Fast Horses + Fast Track = Fast Times in Kentucky!!! It\u2019s Bluegrass Derby time and some of the\nFastest 3 year old horses in the game will be racing on a Fast track in the\nhope of producing the Fastest time to win one of the games premier races! As always, a full field of 20 horses have\nentered this prestigious race. Quite a\nfew of the top trainers in the game will also be in attendance at the track\nwith a number of them with runners in this race. Tenpoint has loaded the field with three\nrunners and Given will be combating with two of his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have two Eclipse winners running in this race with Spinround\nentering the only filly in the field Dawngoesdowntoday, and Fleetwood entering\nFleetwood Flatline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two horses lead the group with 6 wins each, Dragon\u2019s\nDeputy (one of Given\u2019s pair) and House of Rock entered by Kingab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also in the Derby is The Free World, who is out of Hall\nof Fame game mare First Degree Bern. The\nFree World will be her fourth child to compete in the Bluegrass Derby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten of the entrants have already pocked over a million in\npurse funds and 14 have picked up a victory in a G1 race. We have some excellent talent in this one so\nlets take a look at this field. And then\nI will place some fantasy bets with a $300 bankroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 \nDAWNGOESDOWNTODAY 16\/1 (owned by Spinround, Empire State Racing\nresidency) <\/strong>won an Eclipse award last year and is the only filly entered\nthis year into the Bluegrass Derby. She\nis daughter to game-mare Scatterlings, who was a listed stake winner and she\u2019s\nhad nice success in the breeding barn. \nSeven of her ten children have won a stake race and this includes two\nwith G1 wins which includes this filly and her half-sister Who Watches (who won\nthe Breeders\u2019 Bowl Filly Juvy Turf). \nQuality Road is the father to this filly who has won four time in seven\nstarts and a nice pocketbook full of more than $1.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two-year old winning Eclipse winner, her season\nconsisted of breaking her maiden first time on the race track. She elevated her game to graded company in\nher second start, the G2 Vermont BB Juvenile Filly where she would steadily\nmove up to finish third, two lengths behind the winner. Dawngoesdowntoday remained in Vermont for her\nthird start, the G3 Canada Day. This\nrace would be on an off-track surface but that did not hinder her as she came\nfrom almost 5 off the lead at the halfway point of the 6.5f race to finish\nsecond by only a quarter length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite these decent outcomes in the grade level, she was\npulled back to run in a mile for the first time in an allowance race. Dawngoesdowntoday had no problem overpowering\nthe field as she came from off the pace to walk to the line with a solid two\nand a half length win. Things looked\ngood in the route distance for her and she returned to graded company and\ncompeted in the Frickazee Stakes (G1). \nHere, she took her normal position near mid-field and fought her way to\nthe front in the stretch run and won by just shy of two lengths, another fine\nperformance and convincing win. She\nhad one more race to compete in to wrap up her 2020 season and that was the\nBreeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile Filly. Going\nslightly more in distance this time (8.5f), she found herself over seven\nlengths off the lead at the half, the most to date that she trailed the leader\nat this point of the race. She bore down\nhard for the stretch run and hit the line with another filly at the same time,\nbut the photo would favor Dawngoesdowntoday and she became an Eclipse winner,\nmatching her half-sister Who Watches and she won on the grass. This race became the first time she etched\nout a triple digit speed and it came at 101.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dawngoesdowntoday raced only one time this year and that\nwas against the boys in the G2 Sleepy Fan. \nShe fell further behind at the half, and was in the 11th<\/sup> spot\nat the half and 9 back from the lead in the 8.5 furlong race, the worse spot\nshe has had in her career at the mid-point. \nBut she wasn\u2019t deterred by this as she ran her race and finished second,\none stride off the winner with a 107 speed and she beat out American Chorus (5th<\/sup>)\nwho is also in the Bluegrass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some may want to write her off as being a girl competing\nwith the guys but this gal sure looks like she fits in and Dawngoesdowntoday\nproved in her last race she can beat the guys. \nGotta give the girl the respect she deserves as she could open a lot of\neyes on Derby Day! <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 BOHO THE OX \n17\/1 (owned by Beerkeg, Drunken Jockeys Club residency)<\/strong> is the first\nchild out of game-mare Speightthirsty, who won 8 times during her racing\ndays. He is sired by War Front and has\nwon half of his 8 lifetime starts with just over $600,000 in purse money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two-year-old, it took Boho the Ox three starts to\nbreak his maiden and that occurred the first time he competed in a race going a\nmile in distance, which came in August. \nThis first win would be the start of something nice. A four-race win streak. The next win came in October and his general\nrace style is to sit off the leader by a close amount and take up the fight in\nthe second half of the race. He did this\nin the allowance race, also at a mile and moved onto a listed stake race where\nhe earned his third trip to the winner\u2019s circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, he had won races by just over a length to roughly\n2 \u00be lengths and he was ready for his first G1 race, in the Movieland Futurity,\nwith a sloppy surface. The moisture did\nnot effect his outcome as he settled back into the sixth spot early on and that\nset Boho up nicely for a good fluid late run where he caught the front runner\nGiant Supercell (who is entered in the derby) and drew away to win by two\nlengths nailing a career best speed of 103. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2021 racing season then came and it would lead to the end\nof his 4-race win streak which came in the 9f G3 The Scam. Boho the Ox would run second for almost half\nthe race and faded off in the second half to finish fourth and more than 6\nstrides behind winning The Free World. \nIn this race, Boho was able to finish ahead of pace setting Dark Voodoo\n(also in the Derby), who finished fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boho the Ox last ran in the California Derby (Derby Lock\nrace) and was a bit off his game running flatly, staying around the fifth spot\nmost of the race. He finished behind tow\nother derby entrants in this race, American Chorus (winner) and Commonwealth\nReady (second). Boho had a nice win\nstreak going but when the calendar flipped from 2020 to 2021, his race finishes\nhave flipped too. Things will need to\nflip in a different direction to get this Ox to the line first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 AMERICAN\nCHORUS 11\/1 (owned by Tenpoint,\nAll-Stars Racing residency)<\/strong> is sired by American Pharoah and is the son to\nCastsagainshadow. He is the third of\nfour children out of this game mare and the second to win at the graded stake\nlevel. Although the mare only won