Fourteen horses line up for a shot at the golden ticket, that automatic entry into a race that can vault a runner into SIM immortality.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>These sophomores still have that hope, that twinkle in their eye, for now. #1 \u2013 LUCKY\u2019S SPANK(IRE) <\/B>\u2013 Mr. Lucky <\/I>brings this son of Rock Of Gibralter to Arkansas on the heels of five consecutive wins, all by daylight.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After clearing nw2l against a full field, this one has not faced more than four opponents in his last four.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I cannot fault the horse or trainer for that , you can only run against those that show up, but many have shown up this week and that streak is in serious peril.\u00a0 <\/SPAN> #2 \u2013 EXTREME PRESSURE(KY) <\/B>\u2013 Sixth last time out in the GIII Chicago Derby, Reds Rockin Empire <\/I>takes another shot at top level 3yo\u2019s this week.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This one has some stakes credentials, winning the CABARET DUDE as well as rounding out the tri in both the SUNNY MILLIONS DASH and the GIII LEVER SPARKY.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The son of Lemon Drop Kid was then stretch out in California, crushing a short field by five lengths, before his last start.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Picked off a few runners late in the Chicago Derby, but was losing ground to the top finishers, which doesn\u2019t inspire confidence against a tough group. #3 \u2013 DIGITAL SKY(KY) <\/B>\u2013 A dual graded winner of almost one million dollars, the Sky Mesa offspring has all the cred but none of the momentum.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Racing for the Evil Empire<\/I>, DS could have simply been off his game last time out, finishing a fading sixth in the All Saints Derby.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Wins in the Sam\u2019s Town Delta Jackpot and the Gary Asher Memorial, both GIII\u2019s, mean this boy should be respected as a threat for the top three this week.\u00a0 <\/SPAN> #4 \u2013 BOOM VANG(KY) <\/B>\u2013 Second last out in the listed Princess\u2019s Ballot,\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Boom ran a lifetime best 97 spf in placing behind the talented MR. JAMES DEAN, making an exacta of Tapit runners.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It was a nice move forward for thediver<\/I>\u2019s 3yo, but he didn\u2019t finish ahead of any stakes winners and was no threat to the winner.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>BV has run three times since a coming back from a rest after breaking maiden, and improved every time, I\u2019m sure the trainer is hoping for a continuation of that trend.\u00a0 <\/SPAN> #5 \u2013 BORN INDY USA(KY) <\/B>\u2013 Impeccable breeding for this Shamrock Stables <\/I>horse, sired by A.P. Indy and from a twelve time winning Storm Cat\/Mr. Prospector mare.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He started off with two impressive wins sprinting, faltered in a conditioned allowance, and rebounded to win the GII Saint Vincent.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He was kept in California to compete in the Felipe Alou, but did not do so for very long, fading badly to finish tenth of fourteen.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>My guess is this one will make a lot of noise sprinting this year, but his trainers knows more about winning in this game than I do, and you can\u2019t win if you\u2019re not in the race. #6 \u2013 OVERDOZE(KY) <\/B>\u2013 The Whisper <\/I>barns will certainly make sure no one has it easy on the front end by sending out this quick starting son of Unbridled\u2019s Song.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Three months off after a lackluster debut, possibly conditioning issues or far more patience than I have, resulted in three wire to wire victories.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>After running eight foes off their feet in the Whipped Ruler challenge, the trainer stepped up in class to the GII Land\u2019s End\u00a0 <\/SPAN>only to see his charge fall back to eighth after leading half the race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Another showing the talent to be heard from, but may not be ready for this class\/distance combination right now. #7 \u2013 BOISDERBYBOUND(KY) <\/B>\u2013 I really like this Boble <\/I>\u00a0<\/SPAN>competitor, and not just for the confidence in the name.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In five starts he has only lost twice, both of those were at a flat mile.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The other three races were longer, all resulting in clear victories, the last being a four length romp in the mile and three sixteenths Sadler\u2019s Thorns Dirt Route.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That race came after a nice six week break, putting this one in place to move forward once again and peaking when all trainers hope to have their horses at their best.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The distance won\u2019t be an issue, so class is the unanswered question standing between Bo and truly being Derby bound. #8 \u2013 A DAY IN A LIFE(KY) <\/B>\u2013 Pointblank <\/I>turned this Rock Hard Ten runner in the right direction three back, moving from turf to dirt.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The result has been a win and two placing, each spf progressing significantly, including a very nice second to Decandently here is the GIII Rebel Yell.