Super Saver Kentucky Derby Winner

Super Saver gives Pletcher a Kentucky Derby win

By Jay Privman





LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The week had been emotionally draining for both trainer Todd Pletcher and the WinStar Farm of Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt. Both had multiple entries for the 136th Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs, but went to battle with less ammunition than they first envisioned.



For Pletcher, he had to withdraw the race's acknowledged favorite, Eskendereya, last weekend because of swelling in the colt's left front leg. Pletcher still had four runners, but not the one he thought he needed most.


WinStar started the week with four potential Derby runners, but was down to two by post time, owing to the defections of Rule, because he was not training satisfactorily, and Endorsement, who was injured in a workout on Wednesday.


But where Pletcher and WinStar overlapped, they had the best weapon anyone can bring to battle at Churchill Downs - jockey Calvin Borel.

The Kentucky Derby

Derby favorites draw tricky posts

By Jay Privman

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The top two choices in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday have 'em surrounded. Lookin At Lucky, the favorite, drew the rail, and Sidney's Candy, the second choice, drew the outside post in a field of 20 when post positions were drawn on Wednesday for Derby 136 at Churchill Downs.

Devil May Care, the filly who will challenge 19 males, wound up in the middle, in post 11.

The posts for the top two choices are not considered ideal. No horse has won from the rail since Ferdinand in 1986, and no horse beginning from the rail has finished in the money since Risen Star was third in 1988.

"He's got to break well," said Bob Baffert, who trains Lookin At Lucky and Conveyance, who drew post 12. "Plan A is to break well. Plan B is we're screwed."

Big Brown won from post 20 just two years ago, but he was clearly superior to his rivals. Though 20-horse fields have been the norm in recent years, they were rare in the early years of the Derby.

The only other horse to win from post 20 was Clyde Van Dusen in 1929, when there was a walk-up start.

Post 11 also had its drawbacks. Because the Derby field is double-loaded, posts 1 and 11 go in the gate first for the 1 1/4-mile race, then 2 and 12, on down to 10 and 20.

"Eleven is a great position from which to start the race. The only thing I don't like is that she'll have to be in the gate a long time," said Todd Pletcher, who trains Devil May Care and three other horses in this Derby.

Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form's national handicapper, made Lookin At Lucky the 4-1 favorite, with Sidney's Candy 5-1 and Awesome Act the third choice at 8-1. He has Devil May Care next at 10-1, followed by Ice Box at 12-1.

Mike Battaglia, the linemaker at Churchill Downs, has Lookin At Lucky at 3-1, and Sidney's Candy at 5-1. Battaglia made Awesome Act, Devil May Care, and Ice Box co-third choices at 10-1.

Devil May Care is adding blinkers for the Derby, while Lookin At Lucky is having his removed.

Horse Racing - Pletcher contingent hits track

Pletcher contingent hits track


By Marty McGee

Trainer Todd Pletcher had all seven of his potential Kentucky Derby starters on the track at Churchill Downs on Wednesday morning, including the filly Devil May Care, who is now under consideration for both the Derby and Kentucky Oaks.

Pletcher remained uncommitted as to both her status and that of two of his other 3-year-olds, Interactif and Discreetly Mine. They are among the top 20 horses on the graded earnings list but were described as still being "on the bubble" by their trainer after training on Wednesday.

"Right now we're preparing everybody as if they might run in the Derby," said Pletcher. "They all have enough earnings to get into the race, but some will have to have key works this weekend to earn their way into the race."

Wednesday marked the first local appearance of Eskendereya, who is just about everybody's favorite to win the Derby. Eskendereya galloped an easy 1 1/4 miles after the renovation break.

"He galloped exactly the way I expected him to this morning," said Pletcher. "He was curious and looking around, but he got over the ground well."

Pletcher said he was also pleased what he sees from Super Saver.

"He takes to this track better than anywhere, but like all of these horses, we'll know more after they work this weekend," said Pletcher.

Pletcher also said no decision regarding whether Devil May Care might run in the Derby or Oaks would be made until after her next work.

"She's had the benefit of working with some of these other good 3-year-olds in my barn this winter, and I know she can stick with them, and I'm also confident she'll like a mile and one-quarter and even a mile and one-half," Pletcher said.

Horse Racing - Careless Jewel

Careless Jewel won't duck Rachel


By Marty McGee

LEXINGTON, Ky. - No, Josie Carroll isn't monitoring every move that Rachel Alexandra makes, but she does have more than a passing interest in where the superstar filly shows up next.