twice\nin 19 starts, she has shown a much better ability in the breeding barn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American has 9 starts under his belt with a 4-1-2 racing\nrecord and over $1.6 million in earnings. \nHe is a very slow starting horse and I\u2019m estimating he will be in one of\nthe rear five spots in the early stages of this race. His late running ability has been impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two year old, he ran seven times and broke his\nmaiden first time out. He raced in 5\ngrade level races before wrapping 2020 up in a listed stake. His first appearance in the grade group was\nin the Happy Easter (G3) where he finished third and he would repeat that third\nplace finish in the Memorial Day. He\nwould improve a notch in the G2 Horsehead Juvenile, finishing 2nd<\/sup>\nand moving up from the 9th<\/sup> spot at the \u00be-pole. In September, he ran a route for the first\ntime at 8.5 f in the G1 North Folk and notched his first G1 win as well as his\nfirst 100 speed. This win secured an\nentry spot into the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile where American Chorus would finish\nfourth behind Misyoubrotherrick (2nd<\/sup>) Commonwealth Ready (3rd<\/sup>),\nbut ahead of Settle for Pride (8th<\/sup>), Democratic Process (9th<\/sup>)\nand Dark Voodoo (13th<\/sup>), all entered into the Derby race. American finished fourth in this race, over\ntwo lengths behind the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2020 season concluded in a residency listed stake, a\nrace that American won by a length at a mile with another 100 speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new 2021 season fired off with an appearance in the\nG2 Sleepy Fan where American, for the first time, found himself over ten\nlengths off the lead at the midpoint. He\nsliced this deficit down to four strides and finished fifth, finishing behind Dawngoesdowntoday\n(who was second). Despite the 103 speed,\nthe fifth place finish was concerning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American Chorus got the ship upright in his last start,\nthe California Derby, which secured his spot in the Bluegrass Derby with a very\nnice victory and 107 speed. This time he\nshowed he was capable of overcoming a 10 stride disadvantage as he rallied to\nthe finish line to win by a stride and beat out Commonwealth Ready who finish\nsecond in his shadows and Boho the Ox who was a further back 5th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American Chorus enters off a very nice win in a derby\nlock race and definitely showed he is ready for this big race and he is one of\nthe three runners in this race from trainer Tenpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 FLORIDA\nAFFAIRS 28\/1 (owned by Corza, East-West\nConnection residency) <\/strong>is a child out of G1 winner Corzaffair, who won just\nshy of $2 million in her day and has 13 children with three winning stake\nraces. Of the three, Florida Affairs is\nthe only grade winner. Florida is sired\nby California Chrome and has won twice in eight tries. He has the lowest bankroll in the field with\n$370,000 but still a nice amount for a three-year-old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His two year season started with a quick win, but that\ncame on the turf in a Hot race. He\nfound some speed improvement going to the dirt and an allowance race in his\nnext start where he finished second and missed the top spot by a quarter stride\nand notching a 70 speed, much better than the previous turf race that was\n62. He took a shot in the G3 group next,\nrunning in the Memorial Day but did not have much to offer, finishing 8th<\/sup>,\nmore than 5 off the winner and behind derby entrant American Chorus who was\nthird. Florida returned to the allowance\ngroup and went a mile for the first time on an off-track and finished second,\nnearly two back behind the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After this promising second, he returned to the grade\nlevel in the G3 Skeye Jameson Memorial where he ran in his typical mid-field\nposition and was able to pass tiring horses finishing second, but well behind\nthe winner who beat him by 2-1\/4 lengths. \nFlorida Affairs continued with his hopes in grade level races and moved\nup to the 9f The Ransom (G2) where he was taken up to the front and ran second,\na change of racing styles, but he could not hold onto his position and finished\na well back 8 lengths behind Slash Dot Murder (who is entered into the Derby)\nand ended up seventh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida Affairs wrapped up the 2020 season with a year\nend G3 Merry Christmas race. He was in\nhis usual mid-field spot and was able to advance from being 5 back at the half\nto within 1 \u00be lengths of the winner and ended the race in fourth. Finishing second in this race was Derby\nentrant The Free World. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida Affairs made only one start in 2021 and that was\nin the Vermont is 4 Lovers (G1) in which he continued his mid-field racing\nstyle and finally earned his first grade level win and did it with a career\nbest speed of 104. In this race, he was\nable to beat Slash Dot Murder (5th<\/sup>) as well as a few other Derby\nhopefuls that include Neva Kee (2nd<\/sup>), Nothing To Justify (3rd<\/sup>)\nand Giant Supercell (11th<\/sup>). \nFlorida has been a double-digit longshot in each of his grade level\nstarts and taking this win could turn out to be a nice confidence booster and\nset him up nicely for the Derby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 SETTLE FOR\nPRIDE 16\/1 (owned by Supertaffy, MIDAS residency) <\/strong>is one of a dozen\nchildren out of 5-time winning Goodrich Castle. \nFour of her children have won a stake race which includes three that\nhave done this within the graded racing level. \nSettle for Pride has just as many wins as his mother but has done much\nbetter in the earnings department with over $600,000 bankrolled. He is sired by Arogate and owner Supertaffy\noffered up these comments on his colt \u201cOne\nof the babies out of the Goodrich Castle mare. Her oldest baby Settle for Satin\nwon the Sandcastle Classic but she hasn\u2019t produced a classic winner since.\nPride gave a me a little scare when his first start off the layoff was a bust\nbut the next start he bounces back and the 108 speed made me want to give a\nshot at the derby.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one feisty colt who demands to run on the lead\nand has done that in nearly all his starts when leaving the chute. In 2020, he broke his maiden first time out,\nholding on by a quarter stride. After\nthat win, he ran in a pair of allowance races and repeated with another pair of\ngate-to-wire finishes, winning the first by just under two lengths and the\nsecond one by a length and a half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two wins set him up for a big jump in class as Settle\nfor Pride moved into the G1 End of the Line Futurity. He fired out fast and had a four-length lead\nat the half that grew an incredible 9 strides at the third call. The late runners started moving in on him,\nbut he held them off to be the victor by a length and a half, with\nMisyoubrotherrick who was second under the line and Nothing to Justify closing\nto take 6th<\/sup>, both entrants in the Bluegrass. From here, it was onto the Breeders\u2019 Bowl\nJuvenile where he once again took his spot on the lead but the competition came\non and he was quickly overtaken just past the half and finished 8th<\/sup>,\nthis time behind Misyoubrotherrick (2nd<\/sup>) and also outdone by other\nfoes that are in the Derby that include Commonwealth Ready (3rd<\/sup>),\nAmerican Chorus (4th<\/sup>) but ahead of Democratic Process (9th<\/sup>)\nFleetwood Flatline (11th<\/sup>) and Dark Voodoo (13th<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2021 season kicked off with a listed stake event,\nprobably to re-establish form after a winter recess, where Settle for Pride\ntook the lead but faded in the late part of the race to finish fifth. He took on another listed stake event, this\ntime holding off the lead for the first time, running third early and sliding\nhis way into second and hitting the line with the front runner resulting in a\nfavorable photo-finish win and a career best 108.