RACHEL ALEXANDRA one of the best fillies EVER

I'm so speechless right now about RACHEL'S win.(go to ntra.com and click on videos to view.) Just.....wow. I have to say this is the best filly I have ever seen in my life. She is better than Zenyatta, Ruffian and any of the other fillies in history. She has never been asked to do her best yet but she won the Kentucky Oaks by a 20 1/4 lengths. Calvin sat chilly the entire time. Just WOW. When she came around that bend and I watched as the other filly's rider was really riding her and Calvin just sitting chilly as can be and when she pulled away....It reminded me of Secretariat in the Belmont. God I wish she would have been in the Derby. But hey, they may be considering the Belmont so maybe she can tromp the boys there. I have never been so impressed with a horse since like this since Afleet Alex. This filly is not just a freak, she is a champion. We are looking at the best horse running this year. Just give her Horse of the Year honors now. LOL.

Kinda short but my picks for the Derby are I Want Revenge, Dunkirk, and Friesan Fire. Now only less than one day left till the Run for the Roses!

Have a great evening!

Kirsten

Kentucky Oaks and Louisville Distaff preview

Well only one more day till the big dance of the Derby. But first tomorrow we have the Kentucky Oaks with Rachel Alexandra and Justwhistledixie along with undefeated Breeder's cup Distaff winner Zenyatta coming back to match up with One Caroline an undefeated 4 year old grey mare. Let's start it off with the Louisville.

Louisville Stakes at Churchill Downs

Grade 2

$350,000 1 1/16 miles

1.Swift Temper 15/1

2.Zenyatta 4/5

3.Miss Isella 15/1

4.One Caroline 3/1

5.Unforgotten 20/1

6.Modification 20/1

7.French Kiss 30/1

8.Unbridled Belle 3/1

I had a hard time picking a favorite here. I loved One Caroline's romp last time out at Gulfstream(see picture above) but Zenyatta is also undefeated and won the Distaff last year and Older female of year honors. Sorry Caroline but Zenyatta, on paper, is the better horse here. I pick Zenyatta to win, One Caroline to place and I'll throw French Kiss to show. Now onto the major race for tomorrow.

The Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs

Grade 1

$500,000 1 1/8 miles 121 lbs. all

1.Tweeter 30/1

2.Be Fair 15/1

3.Stone Legacy 30/1

4.Gabby's Golden Gal 10/1

5.Justwhistledixie 5/2

6.Rachel Alexandra 3/5

7.Nan 20/1

8.Flying Spur 8/1

Of course I'll be picking RACHEL ALEXANDRA to romp here. I'll take Gabby's Golden Gal to place and Nan to show. Go Rachel!

Tomorrow is lady's day at the Downs so grab your hat and purchase yourself an Oak's Lily and tune in to the Kentucky Oaks. I'll have a recap tomorrow along with a preview of the Derby. Have a great evening!

Kirsten

Win Willy out and Derby positions

Well this morning Win Willy was not one of the names placed in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. His trainer had his leg X-rayed where they found a suspicious looking line through this ankle. So in his best interest they didn't enter him. So now Nowhere to Hide takes his spot. Too bad. He was the hometown favorite for me because of his owner. Oh well, I am impressed on how many trainers and owners have passed on the Derby in favor of the horse's best interest. A big step up since last year.

The gate positions were secured this morning and I Want Revenge was secured favortism in the Derby at 3-1.

The 135th running of Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands
Grade 1 at Churchill Downs
1 1/4 miles
First jewel of the Triple Crown

1.West Side Bernie
2.Musket Man
3.Mr. Hot Stuff
4.Advice
5.Hold Me Back
6.Friesan Fire
7.Papa Clem
8.Mine that Bird
9.Join in the Dance
10.Regal Ransom
11.Chocolate Candy
12.General Quarters
13.I Want Revenge
14.Atomic Rain
15.Dunkirk
16.Pioneerofthenile
17.Summer Bird
18.Nowhere to Hide
19.Desert Party
20.Flying Private

Everyone is pretty much in a great spot for themselves and nobody should have any excuses about post position affecting their horse's running in the race. No one. I won't announce my picks yet. I'm having tough time to sorting through this competitive field. No on really sticks out for me yet. Also, how funny is it that WinStar Farm's entrys are 3, 4 and 5 in the gate right next to each other?