That's because Carroll intends to have Careless Jewel make her 4-year-old debut at Churchill Downs on the April 30 Kentucky Oaks undercard in the Grade 2, $400,000 La Troienne Stakes, a race often mentioned as a possible next start for Rachel Alexandra.

"You're always looking for the easiest spot you can find for your horses," said Carroll, who trains Careless Jewel for the Donver Stable of Donna and Vern Dubinsky. "There's nothing easy about Rachel. But we are pointing to the La Troienne whether or not she goes."

Owner Jess Jackson has been coy about his immediate plans for Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year who was second at 1-20 in her only start this year, the March 13 New Orleans Ladies. Rachel Alexandra has had two workouts since shipping to Churchill late last month and is scheduled for another one Monday.

Careless Jewel, unraced since finishing last as the favorite in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic last fall, was scheduled to work Saturday over the Polytrack at Keeneland as she continues to progress toward the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne. Julien Leparoux will have the mount on Careless Jewel for the first time, said Carroll.

"Everything seems to be falling into place for her," said Carroll. "After the La Troienne, we'd just have to see what happens and make plans from there."

Prior to her disappointing Breeders' Cup effort, Careless Jewel won five straight races, most notably the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks and Grade 1 Alabama in huge romps.

Among the other 24 fillies and mares nominated to the La Troienne is Zardana, winner of the New Orleans Ladies.

Horese Racing - Zenyatta

Zenyatta takes a spin around Oaklawn oval

By Jay Privman

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Zenyatta on Wednesday morning took her first tour of the Oaklawn Park main track since her arrival 24 hours earlier, making one lap around the one-mile dirt oval with her regular exercise rider, Steve Willard.

Zenyatta went out shortly before the 8:30 a.m. renovation break, earlier than she usually trains at home at Hollywood Park. Both Willard
and Zenyatta's trainer, John Shirreffs, said they went early because of threatening weather in the area on Wednesday morning, which was forecast to worsen as the day went on.
"She handled everything great," Willard said.

When Zenyatta went to the track, only a misty drizzle was falling. There are thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday afternoon, but the
National Weather Service is predicting gorgeous weather the rest of the week, with a high temperature of 71 degrees on Friday, when the unbeaten Zenyatta will attempt to go 16-0 in the Apple Blossom.

Zenyatta won the Apple Blossom two years ago. That is her only prior start on dirt. Wednesday marked the first time she had been on dirt since last May at Churchill Downs, when she arrived there for an intended 2009 debut in a race from which she was subsequently scratched because of a sloppy track.

Horse Racing - Keeneland

Keeneland opener runs the gamut
By Marty McGee


LEXINGTON, Ky. - They say that character is best revealed under trying circumstances, which says a lot about the smile that trainer Larry Demeritte managed to put on his face in the aftermath of the first race of the Keeneland spring meet Friday.

Demeritte had just seen Weekend Wildcat, a 2-year-old colt he trains for Mervin and Barbara McNamara, come up on the short end of a nose photo. With 100 yards to go, Weekend Wildcat appeared to have gotten the best of Wetzel after the pair had hooked up in early stretch, but Wetzel battled back along the rail to prevail in a head-bob.

"You'd rather just get flat outrun than lose like that," said Demeritte, a Keeneland-based trainer who has not won a race here since the 2003 fall meet. "That was tough."
Brutal beats aside, it was difficult for ontrack fans not to enjoy the first of 15 afternoons at this bucolic track. With high-70s temperatures mitigated by a thin cloud cover and slight breeze, conditions were perfect for breaking the cabin fever that many of the locals had endured during the winter.

"It's the scenery, the atmosphere," said Bill Campbell, a 42-year-old Lexington resident. "I probably come out four or five times a meet. I've got a friend on the mutuels line who usually throws me a tip, although I try to keep it a secret."

What is not a secret is how racing at Keeneland once again has lured many of North America's top jockeys and trainers to Kentucky for the next month. Wetzel ($6.60) was ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, the leading rider at the recently ended Fair Grounds meet, and saddled by Steve Asmussen, the two-time defending Eclipse Award-winning trainer. The second race was won by Taqarub ($10.40), whose trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin, has some 30 horses here this spring and is one of about a dozen prominent East Coast trainers on hand.

The third winner, Flying Warrior ($16.40), was ridden by John Velazquez, while the fourth winner, Intercoastal ($5.80), was ridden by the defending Eclipse jockey, Julien Leparoux. And on it went.