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quite a few front runners in this field and it may proof\nto be a tough task to be the early leader. \nBut if Settle for Pride relaxes a bit, he could run a similar race as\nhis last start which may result in a repeat win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6 SUBTLY STATED\n18\/1 (owned by Steve555, Universal Racing Club residency) <\/strong>is sired by\nExaggerator and is one of three G1 winners from this sire. He is the son to Subtle Scat who won three\ntimes on the track and her very first child. \nSubtly Stated has competed in eight races and picked up five wins which\nhas netted him just shy of $1.1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two year old, Subtly Stated earned two quick wins,\nbreaking his maiden first time out and then followed that up with another\nvictory in a conditional NW2L allowance race. \nHe generally likes to run in the back quarter of the field and delights\nshowing off his late run ability. After\ngetting those first pair of wins, he jumped another tier into the listed stakes\nand things cooled off a bit. His first\nstake race he would pull in fourth, his first time not going to the winner\u2019s\ncircle. He would compete at a mile in\nhis next outing and finishing 7th<\/sup> out of 10 would bring into\nquestion his ability to handle a rout. \nHe wrapped up 2020 going in a 7.5 furlong listed stake and showed\nimprovement by taking the third spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The calendar turned from December to January and the 2021\nseason began with Subtly running another listed stake at 7.5 furlongs and this\ntime he would capture the elusive stake win he sought, winning the race\nstrongly by two strides. In March, he\nwas brought back to the route distance, this time going 8.5f in the G3\nBuccaneer Derby. He would come from off\nthe pace to drive to the front of the field and take the top honors by 1 \u00be\nstrides and also record a 101 speed in the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was now time to see how real that route race was,\nafter the disastrous one he had as a 2yo. \nAnd it would be a tough test as Subtly Stated was entered in the derby\nlock race Wooden Indian (9f). After\nbreaking out of the gate and running 12th<\/sup> for a good chunk of the\nrace, he made his move after making to the mid-field marker and advanced on the\nleaders. He really got his run in\nhyperdrive as he flew through the stretch, took the lead and won by 3\/4- of a\nlength (and career best speed of 104), beating out front runner Giant\nSupercell, who finished second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subtly Stated has convinced me he can handle a route and\nwith that late speed, adding on another furlong to go 10 in this race should be\nno problem. But there are lots of speedy\njack rabbits in this field to catch and based on the three race win streak he\nbrings into this race, it is within his ability to run them down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7 DARK VOODOO \n12\/1 (ownd by Francua4, Empire State Racing residency) <\/strong>is a\nscratchbred horse and is the only G1 winner to be sired by Good Magic. Residing in the DS spot is Pioneerof the\nNile and a very nice Ghostzapper takes the DDS position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Voodoo has earned in excess of $1.1 million with this\nbreedingline and has visited the winners circle four times in his 7 career\nstarts. As a two year old, he caught\nfire early on. Breaking his maiden first\ntime out with a gate-to-wire effort, he repeated that two more times with an\nallowance victory followed by a G3 win at 8.5f in the Charcoal Breeder\u2019s Cup. The perfect three for three winning start got\nVoodoo into the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile, but his luck ran out in this race as\nhe finished 13th<\/sup> in the field and other Bluegrass runners finished\nahead of him, included Misyoubrotherrick, Commonwealth Ready and American\nChorus who occupied the top four spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things improved a little bit in 2021 when running in the\nG3 Scam at 9 furlongs as this early front runner got a 101 speed for the first\ntime but finished fifth in the field, some six lengths behind The Free World (1st<\/sup>)\nand just behind Boho the Ox (4th<\/sup>). \nVoodoo showed he was not a write-off after his last two disappointing\noutings as he rebounded with a 103 speed and was overtaken in the stretch by\nDragon\u2019s Deputy as he finished second this time and two behind the winner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Voodoo sought his position in the Bluegrass and secured\nit in the Arkansas Derby lock race as two other horses battled with him for the\nlead in the first half to the race but Voodoo would outpower them and take\ncontrol for the second half and took the win pulling away from the field by 2\n3-4 lengths and a solid 106 sped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dark Voodoo had that pair of races that could have taken\na toll on him and rattled him, but he seems to have put those behind him and\nwinning the recent Arkansas should add a good boost this entrants confidence\nlevel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 THE FREE\nWORLD 10\/1 (owned by Plesnttap, Northwest Racing Circuit residency) <\/strong>has\npocketed over $1.1 million in seven starts with four wins and a pair of\nseconds. His mother is 10-time winning\nFirst Degree Bern, a mare who won both the Bluegrass Oaks and the Breeders\u2019\nBowl Distaff. Two of her children have\nwon over $5 million and are both Eclipse winners, Low Fidelity (who finished\nsecond in both the Bluegrass Derby and New Yorker) and General Crook (Bluegrass\nDerby and Middle Jewel winner). The\nmother has bred her share of horses who have done exceptionally well in the\nBluegrass Derby runners, and has yet another, All Cat No Hattle, who was fifth\nin his appearance in the Derby. The\nfather to this entrant is Empire Maker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Free World competed five times as a two year old, two\nof the races were in maiden allowance races, and two in allowance slots where\nhe won twice and had a second. He\nfinished the 2020 season racing in the year end G3 Merry Christmas where he\nlanded his first triple-digit speed of 101 and finished second by a quarter\nstride, but he held off Florida Affairs who was fourth and is also in the Derby\nrace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Free World tends to like racing in the front third of\nthe field and has done very well with this positioning. In his first race of 2021, he appeared in the\nG3 Scam and had a beautiful run. He laid\noff the early pace and cut loose in the second half of the 9-furlong race and\nbought himself a win, pulling away from the field by three lengths and a