Have a great evening!
Kirsten

3 days till Derby

Well lots of stuff has been happening since my last post over a week ago. Quality Road has dropped out of the Derby because of his second quarter crack. Square Eddie has dropped out because of some heat in his shin that he injured. Along with many of the Derby horses arrivals.

Okay let's start with a recap of what I think of how they are all working. Pioneerofthenile has impressed me with his workouts and liking to Churchill's surface. He definitely will not have the "he just didn't like the surface" excuse if he loses. I Want Revenge has also been doing very well over the track posting a bullet final work for today. Man he did it easily too. He might be the favorite come Derby day. Friesan Fire also posted a bullet work yesterday and he did gallop out a bit slow but when he went five furlongs in 57 4/5 you should be galloping out slower.

The rest of the contenders seem to be doing okay on the track but nothing real special compared to the three I mentioned. General Quarters looks a bit uncomfortable, especially when the track was wet and it's supposed to rain through Derby Saturday so not looking good. He has a weird way of running. Just check out the workouts on kentuckyderby.com and you'll see what I mean.

Now onto the dropouts. Quality Road was taken out of consideration Monday when he was sore in his right front hoof from the recent quarter crack. It's not life threatening or career threatening at all and he will probably be pointing toward the other Triple Crown races. Now I applaud Jerkens for doing this. I was worried he would push him to run but Thank God he didn't. I'm also relieved Square Eddie was taken out of the Run for the Roses today when his trainer Doug O'Neill discovered heat in his recently healed shin. Hopefully he'll point now for the Queen's Plate and not the Derby.

Here's the list now for the Derby in no particular order. The post draw will be tomorrow and if you go to kentuckyderby.com you can watch them post the gate positions during the draw.

Dunkirk

Musket Man

West Side Bernie

Chocolate Candy

General Quarters

Papa Clem

Mine that Bird

Flying Private

Mr. Hot Stuff

Summer Bird

Advice

Join in the Dance

Hold me Back

Regal Ransom

Pioneerofthenile

Friesan Fire

Desert Party

I Want Revenge

Win Willy

Atomic Rain

So far I like I Want Revenge, Win Willy, Friesan Fire, Dunkirk and Pioneerofthenile. Win Willy and Friesan Fire will like the track better if it rains which it is supposed to. But rain would not suit General Quarters whatsoever. I Want Revenge has the way more experience from his last race and has exploded onto the scene since his Gotham win. Pioneerofthenile is a win machine and has taken to Churchill quite well. Dunkirk also garnered some experience and was very impressive in that allowance win. All in all the Derby is going to to interesting.

Now in Oaks news Rachel Alexandra scared off many of her competitors and only seven fillies has stepped up to try to defeat her. It's almost a one horse field. They drew post positions today and here is the lineup.

1.Tweeter
2.Be Far

3.Stone Legacy

4.Gabby's Golden Gal

5.Justwhistledixie

6.Rachel Alexandra

7.Nan

8.Flying Spur

The only horses in this race that I think could possibly beat this freak is either Justwhistledixie or Nan.

Thought this was funny so I thought I would post it.

It wasn't Derby Fever that had the attention of FRIESAN FIRE (A.P. Indy) on Tuesday morning at Barn 45."He was on his toes before he knew Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]) was here," trainer Larry Jones said referring to the arrival of the undefeated champion mare who is housed seven stalls down from Friesan Fire. "He is quite taken with her."

How funny is that? Little ladies man. I guess he's into older mares.

Have a great evening!

Kirsten

Pioneer & Rachel looking good

Just a short little post here. Pioneerofthenile is sure looking good going over Churchill. What a great workout he had earlier this week. Any doubt in my mind about his ability to handle the dirt is thrown out the window now. I'm still worried about him being able to calm himself at the beginning of the race. This quote from Bob Baffert especially has me worried.

"I didn't want to work him in company this morning, because we weren't looking to light up the board. He's already ready, and if I'd have put another horse with him, he'd have gone too fast. He's that competitive."

