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#1
05-10-2007, 08:40 AM
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DERBY WRAP: Better late..
than never..
After a 12 day travail sandwiching stops in Montreal and Toronto around Louisville, I'm home and finally had a chance to get the Derby post-script out on the front page (or below as well)... http://www.derbytrail.com/ This was a very satisfying Derby and a trip to Louisville that was made more memorable by Sumwonlovesyou's game performance to kick off the week. And having the chance to spend time with our unendingly pleasant filly at Chuck's barn daily added immensely to the Derby build-up. In something of a switch, I found myself more exhilerated after the Derby than in the leadup, perhaps a function of the downcast weather . But following the frenzied activity here, I could see that everyone was equally excited pre and post rose run. Hope everyone enjoyed the Derby, the DT doings, and the radio coverage.. We may be on a special course with this Crown Trail.. Have the rare pleasure of a week at home, and then on to Baltimore!
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984. Last edited by Kasept : 05-10-2007 at 09:00 AM. 
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#2
05-10-2007, 08:59 AM
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DERBY 133: An 'Unbridled' Pleasure
Leaving Louisville Monday, with all the Derby hoopla having subsided and the Churchill backstretch returned to normal, one couldn't help feel the overwhelming satisfaction delivered by the 133rd Run for the Roses. After a Derby Trail season that prompted endless debate fueled by a glut of unconventional prep approaches, it was the horse that was the first and most obvious candidate that wore the rose blanket in a performance that instantly becomes part of Kentucky Derby lore. After four years that spread the spotlight on a Saudi Prince's 11th hour purchase, a NY-bred gelding, a Cali-based chug-along and a Mid-Atlantic-connected tragic hero, the 2007 version of America's greatest horse race focused entirely on the Commonwealth of Kentucky. And the result came to the delight of the near-record crowd assembled at the big plant at 4th and Central. Street Sense, Carl Nafzger, Calvin Borel and James Tafel comprise a quartet of principals in this Derby victory that confirmed the provision to the sport of an embraceable star whose credentials scream tradition. Street Sense, based at Churchill Downs and six months removed from his sublime Breeders' Cup Juvenile performance, reprized his effort on that November day like no Juvy winner ever had, with a remarkable rail-skimming ride on the game's grandest stage. With Rick Porter and Larry Jones' Hard Spun having done everything required for a Derby win under Mario Pino by the top of the long Downs stretch, the son of Street Cry's outrageous winning run from the back of the pack, provided fans with the kind of final act everyone hopes for in this august contest. Nafzger, having etched a permanent monument in Derby history 17 years earlier with Unbridled and Francis Genter, tuned Street Sense to perfection for his second Derby victory, calling on every training trick in the book handed down to him by mentor and patriarchal racing legend John Nerud. Reconfirming his reputation for adroitly adjusting a horse for peak performance in a specific spot, Nafzger telegraphed Saturday's laurels for months with a quiet resolve and confidence, despite several daunting setbacks in the horse's spring schedule. Borel, a roustabout Cajun character genuinely beloved in his adopted hometown, generated one of the most indelibly memorable moments in recent Derbies with an in-the-irons celebration on the track apron post-race, that inspired Queen Elizabeth to require his attendance at a State Dinner in Washington DC. Borel's abundant certainty in the agility and talent of Street Sense allowed him to attack the classic test with the same on-the-wood approach he employs any other day at the Downs, and had utilized earlier on the card with Helen Pitts' Silverinyourpocket. It's hard to believe that any other rider that could have stood on the podium Saturday evening would have been as popular a winner as Borel. Tafel, with nearly three decades in racing and a Nafzger client with the outstanding Banshee Breeze and Unshaded, reached a zenith in the game with not only a Derby win as owner, but having home-bred Street Sense through his own mare Bedazzle. Brought into the game by Dogwood and Cot Campbell, the 83 year old Tafel joins owners like Genter, Carl Partee (Lil E. Tee) and Paul Mellon (Sea Hero), whose dedication to the sport was rewarded in the most tangible way possible in the game's most coveted trophy. In an era of sport sorely lacking in graciousness and modest celebration, Tafel was and is a welcome and worthy recipient of the laurels the 'racing gods' bestow. With the focus now turning to thoughts of a Triple Crown try, we will see how generous a mood those deities are in... Interestingly with the victory, the sun finally made a weekend-long delayed