2019 Derby Trail: Bourbon War brings Belmont field to 10
 

5/4 (CD): KENTUCKY DERBY

1. War of Will (Casse/Gaffalione) 20-1
2. Tax (Gargan/Alvarado) 20-1
3. By My Standards (Calhoun/G. Saez) 20-1
4. Gray Magician (Miller/Van Dyke) 50-1
5. Improbable (Baffert/I. Ortiz) 6-1
6. Vekoma (Weaver/Castellano) 20-1
7. Maximum Security (Ja. Servis/L. Saez) 10-1
8. Tacitus (Mott/J. Ortiz) 10-1
9. Plus Que Parfait (Walsh/R. Santana) 30-1
10. Cutting Humor (Pletcher/Smith) 30-1
13. Code of Honor (McGaughey/Velazquez) 15-1
14. Win Win Win (Trombetta/Pimental) 15-1
15. Master Fencer (Tsunoda/Leparoux) 50-1
16. Game Winner (Baffert/Rosario) 5-1
17. Roadster (Baffert/Geroux) 6-1
18. Long Range Toddy (Asmussen/Court) 30-1
19. Spinoff (Pletcher/M. Franco) 30-1
20. Country House (Mott/Prat) 30-1
21. Bodexpress (Delgado/Landeros) 30-1


5/18 (PIM): PREAKNESS STAKES

1. War of Will (Casse/Gaffalione) 4-1
2. Bourbon War (Hennig/I. Ortiz) 12-1
3. Warrior's Charge (Cox/Castellano) 12-1
4. Improbable (Baffert/Smith) 5-2
5. Owendale (Cox/Geroux) 10-1
6. Market King (Lukas/Court) 30-1
7. Alwaysmining (Rubley/Centeno) 8-1
8. Signalman (McPeek/B. Hernandez) 30-1
9. Bodexpress (A. Delgado/J. Velazquez) 20-1
10. Everfast (Romans/Rosario) 50-1
11. Laughing Fox (Asmussen/Santana) 20-1
12. Anothertwistafate (Wright/J. Ortiz) 6-1
13. Win Win Win (Trombetta/Pimental) 15-1


6/8 (BEL): BELMONT STAKES

War of Will (Casse)
Sir Winston (Casse)
Intrepid Heart (Pletcher)
Spinoff (Pletcher)
Master Fencer (Tsunoda)
Tacitus (Mott)
Everfast (Romans)
Bourbon War (Hennig)
Tax (Gargan)
Joevia (Sacco)

I think Mucho Gusto is a sprinter, but he might just be better then that field

Hmm. I was thinking the Holy Bull could be a nice spot for Weaver to place Vekoma and then line him up for the Florida Derby. I recall when he skipped the Remsen that the goal was late January to get him back to racing.

Two workouts in the past few weeks. 3F - Breezing - 38.51 on 1/12/19. 4F - Breezing - 49.87 on 1/19/19.

I guess they’re giving him more time.

Tough to say. I give Gunmetal Gray a slight chance to win though I don’t see the pace setting up for him to close enough ground late.

I kind of like Nolo Contesto to win that race if that’s how the field stays.

Just worked another slow 1/2 mile this morning (:51 and change). Not sure if that was by design, but he either isn't doing well or they are bringing him along slowly. Perhaps the bad weather in FL accounts for the slow time and the 10-day gap between works.

Hopefully Moretti moves forward with a fast race.

They said previously that they didn’t want to rush him, but those times aren’t too encouraging regardless. It’s good to see that only one horse ran the distance in under 49 seconds.

I was really impressed with him in the Nashua. I hope he’s doing well and they’re just bringing him along slowly. Maybe the Fountain of Youth then.

Any idea who is running in risen star? Southwest? Elcamino?

Sam davis?

Moretti flattered by Motagally today. I do think last time is the only time he will finish in front of Motagally as those Union Rags seem to get better with racing.

He looked strong in the stretch today. Impressive.
Moretti was awful
Solent was bet dead and ran like it.
Not sure how Harvey Wallbanger was 25-1. He ran great every race.

Maybe I’m forgetting someone but Mucho Gusto looked better than any 3YO I’ve seen this year.

Harvey Wallbanger has run well in all 5 of his races but seemed to always come up short. But I didn’t understand the odds either. I thought he deserved to be somewhere around 10-1, not 25-1.

