Mar 27, 2012

TCI weekend review: Spiral & Sunland

Jon Siegel and Joel Cunningham analyze the weekend's stakes races for another edition of Triple Crown Insider as well as look at the upcoming Louisiana Derby.



MY TAKE: Like Jon and Joel, I didn't feel compelled to put either winner in my top ten list, but I thought both races were honest Grade 3s that I expect will hold their form as the year goes on.

Daddy Nose Best registered a 104 BRIS Speed Rating in winning the Sunland Derby, and part of me wants to say that Julian Leparoux won the Sunland Derby because his patient handling of the stretch runner certainly contributed to his success in this race.

Isn't He Clever ran as good a race in defeat. I don't know where Isn't He Clever fits in terms of the classics, but it wouldn't shock me to see him become a regional derby (e.g. Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Oklahoma, etc.) pro a la Prayer For Relief.

I would bet Daddy Nose Best in the upcoming third future pool at 40-to-1 or better. He is one of only six three-year-olds to register a pair of BRIS Speed Ratings greater than 100. Yeah, he got a perfect trip in the Sunland Derby, and I hate the cliche that the Derby favors closers because of Churchill's long stretch or the 1 1/4-mile nature of the race, but Daddy Nose Best is a consistent sort, who--with six weeks to the Derby--figures to fire his best shot on May 5. It'd be nice to lock in a good price on him to win now and then use him mostly as an underneath play in exotics on Derby day.
As for the Spiral, I was less impressed with its likelihood of becoming a key race among this generation but thought the top four all ran well enough to leave the door open for future highlights with additional development. But again, from a classics standpoint, I don't know that this race fits as a key player. I didn't get the same sense watching Went the Day Well as I did Animal Kingdom (whom I bet in the third future pool last year).

More important than my future bets, though, is that four players are still alive for the $1-million prize in TwinSpires.com Triple Crown SHOWdown by having correctly placed 11 consecutive $20 show wagers on the Triple Crown trail. There are three races this weekend: The U.A.E., Florida, and Louisiana Derbys.

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