career\nbest speed of 109. In this race, he was\nable to beat a pair of horses that will take another shot at him in the Derby,\nwhich included Boho The Ox (4th<\/sup>) and Dark Voodoo (5th<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Florida Derby (derby lock race) would secure The Free\nWorld\u2019s free pass into the Bluegrass as he equaled his best speed of 109 and\nput in a similar effort as in the Scam winning by nearly 2 lengths. In this race, he put a target on his back\nfor Neva Kee (3rd<\/sup>), Hurricane Legend (7th<\/sup>) and\nMisyoubrotherriick (11th<\/sup>) who will be seeking revenge in the Derby. It could prove to be a difficult task to\ntake down the Florida Derby winner as he has been red-hot and putting out his\nfire will not be easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9 DRAGON\u2019S\nDEPUTY 15\/1 (owned by Given, GR Simsters residency) <\/strong>comes from Hall of\nFamer Dream Dragon who got into the Hall \nbased on her breeding ability. \nShe has bred 15 children, three have wins at the G1 level, one at the G3\nlevel and six mor in listed stakes. \nImpressive to have 10 stake winners out of one game mare and she was\nmated with Deputy Minister to breed Dragon\u2019s Deputy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dragon\u2019s Deputy had a near perfect two-year campaign,\nwinning five of six starts. After\nbreaking his maiden in his debut, he quickly followed that with a listed stake\nwin. After that, he set aim on the G1\nEquinics Albert Einstein but fell short, finishing third and beat by Fleetwood\nFlatline. The experience was good for\nhim as he came back to win three stake races consecutively starting with the G2\nFuture Stakes, drawing off to win by over a stride. Next winning notch came in the G3 Nashua\nSpecial, his first run in a mile distance, and he just got to the line and won\na three-way photo and just outlasted Nothing to Justify who was also in that\nphoto. The third win came in the G1 Let\nit Begin where Dragon sported a 100 speed for the first time and took the\nvictory by a length and a half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dragon would test the turf waters to kick off 2021 in\nthe G2 Fainting Goat Nightmares and put in a decent effort, finishing third but\npretty much stayed two back off the leader for much of the race. He returned back to the dirt in the G1 Funky\nBuddha this past March and hit a 106 speed and a solid 2 length win and over\ntaking pace setting Dark Voodoo in the stretch, who finished second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dragon\u2019s Deputy usually takes an early spot in the middle\nof the field in the early stages of the race and has a nice steady pace in the\nlater part to reel in the field, a method that has paid off with over $1.1\nmillion in earnings. He is well bred,\nwon at 9 furlongs in his last start, and adding another furlong will not be a\nproblem for him. Very capable of\nrepeating and is one of a pair of entrants for Given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10 COMMONWEALTH\nREADY 16\/1 (owned by Ianwhipkey, no residency association) <\/strong>has won over $1\nmillion in purses and is the only horse with over a million in winnings in the\nfield that has not won a grade level race. \nDespite winning two races out of nine starts, he has been pesky in\nhitting the board with consistency and doing it seven times. Owner\nIanwhipkey offered these comments about Commonwealth \u201cWhile yet to win a graded\nrace, has been ultra competitive against top tier competition for the last\nyear. I expect that his tactical speed will give him every opportunity to win\nthis race down the lane. I am hopeful that his strong foundation and “strength\nof schedule” will finally pay off. To quote Dumb and Dumber: “So,\nyou’re telling me there’s a chance!”\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is the son to 13-time winning game-mare Bluegrass Diva\nand is the first of two children out of this lady. He has been sired by More Than Ready. As a two year old, he was able to capture his\ntwo career wins immediately, breaking his maiden in his first start and then\nfollowing that up with a listed stake win. \nSince that win, he has been racing in the grade level which started with\nthe G2 High Roller\u2019s Juvenile where this front runner battled early to hold the\ntop spot but eventually was overtaken and finished second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He would encounter another battle on the front end where\nhe had the top spot in the G2 Stanford but it would be a late runner that would\nhit the line first with Commonwealth stuck in the second spot, a stride on the\nshort end. Moving into the North Fork\n(G1), Commonwealth would settle back into second and would manage to advance to\nthe lead past the half. That would not\nlast long as American Chorus would rally past him and again, Commonwealth Ready\nwould be second best. His performances\nwere good enough to earn him a spot in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile and\nCommonwealth would duel it out with two others for the top spot, a position he\nwould eventually take over by the \u00be-pole but he would end up in the dust again,\nfinishing third behind Derby entrant Misyoubrotherrick but he did get the best\nof American Chorus this time, who finished fourth and beat out other Derby\nhopefuls Settle for Pride (8th<\/sup>) and Democratic Process (9th<\/sup>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Commonwealth finished fourth in the G2 Saint Vincent and\nFelipe Alou to start the 2021 season and neither race did he grab the leading\nspot early on and ran rather flatly throughout each race. He showed a different style in his last\nevent, the California Derby, where he took a mid-field position for the first\ntime and rallied to finish second behind his foe, American Chorus. In this race, he was ahead of another Derby\nentrant, Boho the Ox (finished 5th<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commonwealth Ready has had his struggles getting to the\nwinner\u2019s circle and the change in racing style in his last race maybe the right\nformula to get there and what better place to do it then in the Bluegrass\nDerby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 11 SPENT ON WEAPONS 20\/1 (owned by Tenpoint, All-Star\nRacing residency) <\/strong>is a scratchbred horse with a bloodline comprised of War\nFront (born 2002) as the sire and a backside that dates back many years with\nSeattle Slew (born 1974) as DS and an even older His Majesty (born 1968) as DDS.