appearance, as the principals made their way back to the Paddock and the adjacent interview room. And after a Derby Trail season which featured a multitude of odd approaches to the race by many of the key players, the sun began to set on a highly contented Churchill Downs. With the focus immediately shifting to Baltimore and the Preakness, Col. Matt Winn's wondrous event had again aptly served its' annual assignment of offering the game a spectacle to set hearts aflutter and the sport's insular world alight. No matter how obscure and archaic racing seems to the sporting world at large, for the two minutes it takes to crown a Derby winner every first Saturday in May, it is the undeniable object of desire and interest for anyone who has a soul. The 2007 edition did its' part to initiate this arduous five week odyssey. The burden of continuing to hold the spotlight and maintain the adoration through Old Hilltop and Big Sandy now falls to Nafzger, Tafel, Borel, and a seemingly able colt that became the first two year old Champion to annex the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. As welcome as this team's results were to Louisville, equal successes in Charm City and the Big Apple would widen the appreciation to a level the game has not seen in decades. Ideally, those racing gods are as hungry as we are for the emergence of an immortal.
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984. Last edited by Kasept : 05-12-2007 at 05:11 AM.
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#3
05-10-2007, 09:10 AM
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Well done, Steve!
__________________
http://www.facebook.com/cajungator26
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#5
05-10-2007, 09:27 AM
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Great Article Steve, Pleasure To Meet You At Cd. Hope To See More Of You Again!
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#6
05-10-2007, 09:44 AM
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Beautiful writing as always. And a nice mention of possible successes in MD and NY helping racing's profile- though I was very heartened by a text message I got three minutes after the Derby from a non-racing friend that said simply, "Yay Street Sense!"
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Gentlemen! We're burning daylight! Riders up! -Bill Murray
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#9
05-10-2007, 01:10 PM
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Is "nadired" really a word?
Great wrap as usual!
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#10
05-10-2007, 01:25 PM
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Quote:
me thinks he meant something like 'reached his nadir in the sport....'
__________________
 Seek respect, not attention.
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#11
05-10-2007, 01:31 PM
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I think he meant NADS
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#14
05-10-2007, 01:54 PM
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God darnit Mr. Lamarr, you use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore
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#16
05-10-2007, 04:51 PM
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Thx all for the kind words.. glad folks enjoyed the summation.. It bothers me that I've done so little writing this DT campaign..
'Nadired' is a word of my own creation..  (Would 'zenithed' have been better?).. It joins other racing lexicon I've tried to pioneer like 'neckjob' and 'rednut'..  'Charm City' however, is the long-time nickname of the City of Bal'more..
__________________
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984.
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#17
05-10-2007, 05:51 PM
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Next year maybe we can get a daily "snapshot" of what's happening on the backstretch (you know, in all your spare time ...). Along with the cell phone permanently embedded in your ear, I think you need to carry a laptop
 Great writeup, as usual - thanks! 
__________________
"Have the clean racing people run any ads explaining that giving a horse a Starbucks and a chocolate poppyseed muffin for breakfast would likely result in a ten year suspension for the trainer?" - Dr. Andrew Roberts
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#18
05-10-2007, 06:00 PM
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I've always wondered what the charm was about Baltimore anyway. And why do they call Pimlico "Old Hilltop?"
__________________
The world's foremost expert on virtually everything on the Redskins 2010 season: "Im going to go out on a limb here. I say they make the playoffs."
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#19
05-10-2007, 06:03 PM
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Quote:
used to have a hill in the infield....
__________________
Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all. Abraham Lincoln
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