Definitely worth watching replays of all his races. Made big move against smart winner in debut, bulled his way through holes in other races. Very competitive. When watching the cap of his jockey, it’s amazing how fast he passes hosses.

I just tracked a blogpost down from HRN from a few weeks ago. Apparently Weaver said the Risen Star and Southwest are possibilities for Vekoma but they’re probably looking at either the Fountain of Youth or the Gotham.

I know I’ve seen at least 4 of his 5 races live. I’ll go back and watch some of the replays. I like him. I think he’s still a notch below the top horses. Maybe he’ll continue to improve.

Just a workout update on Vekoma.

Feb 10 - 5f: 1:02.47 (3/3)
Feb 16 - 5f: 1:00.73 (3/6)

Encouraging to see from him. Hopefully he’s gearing up for the Fountain of Youth.

I like when works show the trainer tightening the screws.

I like when works show the trainer tightening the screws.

Agreed. Looks like they eased him back and are now putting him to work. Can’t wait to see when he runs.

Vekoma was a horse I put on watch list when he won maiden was impressed w time but then someone was talking about his action n that he paddles which could lead to issues. Have u guys heard anything about that?

I haven’t heard anything like that. He just put in another nice workout earlier today.

I want Code of Honor to bounce back. Tough spot though.

It would be pretty amazing if Global Campaign ran in the Gotham given that he is about the only 3YO in the country NOT nominated to the race.

I really am skeptical about his talent. His maiden win wasn't good. It just surprised us because of his pedigree and trainer that he wired a 6F race. However, it was a gold rail and a slow pace. His Champagne fooled people because he stumbled at the break, which even Shug said may well have turned out to be a blessing, as he was the only one that didn't chase the fast pace.

I petty much agree. I want him to be OK, but not sure anymore.
Friday Mucho returns at Gulfstream and Roadster at Santa Anita. Both in allowance races. Good to see some of these horses coming back.

Look out for Tacticus.

He's getting destroyed in the morning by Hidden Scroll. He's a LONG way from being a good horse.

It will be interesting to see what Mucho can do. He might be pretty good.

I want Code of Honor to be good as well. I always root for Shug.

Hidden Scroll is probably pretty special. Wasn't American Pharaoh beating up on Dortmund in the mornings?

Win Win Win is the horse to watch in that race. Horse is very fast and last work looked like the horse is ready to roll.

I’m a little intrigued by the horse Avie’s Flatter, if he runs. He hasn’t run on dirt yet but his only loss so far is to Fog of War & War of Will, which is nothing to scoff at. Workouts on dirt are encouraging so far...no reason to think he can’t run.

There’s been a lot of talk on social media about his debut race at Saratoga. The talk isn’t about how well He ran though. He ran second to Complexity that day. It’s an interesting race to watch as people are wondering why Irad Ortiz rode a puzzling ride which enabled Jose to get a nice clear path up the inside on the backstretch. On the head-on He obviously looks over to see where jose is with the well meant firster they are trying to get to the BC Juvinelle with, instead of easing over. Dylan Davis who is outside of Irad is forcing him in but he uses all his strength to keep the path open. It’s almost like Davis is saying wtf are you doing ? The fact that Harvey whipped the rest of them that weren’t assisted makes his run even more impressive.

Jesus

At this point, the three year old group looks mediocre at best. Although, Bafffert has the leading hand so far.

I have to disagree with you on that for now. The next 2-3 weeks will show us more. There are quite a few good horses going to be running with a lot of potential. I may change my opinion after that but for now expecting a very competitive 3 year old season.

Well Joe why don’t you watch the replay and tell us what really happened in the race since you know everything . Watch the pan, then the head on. 9/3/18 race 3

I think it looks outstanding. There is a ton of talent. I think Mott likes the cards he’s holding. I don’t really like any of the Bafferts.

Bill Mott just threw up.

I laughed out loud.

It’s kind of like when I love a hoss and someone says Surly picks him on top. Funny thing is, it used to be because it would hurt the price, now it’s because he probably is gonna get beat.

Game Winner & Improbable to Rebel which would split in to two $750,000 races if 20 or more enter..

Normally a 50-20-10-5 Derby point event, a split would award 37.5-15-7.5-3.5 to the super finishers..