Yes it is a good thing for him to be competitive but not so competitive that when he sees a horse in front of him he bolts and tires himself out before the race has even ended. I'm probably overanalyzing this but it does worry me a bit.

Meanwhile in Oaks news, if Rachel Alexandra was going into the Derby she would be my pick! She has been doing amazing things in her works at Churchill. Energetic, constantly pulling at her reins, and just looking like she doesn't want to do anything but run. She is going to be hard to beat come Oaks day. I'm really excited to see her blow them all away. She is a FREAK. Yep I said the F word.

Have a nice evening!

Kirsten

Contenders work out

With only 12 days till the Derby and 11 Derby hopefuls currently at Churchill, things are getting exciting. I have to say that in the last four years of watching horse racing up to the Derby, this is the most competitive, deep field I've ever seen. This is going to be an amazing race and whoever wins is going to be even more heavily favored at Pimlico then usual.

Contenders that worked out today

Papa clem breezed a very easy five furlongs work over Churchill Down's surface. He was timed at 1:04 3/5. His breeze ranked 25 out of 28.

Chocolate Candy galloped 1 1/2 miles at Churchill. He is scheduled to have a work Tuesday with jockey Mike Smith aboard.

Desert Party and Regal Ransom rested and walked the shedrow after both turning in five furlongs works yesterday. Monday they are scheduled to jog.

Flying Private galloped this morning for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. He is being considered for the Derby at this point.

I Want Revenge jogged a mile and galloped a mile under exercise rider Joe Deegan. I Want Revenge is scheduled for his second work over Churchill Tuesday.

Musket Man walked the shedrow after recording a six furlongs work in 1:13.

Pioneerofthenile galloped under exercise rider George Alverez.

West Side Bernie galloped 1 7/8 miles with his trainer Kelly Breen up for the ride. Breen has yet ot finalize a workout schedule for his Derby hopeful.

In other news, Gomez picked Pioneerofthenile for his Derby mount Sunday. Ron Anderson, his agent, said it was the toughest decision he and Garrett ever had to make. I knew he would choose Pioneer. And why not? He has one two Grade 1's aboard him and a total of four races altogether aboard out of the four times he's ridden him. Also in Oaks news, Stardom Bound will not be racing in the Oaks. Her owners IEAH will rest her during the summer then bring her back for a fall campaign. I think this is kinda weird considering they just changed her jockey for the Oaks. But, I think it's a great idea to allow her to rest a bit. She just hasn't been herself lately. My favorite for the Oaks is RACHEL ALEXANDRA.

I'm so pumped. The waiting is going to suck but once it comes, oh it's going to be the best Derby I've ever watched.

Have a great evening!

Kirsten

Review of the Lexington Stakes

The Lexington was had a very surprising outcome. A seemingly easy walkover for Square Eddie was turned into a race where he was floundering near the end. Which wasn't so surprising considering that long layoff and lack of conditioning.

The Lexington Stakes

1.Advice

2.Conservative

3.Square Eddie

4.Masala

5.Pitched Perfectly

6.Jeranimo

7.Brave Victory

8.Parade Clown

9.Omniscient

10.El Crespo

11.His Greatness

Hull scratched

Well I struck out on this race. Square Eddie's connections were pleased by his performance and with him being #3 in graded earnings it wouldn't be a problem. I still don't think they should run him in such a big race this close to an injury such as a hairline fracture. Advice closed like a freight train in this race. I don't think he deserves a Derby shot but he's one to look out for other Triple Crown races or just later in other stakes. Garrett Gomez....(shakes head) he just is loaded isn't he?

Updated Derby top ten

1.I Want Revenge

2.Friesan Fire

3.Pioneerofthenile

4.Dunkirk

5.Quality Road

6.Musket Man

7.Desert Party

8.Win Willy

9.General Quarters

10.West Side Bernie

Okay I have to admit I have relooked over General Quarters race and I have started to like him a bit more than I did. So I thought I would give some support so to say. Tomorrow I'll update on some more Derby news but for now I'm exhausted from riding today.

Have a nice evening!

Kirsten