Four of the last fifteen Kentucky Derby winners were started (i.e. broke to ride and gotten ready to the races) or sold at Two-Year-Old in Training Sales by consignors (i.e. sellers) that will have horses in the 2009 Barretts May Sale. The only one who didn’t consign the Derby Winner to a sale (was Stephens Thoroughbreds) which prepared the home-bred BARBARO for the races for his owners. This is a very high number from the small number of consignors in the sale.
Two larger than life Thoroughbred statues are looming on the horizon.
According to a Blood-Horse story, a 164-foot-tall statue of a grey Thoroughbred is going to greet England’s visitors when completed in three years. Artist Mark Wallinger won a contest to build next to the Ebbsfleet train station.
Though physically much smaller, a statue of Barbaro is not going to lack attention for its April due date at Churchill Downs . Alexa King is sculpting an airborne depiction of the Kentucky Derby hero. BarbaroStatue.com has all you ever wanted to know about making a statue.
Saturday features two notable racing debuts on opposite coasts, starting with Nicanor:
Nicanor is a 3-year-old full-brother to the storied Barbaro. Like his older sibling, media have focused a tremendous amount of attention on him. Nicanor runs in race 8 at Gulfstream Park in Florida, a $40,000 maiden special weight at one mile on the dirt. Post time is 4:43 p.m. Eastern, 1:43 p.m. Pacific. The race is sandwiched between the Holy Bull Stakes (Gr. III) and Donn Handicap (Gr. I). Like Barbaro, Nicanor is bred and owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson, trained by Michael Matz, and ridden by Edgar Prado.
Sweet Thoughts is the first foal out of 2004 Champion Juvenile Filly Sweet Catomine. The 3-year-old bay filly is sired by A.P. Indy. Sweet Catomine was retired under less-than-ideal circumstances. After winning five straight races she ran against the males in the Santa Anita Derby (Gr. I). Unfortunately, she finished fifth, beaten by Buzzard’s Bay and eventual Kentucky Derby (Gr. I) winner Giacomo. What followed was an unforgettable controversy that ultimately ended with owners Pam and Marty Wygod and trainer Julio Canani severing ties and Sweet Catomine being retired and bred at age three. The Wygod’s also own Sweet Thoughts, but John Shirreffs is the trainer and Garrett Gomez the jockey.
Sweet Thoughts runs in the fourth race at Santa Anita at 2:02 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The race is a maiden special weight at one mile on the turf. Free live video is available at Calracing.com.
The opinions expressed in this blog, reader comments, and linked websites
are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions
of Fairplex or any employee
thereof. Content is not intended to injure, defame, or libel. The blog
writer is given paid
compensation for content. Fairplex is not responsible
for the accuracy of any of the information supplied.