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spent on Weapons pedigree has worked well as he has won\nfour of his ten starts and been ITM 8 times with a bank count that has in\nexcess of $800,000. As a two year old,\nhe raced eight times and broke his maiden in his second start. He quickly picked up a second win in his next\nstart running with allowance company. \nFrom here, the qualified front running colt leaped into the G3 4th<\/sup>\nOf July but was run down by three other horses in the final furlong of the 6.5f\nrace to finish fourth, just under a stride off the winner and this came on an\noff-track. He followed this with\nanother off-track surface race but returned to the allowance level and finished\nthird going a mile for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In September, he took a test run on the turf in a listed\nstake race and started to fade off the lead pretty quickly past the half of the\nmile race and finished eight. By\nNovember, he was back to the dirt but dropped back to a 5f sprint distance and\nthis time battled on the front end and was able to pull off the win by a\nquarter stride. He would wrap up the\nseason by going in the G1 class for the first time, in the Movieland\nFuturity. Another wet track awaited\nSpent on Weapons and he shot out to the lead but did not have enough to last\nthere and finished third, beat out by Boho the Ox by just over two lengths with\nGiant Supercell finishing second, but Spent did hit the 100 speed mark for the\nfirst time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2021 came and Spent on Weapons continued to compete in\nthe grade level, starting the year off in the G3 Good Cow. He immediately got into a heated duel for the\nfront spot and would eventually take over the lead but not for long as a late\nclosing gelding would run him down and Spent would finish second losing by a\nlength and a half. He would finally\nget a grade level win and that came in his most recent start, the All Saints\nDerby, which is a Derby Lock race. Once\nagain, he was on an off-track but in this race, he had no problem getting to\nthe lead and Spent easily opened up on the field and was more than 7 lengths ahead\nof the field by the \u00be-pole. The lead may\nhave seemed comfy but the field was bearing down on him and Spent on Weapons\njust hit the line in time to win by a head and a career best 105 speed. Slash Dot Murder was second right next to\nhim at the line who will be seeking revenge in the Derby race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spent on Weapons will be out there early fighting to get\nthe top spot and it will be hard for him to break away from the field. He\u2019s entered in with a tough bunch and he\nwill need to hold off 19 others this time and if he somehow can break away with\nthe lead, that could be his best chance to beat them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 12 SLASH DOT\nMURDER 17\/1 (owned by Given, GR Simsters residency)<\/strong>\nis one of two entries by Given and is sired by Bernardini, He is the third of four children out of\n9-time winning, stake winning game-mare Red Slasher. All of her first three children have won\nstake races, including two at the G2 level. \nSlash Dot Murder has earned four wins in seven outings, grossing\n$568.000 in earnings to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two year old Slash Dot Murder earned two quick wins\nin a maiden allowance and a conditional NW2L allowance race. After these wins, he slid into the G3 Trixy\nDelight\u2019s Special but he was unable to keep a perfect career going as he\nfinished 7th<\/sup> more than three lengths behind the winner and behind\nDerby foe Nothing to Justify, who was second. \nAfter this disappointing outcome, he returned to the allowance class and\nwould pick up another win, this time by 2 and a half lengths. Hoping his confidence was restored, Slash\nDot Murder was asked to run in the 9f G2 The Ransom. His confidence was restored as he came from a\nmid-field position, which seems to be his preference, and rolled to the line to\ntake the win by half a stride and hitting the 100 speed for the first\ntime. He would be out Florida Affairs\nwho is entered in the Derby, and finished 7th<\/sup> in The Ransom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the two year old season behind him, he would kick\noff the 2021 season in the G1 Vermont is for Lovers. After trailing by more than 7 strides at the\nhalf in the 9f race, he chipped away at the deficit and finished fifth, some\nthree lengths behind Florida Affairs who won the race and outran Slash Dot\nMurder this time. Slashing also was\noutrun by other Derby foes that include Neva Kee (2nd<\/sup>), Nothing to\nJustify (3rd<\/sup>) but beating out Giant Supercell who was 11th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slash Dot Murder showed how dangerous he can be in his\nlast start, the All Saints Derby (Derby lock race) which was on an off\ntrack. Slash lived up to his name this\ntime, slashing a 10 stride disadvantage at the half to hit the wire and lose\nout in a photo finish by a head and set a career best speed of 104 in the\nprocess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This horse can be a threat to the rest of the field if he\ncan keep himself a bit closer at the half. \nWhile he just missed in his last, he does have two other races where he\nwas 7 or more lengths behind at the half and could not hit a top three\nposition. If he can keep a bit closer,\nthis race could be his. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 13 FREE MANDATE\n16\/1 (owned by Cavieres, Club Hipico de\nSantiago residency)<\/strong> is the son to 8-time winner game-mare Cryfly\u2019s\nSeattle. He is the only graded stake\nwinner from this mare but she does have two other kids (out of eight) who have\nwon at the listed stake level. Golden\nHorn is the sire that was used in breeding Free Mandate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Free Mandate has won four of 10 starts and has been in\nthe money a total of 6 times. He\u2019s on\nthe backside of this field in total earnings with $436,000. 2020 was a troublesome year and primarily\ndue to the racing surface. He made five\nstraight runs on the turf with a best speed of 74 and without a win while\nfinishing third as his only time on the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In October, he was entered into a dirt face for the first\ntime and Free Mandate responded nicely. \nHis speed increased to 87 and he was finally able to break his\nmaiden. Improvement continued into his\nfinal race of the 2020 season as he took his second win and running away from\nthe field to take it by over three lengths. \nWhile the season started awful, the turnaround came with the change of surfaces\nand promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His three-year-old season kicked off with a 9f allowance\nouting and Free Mandated popped his first three-digit speed of 101 and after\ntaking a momentary lead in the stretch, was beat by a neck at the wire. He found himself in the winner\u2019s circle for\nthe third time in his career with a victory in his first listed stake\nappearance. The promise he concluded the\n2020 season now turned to hope as his next stop was the G1 Whats One More. In this race he was a comfy fifth at the\nhalf and found his stride. He overtook\nthe lead at the \u00be-pole and ran away from the field in the stretch to take the\nwin by three lengths and a 107 career best speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Free Mandate has a relaxed racing style. He doesn\u2019t push to get the lead nor does he\nstumble his way to the rear of the field, but finds a nice spot and is often\nabout five off the lead at the half. \nThis is a manageable spot for him as he keeps the leaders within\nstriking range. His record makes him\nlook like an outsider, mainly due to lifetime earnings and the negative affect\nthe turf races have on the stats. He is\nvery much an alive contender in this big race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 14 GIANT\nSUPERCELL 16\/1 (owned by Mrxrayz, GR\nSimsters residency)<\/strong> has surpassed $1 million in career earnings over an\neight-pack of races with four victories. \nHe is a scratchbred colt sired by Midnight Storm and is the only child\nout of this sire to win a G1 race. The\nbackend has a strong liking with Giant\u2019s Causeway as the DS and Seeking the\nGold taking the DDS seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This guy did not look like a \u201csupercell\u201d last year, but\nmore like \u201csuperman\u201d. He enjoys being on\nthe front end and had his first race in June where he went gate-to-wire and\nbreaking his maiden with ease. He\nadvanced to the allowance group and made it two-in-a-row with another win, this\ntime fighting for the lead early on and was able to take over the lead and won\nthe race by half a length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Giant Supercell would make it three-in-a-row going again\nin the allownac, this time with the NWL3 and he was solid, going straight to\nthe front and wiring the field by an easy two lengths. A perfect four-in-a-row would come in\nNovember where he took a step into the listed stake class and again controlled\nthe field all the way, taking this race by 2 \u00bd lengths. 