What horse besides Friesen Fire is a favorite athe the Kentucky Derby?
One of the favorites, I Want Revenge, has been pulled from the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old colt was scratched hours before the Run for the Roses after trainer Jeff Mullins discovered a hot spot on the horse’s left front ankle. “We could tell he was not 100 percent,” Mullins said. An X-ray did not find any damage, but with a wet track expected for the Derby, Mullins and owner David Lanzman didn’t want to take any chances.
Running down the rest of the field, one must consider the pace setup of the race, the effect of synthetic surfaces and Beyer Speed Figures. Hopeless longshot Join in the Dance probably will set the pace, with Regal Ransom, Papa Clem, Friesan Fire, I Want Revenge and Desert Party in the next flight. If Join in the Dance goes too fast and the pressers stay too close, the winner probably will rally from far back, which favors Dunkirk, Pioneerof the Nile and Chocolate Candy. Pioneerof the Nile has won four straight stakes in Southern California, and Chocolate Candy finished close to him twice while also winning the California and El Camino Real derbies at Golden Gate Fields. Neither horse has raced on a conventional dirt track like Churchill Downs, but most of the West Coast horses that have moved to dirt this year have excelled. After losing twice to Pioneerof the Nile on synthetic surfaces, I Want Revenge went to Aqueduct’s dirt and romped in the Gotham Stakes and overcame a terrible tri
The latest look at the list of top contenders for the 2009 Kentucky Derby to be run on May 2nd at Churchill Downs, in alphabetical order: Advice Atomic Rain Chocolate Candy Desert Party Dunkirk Flying Private Friesen Fire General Quarters Hold Me Back I Want Revenge Join in the Dance Mine that Bird Mr Hot Stuff Nowhere to Hide Musket Man Papa Clem Pioneer of the Nile Regal Randon Summer Bird West Side Bernie My personal choice would be based on nothing else than I love chocolate candy, not the horse, the candy!
Want Revenge has Kentucky Derby odds of +325, and he’ll be trying to grab the second consecutive Derby win for IEAH Stables, who owned 2008 winner Big Brown. I Want Revenge won a pair of Derby prep races at Aqueduct, including the prestigious Wood Memorial. 11 horses that have won the Wood Memorial have also won the Derby, and some say I Want Revenge looks even stronger since winning that race. Friesen Fire is next with Kentucky Derby odds of +485, and he’ll be happy with his trio of wins in the Derby preps, all coming at the Fair Grounds Race Course in Louisiana. However, he hasn’t been in a competitive race since March 14th, when he won the Louisiana Derby, and some wonder if he’ll start slow out of the gate. With this field, getting behind from the start could be Friesen Fire’s downfall. Still, any horse who has won three Derby prep races has to be considered one of the top Kentucky Derby betting picks.
Running down the rest of the field, one must consider the pace setup of the race, the effect of synthetic surfaces and Beyer Speed Figures. Hopeless longshot Join in the Dance probably will set the pace, with Regal Ransom, Papa Clem, Friesan Fire, I Want Revenge and Desert Party in the next flight. If Join in the Dance goes too fast and the pressers stay too close, the winner probably will rally from far back, which favors Dunkirk, Pioneerof the Nile and Chocolate Candy. Pioneerof the Nile has won four straight stakes in Southern California, and Chocolate Candy finished close to him twice while also winning the California and El Camino Real derbies at Golden Gate Fields. Neither horse has raced on a conventional dirt track like Churchill Downs, but most of the West Coast horses that have moved to dirt this year have excelled. After losing twice to Pioneerof the Nile on synthetic surfaces, I Want Revenge went to Aqueduct’s dirt and romped in the Gotham Stakes and overcame a terrible tri