The Friday feature, the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes, was scheduled as the ninth of 10 races. It was the first of 16 stakes that will be run through a meet that ends April 23.
Meanwhile, less than midway through the program, the crowd count already had surpassed the Keeneland record for a Friday opener.

"We've already had more than 19,000 pass through the gates," Keeneland's president, Nick Nicholson, said as the fifth race neared. "In this day and age, that's remarkable. We're more than pleased."

The record for a Friday opener was 18,031, set in 2006. The record for an opening day, 21,371, was set on a Saturday in 1978.

Zayat

Zayat wears his heart on his sleeve

By Glenye Cain Oakford

LEXINGTON, Ky. - You couldn't make up a better story. Thoroughbred owner Ahmed Zayat, pursued by his bank for allegedly defaulting on $34 million in loans, files for bankruptcy and cheats the bank's attempt to take over his 200-horse stable, then turns up with Eskendereya, a hot prospect for the Kentucky Derby.
It's the kind of melodrama that's made Zayat one of Thoroughbred racing's most intriguing and controversial owners. He's also highly successful. A 47-year-old Egyptian entrepreneur, Zayat got into the game in 2005 and is North America's second-leading owner by earnings. He was among North America's top three leading owners in 2007 and 2009. Ask people who know him how they would describe Zayat, and the word you'll hear most often is "passionate." That's frequently followed by "tough," meant in both senses: strong but also potentially difficult to deal with.
Zayat, who resides in Teaneck, N.J., has countersued Fifth Third over their $34 million lawsuit. In interviews he's described the bank and its associates as "very bad people" trying to push him to financial ruin.

"My goal was to rise to the highest level of the sport by having the best-bred and best-raised horses, and I was going to commit a lot of my funds," Zayat said of his entry into racing. "And I put in a lot of money, tens of millions of dollars. People are mistaken about what happened to me. I was a very good businessman and still am. What happened to me financially was not a failure of Zayat Stable, it was a failure of the market. And there's a huge difference."

Eskendereya (pronounced es-ken-DARE-ee-uh) could make some of those problems fade. He is slated to run in the April 3 Wood Memorial in his final prep for the Derby. He cost Zayat $250,000 at the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale, but his value jumped into the millions after his 8 1/2-length victory in the Feb. 20 Fountain of Youth. Rumored suitors have included Stonestreet Stables owner Jess Jackson and International Equine Acquisitions Holdings, but Zayat won't name names.

Bloodstock experts generally value Eskendereya, who is by Giant's Causeway, at $6 million to $8 million. The price would jump with a Wood victory, a Derby win, or, better yet, the Triple Crown. Horses with Derby chances still command top dollar, but a hard fall in prices for stallion prospects means Eskendereya would be a harder sell after the Triple Crown, unless he keeps winning and becomes a must-have for stud farms.

Kentucky Derby Bound

Next stop Louisville for Florida Derby trio

By David Grening

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The top three finishers from Saturday's $750,000 Florida Derby came out of their races in good order and will now set their sights on the May 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, their connections said Sunday.

Ice Box, Pleasant Prince, and Rule will all run in the Derby without having another prep race, meaning they will have six weeks between races. Ice Box defeated Pleasant Prince by a nose Saturday, both coming from well off the pace, while it was another 1 1/4 lengths back to Rule, who held on despite racing on the lead. Ice Box and Pleasant Prince each earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure.

Nick Zito, the trainer of Ice Box, said that his colt was "a little tired, but otherwise he looked really good'' Sunday morning. It was the third nine-furlong race of the winter for Ice Box, who won a first-level allowance race here in January before finishing fifth to Eskendereya in the Fountain of Youth.

"He's had three mile-and-an-eighth races in a row, I don't see the point of running anywhere,'' Zito said. "There's absolutely nothing to gain. Zero."

Zito said he would ship Ice Box straight to Churchill Downs approximately the first week of April.

Pleasant Prince, who fell a nose short to Ice Box in the Florida Derby, "came out of the race awesome,'' according to trainer Wesley Ward. Pleasant Prince will be flown on Wednesday to Lexington, Ky., where he will do all of his training leading up to the Kentucky Derby over Keeneland's synthetic surface, Ward said

"Keeneland's surface has been great to me the last few years,'' Ward said. "I've probably had a thousand works and I could count on one hand the number of horses that have gotten hurt there. The big thing leading into the Derby is keeping your horses sound. I've got nothing against Churchill, it's just the luck I've had at Keeneland and the fact I'll be there with the rest of my horses.''

Trainer Todd Pletcher said Rule came out of the Florida Derby well. Rule was only beaten 1 1/4 lengths despite battling Pulsion for the early lead. Pulsion faded to sixth.

