ShareThisWhat's all the fuss about, I wondered, as national racing writers extolled I Want Revenge, touting the young colt as a possible favorite for the Kentucky Derby following his win in the Gotham Stakes.
It's only March, I thought at the time, and the race was at Aqueduct. If the horse was that good, he'd be at Gulfstream Park, in Florida, or at Santa Anita, in California. Besides, he'd lost his first race of the year, finishing third in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, at Santa Anita, in February.
Then I watched him win the Wood Memorial four weeks ago.
Now I understand why he'll be the likely -- and deserving --- favorite in the 134th Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Which is not to say he'll win. Or that I'll even bet on him, since I don't like taking a "short" price in an oversized field of 20 3-year-olds, none of which ever has run the Derby distance of 1-1/4 miles.
But anyone who has seen his last-to-first run in the Wood would have to say the Jeff Mullins-trained son of Stephen Got Even is a very nice racehorse.
It's been a long time since thoroughbred racing captured widespread interest among America's sports fans. The Sport of Kings has become a "niche" sport, followed avidly by its relatively small coterie of devotees, and largely ignored by the majority.
Except on Derby Day.
On the first Saturday in May, just about everyone is a racing fan.
So, for those who may never before have heard of any of the horses entered, here's a look at the top contenders:
--I Want Revenge
At the Wood, young jockey Joe Talamo didn't panic after a terrible start, allowing the colt to settle into stride at the back of the pack. He began to move up along the backstretch, but, as the field came down the homestretch, I Want Revenge was stuck in traffic. Fortunately, Talamo steered him to the outside and I Want Revenge pulled impressively away to win by a length-and-a-half.
"He had every trouble you could have in a race," Mullins said, "and still overcame it. It tells me he's a pretty nice horse."
-- Pioneerof The Nile
Undefeated this year, winning three stakes races (one over I Want Revenge) on the synthetic surface at Santa Anita, he's also "a pretty nice horse." Trained by Bob Baffert, who has won the Derby three times and this summer will be inducted in the Racing Hall of Fame, Pioneerof the Nile hasn't been dominant in his victories, but he gets the job done. His speed figures, however, aren't dazzling, and he never has raced on dirt, although his works this week at Churchill Downs indicate he should handle it.
-- Dunkirk
He ought to be good, since he cost $3.7 million at the Keeneland sales as a yearling in 2007. Trained by Todd Pletcher, who has won the Eclipse award as the nation's top trainer four times, but never has won the Derby, Dunkirk was favored in the Florida Derby, even though it was only his third race. He ran well, but finished second behind Quality Road, who was scratched from the Derby. Dunkirk has been working very quickly in Florida and certainly merits consideration.
-- Friesan Fire
He was the King of the Fair Grounds in New Orleans this winter, sweeping all three Derby prep races there, including the Louisiana Derby. But he hasn't run since then, causing some to question whether he'll be fit enough to get the mile-and-a-quarter. Trainer Larry Jones has had hard luck lately, seeing his filly, Eight Belles, euthanized after she broke down after finishing second in last year's Derby. He also ran second in the 2007 Derby, with Hard Spun, and what many considered his best horse this year, Old Fashioned, had to be retired after suffering a leg injury in the Arkansas Derby.
Chocolate Candy
Close second to Pioneerof the Nile in the Santa Anita Derby, and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, who's the best of the northern California conditioners, he's a long shot possibility -- especially considering that, in December, he was third behind Pioneerof the Nile and I Want Revenge, beaten just a length-and-half, in the CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park.
General Quarters
If you're looking for a good guy to root for, then 75-year-old Tom McCarthy, who bought General Quarters as a yearling in 2007 for the bargain price of $20,000, is your man.
Offered seven figures recently to sell his horse, McCarthy declined.
"At this point in my life," he said, "I don't need an awful lot of money. At my age, I'll probably never have another chance at the Kentucky Derby. You just don't sell a dream."
(Contact Jim Donaldson at jdonalds@projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit The Providence Journal