2020 would conclude with an appearance in\nhis first grade level race, the G1 Movieland Futurity. This was on a sloppy track and Giant was\nunable to get to the front, running fourth for a good chunk of the race. He was able to advance a bit but would end up\nfinishing second, ending his win streak, and this came in the hands (or should\nI say hoofs?) of Boho The Ox, who is also in this race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a two month break, Giant Supercell kicked off his\n2021 season in the Vermont is 4 Lovers and he went all out driving straight for\nthe lead and taking a good hold on it\u2026.until the stretch when everyone came\nupon him resulting in an 11th<\/sup> place finish. He was beat out by several horses that are\nentered into the derby, including Florida Affairs (winner), Neva Kee (2nd<\/sup>),\nNothing to Justify (3rd<\/sup>) and Slash Dot Murder (5th<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Improvement would be seen in his last race, the Wooden\nIndian (Derby lock race) where he engaged in an early fight for the lead and Giant Supercell was able to take a hold\nof just past the hallway point. Subtly\nStated, a late runner, would catch him and take the win by just shy of a\nlength. Giant Supercell would finish\nsecond but notch his best speed of 103 in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a few horses in this race that want the front\nspot and Giant Supercell is one of them and he\u2019ll have to fight to obtain\nit. And if he can get there, he\u2019ll need\nto keep something in the tank to hold off the patient late runners. He\u2019s got the ability to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 15 MASKED SAINT\n6\/1 (owned by Massatoga, Universal Racing Club residency)<\/strong> is a scratchbred\ncolt that was sired by Street Sense with Saint Ballado taking up the middle\nspot as the DS and AP Indy as the DDS. \nThis colt has been in the money in 8 of his starts and visited the\nwinner\u2019s circle four times. He has\ndeposited $779,000 in purse money in his bank account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking back at his two-year racing season, it took\nMasked Saint a while to break his maiden. \nIn total, he broke it with his fourth start on the track going 8.5\nfurlongs. After taking his first win, he\nran in a residency listed stakes race where he came late to finish second,\nmissing by a quarter length. Masked\nwould wrap up the 2020 season with his second win, in an allowance race, which\nhe won by a strong 3 and \u00be lengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Masked Saint does not want the lead early on, he\ntends to like to be very close to the leader, and mainly is about a length or\ntwo behind the leader, often in the second spot. He did this in his first start of 2021 in a\nlisted stake race and after having a relaxed run for the first half of the 9.5f\nrace, he took off and scorched the field by three and a half lengths and hit\nhis first triple digit speed of 101.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The G2 Fountain of Ute was his next outing and he ran\nsecond for a good distance but could not get the top spot, finishing fourth,\nbut ahead of another Derby hopeful Misyoubrotherrick-10th<\/sup>. Looking for a pass into the Derby, Masked\nSaint entered the Florida Derby and had a fine effort. He was able to take the lead pass the half\nbut was run down by The Free World and finished second, a bit less than 2\nstrides off the winner. He did outlast\nNeva Kee who was third in the race and was ahead of Misyoubrotherrick (11th<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Masked Saint made one more start in early April in hit G2\nHeart Less and this time he came out on top, winning by 1-1\/2 strides and hit a\nspeed of 111. Owner Massatoga offered\nsome insight on the horse \u201cThe name was\nmade up because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I am very excited about my chances in\nthe race. It is my first Bluegrass and I really think I have a great chance if\nSaint is ready. I tried to make it in after finishing 2nd in the Florida Derby\nbut did not have enough points. So I did the unthinkable and ran him back in a\nGrade II on 15 days rest. It paid off. Ran a nice 111 to win in KY, and more\nimportantly gained enough points to make the field. He came out ready to go and\nshould be sharp by race time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Massatoga added \u201cI have to say the\nonly horse I am really worried about is THE FREE WORLD who beat MS in the\nFlorida Derby. Other than that don’t really see any other horses in the race\nwith the speed of MS. But as usual in this game my horse most likely won’t get\nthe respect he deserves. I would really like to bring this one home for my rez\nURC. I also have a pretty good hopeful in the Oaks – Stormpire. That would make\nfor a great day winning both. Good luck\nto all the trainers, can’t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This horse is a pesky one as he likes to sit an annoying\nstride or two off the leader and doesn\u2019t give up. He has the best speed in the field and that\ncame 2 weeks after his previous race. \nHopefully he can recover from these two quick and grueling races and be\nin top form for this big one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 16 \nMisyoubrotherrick 25\/1 owned by BBT Racing Stables, no residency\nassociation) <\/strong>is a scratchbred colt with Curlin heading the bloodline as the\nsire. Sitting in the Dam-sire seat is\nDanzig and taking the rear seat in the Dam-Dam-Sire spot is Seattle Slew. Misyoubrotherrick has earned $645,000 over\nhis eight career starts and has two wins and has been ITM six times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Misyoubrotherrick is named in honor of the owners brother. BBT provided the following commentary on his\nentrant \u201cIi bred him a couple of days after my brother suddenly passed away\nunexpectedly. He was also a member of Derbyfever,\nknown as Fishstix. He wasn’t bred for\nthe derby, but he trained well up to the Breeders Bowl and just missed winning,\nso then gave him a break before shipping to Florida where I was hoping he would\nget a graded win but no luck, just didn’t seem to fire. Don’t know if he didn’t like surface or just\nnot good enough. I then decided since he ran so well in Kentucky and if he\nqualified I would give him a shot at redemption in honer of my brother Rick.. His chances of winning ???