race was too bad to be true (9th in the Moises Alou Cap<\/i>).\u00a0 3-for-7 lifetime scratch-bred will be making a move from midpack.<\/span><\/p>\n

#8 Jet for Alex 20\/1 <\/span><\/b>\u2013 5-3-2-0 son of Afleet Alex stepped up bigtime in his last, beating 13 rivals in a listed race at 1 1\/16 miles (SF 101).\u00a0 That win was achieved in pace-pressing fashion, and it\u2019ll be interesting to see if he can settle in behind some of the speed here, or if he\u2019s hard sent to go with speedy Tapit Seeking Gold.\u00a0 He needs to continue to improve in order to be competitive here but he\u2019s hardly put a foot wrong thus far.<\/span><\/p>\n

#10 Wrath of Heaven 15\/1 <\/span><\/b>\u2013 Son of More Than Ready was up to the challenge in his first graded stakes effort, running an SF 101 last out in a G2 BBRS event in finishing 3rd.\u00a0 He\u2019s in deep here, though, and he needs to get his motor running a little more quickly in order to be at the front of the pack at the wire.\u00a0 He has run three straight races at nine furlongs (1-1-1) and there\u2019s no doubt about his ability to go the distance.\u00a0 Consider underneath.<\/span><\/p>\n

#12 Cane River Lake 18\/1<\/span><\/b> – Louisiana-bred son of E Dubai was a monster as a juvenile, annexing three straight state-bred races and then finishing 3rd on his home track in December\u2019s G3 Sam\u2019s Town Delta Jackpot<\/i> at 1 1\/16 miles (SF 100).\u00a0 His three year-old debut was poor, however, having run 8th of 14 in the G3 Legoland<\/i> on his home track.\u00a0 He used a state-bred race as a paid workout for this.\u00a0 I\u2019d be inclined to take a longer look at this colt if not for the presence of Tapit Seeking Gold, but this one needs the lead and I can\u2019t see him outrunning that one to the first turn.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

#13 Geisha Alley<\/span><\/b> 15\/1<\/b> \u2013 Colt seeks to become Flower Alley\u2019s sixth graded stakes winner\u2026 dam My Geisha has thrown nothing but claimers otherwise so this stakes winner at 1 3\/16 miles is by far her most distinguished performer.\u00a0 Ran a top speed figure of 100 in a N3L allowance at this distance two back and is improving with distance, but he may just be too slow in here.<\/span><\/p>\n

#14 Mathematics 9\/1<\/span><\/b> \u2013 This son of Street Sense is a real wildcard, having ripped off four straight wins including a SF 105 stakes win at the distance.\u00a0 Scratch-bred is likely to be marooned out wide from post 14 but has improved as he\u2019s stretched out and looks like\u00a0 a potential tiger in the making.<\/span><\/p>\n

Selections:<\/span><\/p>\n

Making sense of this field is nearly impossible, as most of these races tend to be.\u00a0 Here’s the shot I’m taking:
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#1 Bloodboiling<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

#5 Kluj Napoca<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

#9 Shade of Grey<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

#14 Mathematics<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Good luck!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The biggest Saturday of the year thus far is Saturday, April 9, when several tickets to the Bluegrass Derby (G1)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":310,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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-35627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35627","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\/310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35627"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35628,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35627\/revisions\/35628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}