"I still think he ran very well, he was one of the few horses that was part of the pace that stuck around,'' Pletcher said. "We felt like we learned something, I think Johnny learned something. Hopefully it improves him for the next one. Johnny felt like if he could do it over he would have opted to grab a hold of him, ease him back and wait a little longer to make his final move.''

Pletcher said he is looking to ship Rule to Churchill Downs around April 20.

Radiohead, who finished ninth after being forced to race wide early, came out of his race in good shape, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said. There are no plans for the colt's next start.

"I got no idea what went wrong,'' Dutrow said.

Dutrow said that Swale Stakes winner D' Funnybone was in good shape Sunday morning and that the Grade 2 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct on April 24 is a possible next start.

Bonnie Miss one-two finishers Devil May Care and Amen Hallelujah will be pointed to the Kentucky Oaks on April 30.

Horse Racing

Zayat cleared to race in California

By Matt Hegarty

Ahmed Zayat, the owner of Zayat Stables and leading Kentucky Derby contender Eskendereya, has been cleared to race in California after questions were raised about Zayat's possible associations with bookmakers, but probes are continuing in both Kentucky and New York, according to racing regulators in the states.

Kirk Breed, the executive director of the California Horse Racing Board, said in a statement Friday that the board did not have sufficient evidence to revoke Zayat's racing license based on a preliminary investigation into the associations.

The questions about the associations were raised after Zayat listed loans he made to Michael and Jeffrey Jelinksy on papers he filed in bankruptcy court. The Jelinsky brothers pleaded guilty to felony charges of illegal bookmaking in early 2009.

The court papers said that Zayat loaned $155,000 to Michael Jelinksy in November 2006 and loaned $455,000 to Jeffrey Jelinksy in September 2007. The brothers did not repay the loans. In addition, the court papers listed two smaller loans to members of the Jelinksy family in late 2007 and early 2008.

Zayat has said that he loaned the money to the family members because they were struggling financially. He said that he believed that Michael and Jeffrey Jelinsky were gambling on horses professionally in Las Vegas when he made the loans, and he has disputed that he knew the brothers were operating a bookmaking business.

In his statement, Breed said that CHRB investigators had determined that Zayat made the loans prior to the convictions. "Therefore, we can't see any reason to pull the license of Mr. Zayat," Breed said. "As more information becomes available, we will certainly look into it."

In Kentucky and New York, however, racing regulators said on Tuesday that their investigations into the matter were ongoing.

Joe Mahoney, a spokesman for the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, said that New York's rule prohibits racing licensees from associating with any bookmakers, regardless of whether the bookmakers have been convicted.

"The assertion that the person made the loans prior to the bookmaker being convicted does not obviate the need to conduct a thorough and complete review," Mahoney said.

Lisa Underwood, the executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said that investigators for the commission have talked to various state and federal authorities and have conducted an interview with Zayat's attorney.

"We are still gathering information, so the inquiry remains open," Underwood said. She also said that the California determination would not have a bearing on Kentucky's investigation because of different standards in state rules on the associations of licensees.

Horse Racing

Motion poised for a big day

By Steve Andersen

Santa Anita Posted 3/2/2010, 3:30 pm


ARCADIA, Calif. - Saucey Evening and Smart Seattle may provide trainer Graham Motion with a breakthrough day at Santa Anita on Thursday.

Motion's small California stable has had one win from 12 starters this winter, but he could have a winner, or two, on Thursday for owner George Strawbridge's Augustin Stable.

"It's been a little bit of a frustrating meeting, more than anything getting the right distances," Motion said by phone earlier this week from the East Coast. "Hopefully, we'll get a shot on Thursday."

Saucey Evening, the champion California-bred 2-year-old filly of 2008, has drawn the rail in the second race, an allowance over 1 1/16 miles on the synthetic main track. The $52,000 race will be her first start since a sixth in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf over 1 1/8 miles on Jan. 30. That distance may have been beyond her reach, Motion said.
"I think, in retrospect, it was a bit of a stretch," Motion said. "Hopefully, we can get a good handle on her."

A winner of 4 of 13 starts and $354,939, Saucey Evening won the Starine Stakes over a mile on turf at Hollywood Park last December and was third in the Cascapedia Stakes over seven furlongs on the synthetic track here last October.

"We want to get her in a conservative spot," Motion said of Thursday's race. "She seems to be training well. I think the Hollywood Park race is much more a true bearing of her ability."