<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two year old, it took Misyoubrotherrick three tries\nto break his maiden, however, he was on the board each time. When he broke his maiden, he did so by one\nand a quarter lengths. He than ran in a\nNW2L conditional allowance race where he took his second win this time by half\na stride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Misyoubrotherrick has established his preferred style of\nracing, which he has done in nearly every start of his career, and that is to\ntake the very last spot in the field (although, on occasion, he may take a spot\nor two further forward). After taking\nhis second win, he lunged upward into the G1 End of the Line Futurity. Here, he had quite the run, trailing by over\n11 strides at the 3rd<\/sup> call of the 8.5f race, quite the distance back\nas the field went into the stretch. He\ncame on hard and finished second, 1-1\/2 behind winning Settle for Pride, but he\ndid beat out Nothing to Justify, both entered into the Derby. He wrapped up his two-year campaign with\nanother G1 race in the prestigious Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile. In this race, several Derby entrants also\ncompeted and again was a good distance at the third call, this time 8 back, but\nhe cut that down quickly to finish second by half a stride but he did outlast\nCommonwealth Ready (3rd<\/sup>), American Chorus (4th<\/sup>), Settle\nfor Pride (8th<\/sup>) and Dark VooDoo (13th<\/sup>) with a 98 speed,\nwhich equaled the same speed figure in the End of the Line Futurity and is his\ncareer best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, his three year season has not gone\nwell. He has raced twice this season,\nappearing first in the G2 Fountain of Ute and his late speed did not show. He finished 10th<\/sup>, some 9 strides\nbehind the winner and was never a factor in the race. His second start was in the Florida Derby\nlooking for the guaranteed Derby Lock and again he failed to fire up, finishing\n11th<\/sup>, a good distance behind other derby entrants with The Free\nWorld winning, Masked Saint was second and Neva Kee finished third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Misyoubrotherrick made secured entry into the Bluegrass\nDerby based on productivity as a two year old. \nAlthough he has had good efforts in G1 company as a two-year old, he has\nstalled out as a three year old. He\u2019ll\nhas to get that fire and desire going again to get the big win here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 17 FLEETWOOD\nFLATLINE 26\/1 (owned by Fleetwood,\nNorthwest Racing Circuit residency) <\/strong>is a scratchbred runner who has\nearnings just shy of $1.2 million. He is\nsired by Flatter with Indian Charlie serving as the DS and Dixieland Band\nholding the DSS seat. He has taken four\nwins in his 9 lifetime starts and is also won a year-end Eclipse award in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Makes sense to look first at that Eclipse winning season\nin which Fleetwood broke his maiden his first time out. He followed that up with a second in a\nconditional NW2L allowance race. His\nthird start was a gamble as he entered a listed stake race where Fleetwood\nwould pass the test by going straight out for the lead but would eventually be\nrun down in the stretch, holding on to the second spot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleetwood Flatline would continue climbing the racing\nranks and enter into the G2 High Roller\u2019s Juvenile and this time would take\ncommand of the field and win by over a length and beating Commonwealth Ready\nwho battled with Fleetwood for the early lead. Fleetwood\u2019s record would help him represent\nhis residency in the Equinics-Albert Einstein (G1) and would also be his last\nrace in a sprint. He went gate-to-wire\nin this one and finished ahead of Dragon\u2019s Deputy who is also seeking the win\nin the Bluegrass. The Sparkling Wine\n(G1) and going a mile for the first time, was his next challenge and that early\nspeed of his did its thing as he again wired the field by a length and sealed\nhis destiny into the Breeders Bowl Juvenile. \nFleetwood had just completed winning three-in-a-row grade level stake\nraces and sought his fourth in the Breeders Bowl, but it would not come. He was unable to get to the front and ran 4th<\/sup>\nearly on and just dipped back from there finishing 11th<\/sup>. Other Derby hopefuls finished well ahead of\nhim, including (Misyoubrotherrick-2nd<\/sup>, Commonwealth Ready-3rd<\/sup>,\nAmerican Chorus-4th<\/sup>, Settle for Pride-8th,<\/sup> Democratic\nProcess 9th<\/sup>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dusting off that loss, The Legoland (G3) was his\ndestination to start the 2021 season. He\ntook decent positioning in the second seat early on but didn\u2019t offer much in\nthe later part of the race and finished almost 3 off the winner in the 5th<\/sup>\nspot, but scored his lifetime best speed of 100 in the process. Running in the All Saints Derby, Fleetwood\nFlatline sought a derby lock win but he could not get that early pace going. \nHe latched into the third spot in the early stage, only to fade back and\nfinish around 9 lengths or so behind Spent on Weapons who took the win. The track was wet, so that may have played\ninto his 8th<\/sup> place finish but it could also be the longer 9.5\nfurlongs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleetwood Flatline has been off his game for a while\nwhich seems to have kicked in at the Breeders\u2019 Bowl. This Eclipse winner had one good run at a\nmile distance but the route races lately have not been playing favorably with\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 18 NOTHING TO\nJUSTIFY 12\/1 (owned by Tenpoint,\nAll-Stars racing residency)<\/strong> is one of three entries in the Derby for\nTenpoint. He\u2019s a scratchbred with\n\u201csomething new\u201d and \u201csomething old\u201d bred into him. The \u201csomething new\u201d is the young Justify\nheading up the breeding line as sire. \nThe \u201csomething old\u201d dates back to the 1970\u2019s when Seattle Slew (DS) and\nSecretariat (DDS) were born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing to Justify has bankrolled over $1 million in his\n8 lifetime starts that include three wins. \nThe first came in his maiden debut that he won with ease. He followed that up with his second win in an\nallowance race. He would then move into\nthe stake class which started with the mile distance in the G3 Trixy\nDelights. This slow out-of-the-gate\nrunner dropped to the backside of the field, running 11th<\/sup> in the\nearly going but was able to make a nice run to pick off other horses and\nconcluded the race in second and outran Slash Dot Murder, who was 7th<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The G1 End of Line Futurity was Nothing\u2019s next event, but\nhe could not get things moving this time, finishing 6th<\/sup>, nine off\nthe winning Settle for Pride and also beat out by Misyoubortherrick (2nd<\/sup>), who are both in this race. A much better outcome came in the October\nrunning of the Nashuaa Special where Nothing ran 14th<\/sup> and came home\nhard to be in a tight 3-horse photo, but got the raw end and was placed third,\nlosing out to Dragon\u2019s Deputy, the declared race winner. Nothing to Justify would conclude his\ntwo-year racing season in a residency listed stake race where he finished\nsecond behind American Chorus (also owned by Tenpoint).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vermont is 4 Lovers, a G1, 9f race resulted in a third\nplace finish for Nothing to Justify who had to eat away at a 10 length deficit\nat the half to miss by a length and a quarter, finishing behind Florida Affairs\n(1st<\/sup>) and Neva Kee (2nd<\/sup>) but ahead of Slash Dot Murder (5th<\/sup>). His last start was in the derby lock prep,\nSand Castle Derby and it is here where he looked to be on top of his game. He found a bit better positioning, running 9th<\/sup>\n(normally he\u2019s in one of the last three spots) and he came charging through the\nstretch to win by over two lengths and a career best speed of 107. