Who Did the Derby Gods Frown On The Most and Why

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

There's never going to be much betting value with Union Rags. It's like some handicappers have put Matz on Jesus Christ's level.

Matz had Visionaire (a Grand Slam out of a French Deputy mare) who was also an expensive 2yo sale horse with sprint breeding.

Visionaire was 19th by 10, 19th by 16, 19th by 14.5, 18th by 16, and finished 12th by 22 lengths behind Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby.

Finally he gave up on trying to make him into deep closing plodding router, and he won the Gr 1 King's Bishop with him a few months later.

Union Rags won the Saratoga Special wire-to-wire at 6.5f setting a 21 3/5ths first quarter. To me, he's just a horse with a lot of raw speed, an obvious sprinter/miler pedigree, and a horse who's closing punch becomes more watered down the further he goes. I don't even know who's going to be in the Belmont -- but if he wins it I know I will lose money.