An amazing race. Orb was far back for most of the race, but towards the end came storming to the front. It was like the race movies you’ve seen, Orb was moving up at an incredible pace, passing the early leaders. No photo finish either.
I love the Kentucky Derby.
I was rooting for Varrazano, but have to admit Orb ran an incredible race.
Now to see if he has it in him for the next two…
I don’t think so. Remember that the distance steadily increases over the Triple Crown and Orb was already visibly tiring. It looked to me (at first glance, I haven’t watched any replays) like the next pack was starting to regain ground at the end.
Congrats to Orb and his connections. I picked Normandy Invasion to win, but he slipped to fourth after taking the lead momentarily on the home stretch. The $12.80 payout on a $2 win bet is a good payout for a favorite. I was surprised with the 2:02 time…I figured it would be a slower race with the sloppy track and the slow paces in most of the prep races.
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I don’t think so. Remember that the distance steadily increases over the Triple Crown and Orb was already visibly tiring. It looked to me (at first glance, I haven’t watched any replays) like the next pack was starting to regain ground at the end.
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The Preakness is 1/16 of mile shorter than the Derby, and the Belmont Stakes is 1/4 mile longer than the Derby. I think there have been 10 horses since 1978 (when Affirmed won the TC) who won the first two triple crown races and then lost in the Belmont. Smarty Jones was close in 2004 as he had the lead in the home stretch at Belmont before Birdstone charged ahead in the final half furlong. Orb has a slight chance in the 1-1/2 mile Belmont Stakes if he’s still running with top form.
:smack: Don’t ask me why I was thinking that 1 3/16 was longer than 1 1/4. Darn it. Yeah, good chance for him to be a two-timer, but not the TC. Hard to tell though - Joel could have been easing him up a bit there at the end. Did anybody notice when he stopped with the crop?
But what about Charming Kitten? How come the horse with the best name never wins? I mean really, Secretariat? What kind of shitty name is that for a horse? 
Grudging nod of approval to Man o’ War, though. Decent name.
Ah, but Man o’ War never ran, much less won, the Derby.
And with a name like Charming Kitten, I would expect a filly. Not very masculine…
I know there are websites that give you five generations of thoroughbred ancestry, but are there sites that will tell you how, or if, two horses are related?
During the post parade, the announcer said that in a previous race, Java’s War walked out of the starting gate, but “with a patient ride from his jockey”, he won by a neck. I noticed that this horse was also far behind the other horses at the start of the Kentucky Derby, and of course didn’t win this time.
His trainer may be working on the “Now, this is what we do when the door opens” issue for a while.
I expected a filly too, until I read Charming Kitten’s pedigree line in the program. Nope, a colt. Still, an odd name for a colt.
I had Orb on top on my exacta, but unfortunately, did not have Golden Soul on the bottom. Instead, I had Revolutionary, who came third. Nothing in Golden Soul’s PPs indicated that he had that kind of talent. Certainly, he’s worth an extra look in the Preakness.
Dear Orb,
When you get back from Maryland if you’ve got nothing to do, give us a call.
Sincerely,
Elmer’s