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This one is bred to run all week, has a very good race over the track, and is coming off a lifetime best 106 spf.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He is still eligible for nw3l, but proved last time out that he has the class to compete here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Look for another big effort over the Hot Springs course this week. #9 \u2013 COWPERS TUNE(MD) <\/B>\u2013 Seconditis for this Coomer3 <\/I>charge, never seeming to have enough ground .\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A Maryland bred by Not For Love, this colt has some very nice efforts, including a second in the GI North Fork and a third in the Breeder\u2019s Bowl Juvenile.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He took it easy in his first out this year, running a much better race in the Felipe Alou to finish three back.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The dam, DEBBIE DEAREST, won 3 of thirty one and has never produced a stakes winner.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>COWPERS is the best of her offspring though, maybe he will change that before long.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I can\u2019t say that will happen this week though. #10 \u2013 CAUSE TO CRY(KY) <\/B>\u2013 Kingab<\/I> has the good fortune of having to concern himself with actual Derby issues this year, so this race will be a smaller blip on the radar than it normally might.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A steadily improving son of Giant\u2019s Causeway, CtC also ran here in the Rebel Yell last out and passed several late to finish fifth.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Dam was a pretty salty alw sprinter, but her son keeps getting faster as the races get longer.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Not sure if an extra sixteenth will be enough for the move forward required to get closer to A DAY IN A LIFE, but moving forward is the only thing this runner knows. #11 \u2013 CAN\u2019T YOU SEA <\/B>\u2013 From a family of winners, including graded victors like STORMIN BLUES and DON\u201dT LET GO, HOLD ON LOOSELY\u2019s latest foal is carrying on that tradition.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>By the prized sire Sea The Stars, Desperado <\/I>quickly flipped this one to dirt after an uninspiring debut on grass.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Once moving past eight furlongs CYS has not been beaten, though he was all out to win the Swampy Honor most recently.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His maiden and nw2l scores were impressive visually, but he is the only stakes placed horse to come out of those races and will need improvement to take this. #12 \u2013 VERTICAL STARE <\/B>\u2013 Superb breeding, trained by Dixiedotco<\/I>, running in a million dollar GI\u2026stop me if you\u2019ve heard this before.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Another returnee from the local GIII prep, VS did not flash his customary early speed, and packed it in early to finish ninth.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Before that one, this son of A.P. Indy had never lost on a fast track, including a win in the GIII Silverfence Derby.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Credit for having beaten horses like CHARLIEINTHEBOX and DYNA DON\u2019T YOU BLOW, the latter recently took the California Derby.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Dixie knows what he\u2019s doing, his trophy shelf speaks to that, and VS has won vs some very good runners.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Throw out the last and consider him a threat. #13 \u2013 JERSEY ACT(KY) <\/B>\u2013 Gobidon<\/I>(I\u2019ll resist the urge to mention Rachel Alexandra too much here!) ships in the furious closing winner of the GIII Tin Man in New Jersey last time out.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The Northern Afleet sophomore flew from last in a field of seventeen to beat several graded winners in that one mile affair.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Two back, in the Birds Last Verse, was left with too much to do after LEMONDROP MISTER was given an uncontested lead and never looked back.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That was also his first race back from a break and this will be the third, quite a difference there.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A very real contender with plenty of pace to run at. #14 \u2013 CONSCIOUSNESS(KY) <\/B>\u2013 Willyam13 <\/I>takes another shot at the Arkansas dirt course with this Empire Maker colt, having finished tenth in the Rebel Yell.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Ran a good second in the Pea Patch Juvenile in just his second start, but has not managed much stakes success since then.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Looks a bit overmatched here, but ran a lifetime best last start so he\u2019s moving in the right direction. Good luck to all the runners and trainers in the Arkansas Juvenile, I\u2019m not in so I hope you all win \ud83d\ude09 Derby Dreamers Invade Hot Springs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"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-9089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9089","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\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}