O'NEILL'S 'HUNTER': 2X pre-Derby

[mclem10011]

Was certainly one I had my eye on during the BC. Doug O'Neil is one of the top trainers in the sport. If 2 preps is what Doug feels like is enough to have the horse peak on Derby day, then who's to say that won't pay off. It may not be the conventional path, but I can't argue with O'Neil's ability to know his horses, and what's best for them.

Although I'm still not a fan of the 2 prep idea as a whole, Great Hunter at least has 7 races under his belt already, so he probably has a decent amount of experience and conditioning. The last 2 prep Derby winner, Sunny's Halo, ran 12 times during his juvenile campaign... I suppose if they race more at 2, the horses don't need as much foundation building later on.

[miraja2]

I believe they are only planning two preps for Street Sense too (and one of those is on poly). This year's Derby seems like it is going to be even more difficult to cap than ever. A lot of these horses will not have a lot of starts as 3yo, and with all the poly preps.....studying the past performances might do us about as much good as consulting psychics.