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing to Justify looked terrific in the Sand Castle\nrace and time everything perfectly. He\u2019s\nbeen beaten by other horses in this field, but he can take them down if he can\nscore another race like his last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 19 HOUSE OF\nROCK 16\/1 (owned by Kingab, Empire State\nRacing residency) <\/strong>has won six of his eight lifetime starts and amassed over\n$1 million in the process. This colt is\nout of Tears of the Devil, a seven-time career stake winner who has bred four\nhorses. House of Rock is her only grade\nwinning child but she does have a mare who is a listed stake winner. Bricks and Mortar is the sire to this colt\nand is in his second year of breeding and this is his first G1 winning son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two-year old, House of Rock started his career\nracing on the turf. He broke his maiden\nfirst time out. But running in a pair of\nallowance races after that, things just did not pan out well as was evidenced\nby finishing last in the first race and seventh out of ten in his next try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those failed attempts let to a switch of surfaces and\nHouse of Rock was brought to an allowance race, NW2L to give the dirt a\ntryout. The tryout was successful as the\nhorse rallied from the rear seat in the field to win a photo for the win\nspot. He was destined to climb the\nallowance ranks with a NW3L condition next on his list and this time he went\nfor the lead out of the gate and wired the four horse field by just under two\nstrides which concluded his 2020 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The winning on the dirt did not stop as going 9f in the\nNW4L where he left the gate in second and topped the small field of four by 2\nand a half lengths. His last two races\nwere small fields but his next start, a listed stake, would be with 8 horses\nand he showed that he was for real as he wired the field by 2 and a half\nlengths once again and popped a 104 speed in the process. His last start was in the Corkscrew Stakes\n(G1) in pursuit of a derby lock spot. A\nchange of styles prevailed as he broke slowly, running 10th<\/sup> in the\nfield through the first quarter. By the\nhalf way point of the 9f race, he was in 9th<\/sup> and seven off the\nleader. House of Rock fired things up\nand bullied his way to the top spot and one by nearly two lengths and a bump in\nspeed to 106. <\/p>\n\n\n\n House of Rock has been perfect on the dirt winning all\nfive of his starts. He is versatile in\nrace style and seems to adapt quickly to his conditions. He is successful going to the front early or\nsettling back a bit and running late. Looks\nlike a contender!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Owner Kingab offered these comments on House of Rock \u201cWhen I bred this horse I was hoping for a\nlong distance turf horse, but other than breaking his maiden in his first start\nhis subsequent turf starts were disappointing. I then put him on the dirt for a\nrace and he simply loved it. He is undefeated on dirt and has improved his\nnumbers every time and seems to get better the farther he runs. As for his name\nwell if you build a home using bricks and mortar you get a House of Rock!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 20 NEVA KEE 15\/1\n(owned by Lenny271, GR Simsters residency)<\/strong> is sired by Royal Mo and is the\nonly child he has fathered that has won a stakes race. Mother Bechemel earned over half a million\nbucks in her career and is a G2 winner. She has ten children with three winning stake\nraces including one that snagged a grade level win. Bechemel has hit the board in all eight of\nhis starts which includes four victories and filled the bank account with over\n$450,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a two year old, he raced six times and Neva Kee only\nneed the first two to break his maiden which came at 6.5f with a 73 speed. He galloped up to a mile conditional NW2L\nrace next and the speed number soared to 90 with a strong two length win. With a pair of wins behind him and a\npromising speed number, he galloped upward again, this time in class to the G3\nCharcoal Breeder\u2019s Cup. Neva Kee likes\nto sit in the middle of the field and in his first stake race, it worked well\nas he closed to finish third, a bit more than 2 behind winning Dark Voodoo, who\nis scheduled to race in the Derby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neva Kee would drop back a bit in class to the listed\nstake level where he would race twice before 2020 ended. The first time out, he surpassed the 100\nspeed level for the first time, recording a 101 and taking the win by more than\na length. He would repeat this outcome\nin his next listed stake, winning by a bit more (1 \u00be lengths).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three-year old racing would start as 2020 flipped to\n2021 and Neva Kee would gallop upward again..right into the G1 Vermont is 4\nLovers. He would put in another fine\neffort, this time finishing second behind Florida Affairs with a career best\nspeed of 103. He finished one spot ahead\nof Nothing to Justify and three spots in front of Slash Dot Murder and much further\nahead of Giant Supercell who will be foes in the Derby. His last race was the Florida Derby and he\nfinished third, but lost ground in the stretch. \nWinning this race was The Free World and Neva was seven lengths behind\nthe winner with Masked Saint sandwiched between him and the winner (and nearly\n6 behind Masked Saint.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neva Kee has had a knack of hitting the board with\nreliability but the distance gap in his last start concerns me with being 7\nstrides behind the winner and this race goes 10 furlongs, a distance he has not\nyet tried. He\u2019s winless in graded\ncompetition and this would be a great spot to end that drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MY BETS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m using a fictious bank roll of $300 just for the fun\nof it. Here are my bets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n $10 win bets on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Dawngoesdowntoday<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 American Chorus<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 The Free World<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9 Dragon\u2019s Deputy<\/p>\n\n\n\n 12 Slash Dot Murder<\/p>\n\n\n\n 15 Masked Saint<\/p>\n\n\n\n 19 House of Rock<\/p>\n\n\n\n Total bets $70.<\/p>\n\n\n\n $5 exacta box:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boxing all 7 horses above for a combine 42 bets (7×6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Total bets $210.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Got $20 left so I\u2019m putting it on #16 Misyourbrotherrick\nto show, going with the nice storyline memory and hoping for a sweet ending!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best of luck to all our runners in this big race!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fast Horses + Fast Track = Fast Times in Kentucky!!! It\u2019s Bluegrass Derby time and some of the Fastest 3<\/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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54800","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=54800"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54802,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54800\/revisions\/54802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}