Saucey Evening races from off the pace and must catch Lady Alex, who has won three of her last four starts and is expected to be favored.

Thursday's seventh race over 1 1/16 miles will be Smart Seattle's first start on a synthetic track since a second in the Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland in October.

Smart Seattle was fourth as the 2-1 favorite in an optional claimer over a mile on turf here Jan. 29 under jockey Rafael Bejarano, her first start since a ninth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November.
"I thought Rafael had nowhere to go in the last quarter-mile," Motion said. "I thought it was a very competitive race as well."

Motion also has Zilva, seventh in the BC Juvenile Fillies last November, in Thursday's seventh race, but said she could be scratched in favor of Saturday's Santa Anita Oak.

Horse Racing

SANTA ANITA, Calif. (AP) -Blame the Wine beat Be Driven by a half-length Thursday in the $48,800 optional claiming feature at Santa Anita.

Ridden by Omar Berrio, Blame the Wine covered 7 furlongs in 1:23.28 and paid $6, $3.40 and $2.20 as the 2-1 second choice. Be Driven returned $5.40 and $3, while 6-5 favorite A Clever Ten paid $2.10 to show.

The victory, worth $28,800, increased Blame the Wine's earnings to $97,360.

Midnight Rage opened a 6-length lead down the backstretch and entered the stretch ahead by 2 before faltering. Berrio drove Blame the Wine between horses in the closing stages to win.



Sportsbook Horse Results

Horse Racing

Churchill Downs Posted 2/25/2010

Kentucky Oaks has 143 nominations

She Be Wild and Blind Luck are among the 143 fillies nominated to the 136th Kentucky Oaks, set for April 30 at Churchill Downs. The complete list of nominations can be found at churchilldowns.com. Churchill officials said nominations to the May 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic were to be released Friday.

Horse Racing

February 23 2010
From the AP wire:

Bob and Todd's excellent adventures carry on after a winning weekend in Kentucky Derby prep races.

The exceptional results leave Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher training six of the horses in the AP's latest Run to the Roses Top 10 list of Kentucky Derby contenders.

Baffert's Lookin At Lucky remains No. 1 while awaiting his 3-year-old debut in the San Felipe at Santa Anita on March 13. Conveyance won the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, giving Baffert the No. 3 prospect as well.

Pletcher, meanwhile, hit the trifecta with victories in three Derby preps. Eskendereya romped by 8 1/2 lengths in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, Discreetly Mine won the Risen Star by 1 1/2 lengths at the Fair Grounds, and Connemara took the El Camino Real by three-quarters of a length at Golden Gate Fields.

The results leave Pletcher with four top-10 horses - No. 2 Eskendereya, No. 4 Rule, No. 5 Discreetly Mine and No. 9 Connemara.

Baffert has won the Derby three times. Pletcher is 0-for-24, but excited.

``You've got to be excited when they perform like that in these kind of races at this time of year,'' Pletcher said following Eskendereya's second straight win in 2010 and third overall on the dirt. ``I was particularly pleased with the way he finished. I don't think we've ever gotten to the bottom of him.''

The next stop for the chestnut son of Giant's Causeway is likely the Florida Derby on March 20, and then onto Churchill Downs for the Derby on May 1.

Discreetly Mine bounded onto the Derby trail with a wire-to-wire, 1 1/2-length win over Tempted to Tapit in the 1 1-16-mile Risen Star. The son of Mineshaft won for just the second time in seven starts, but is headed next to the Louisiana Derby on March 27.

``I expected him to be on the lead ... and he looked happy galloping along,'' winning rider Javier Castellano said. ``I am very satisfied with the way the race developed.''

Connemara, the 13-10 favorite, rallied from last in the nine-horse field and won the 1 1/8-mile El Camino Real by 1 1/4 lengths - the colt's third win in four starts. Another son of Giant's Causeway, Connemara is likely to run next in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3.

``He's improving with every race and extra distance won't hurt this colt at all,'' winning jockey Russell Baze said.

And then there's Baffert. With Martin Garcia subbing for regular rider Garrett Gomez, 9-5 favorite Conveyance raced to an early lead and held off Dublin by three-quarters of a length in the Southwest Stakes. The gray colt is now 4 for 4 and headed next to the Santa Anita Derby.

The Southwest was rescheduled from Feb. 13, when icy conditions forced a postponement.

New in this week's top 10 are Discreetly Mine, Hutcheson winner D'Funnybone, Connemara and Tempted to Tapit. Out are Buddy's Saint (ninth in the Fountain of Youth after being jostled at the start), Sidney's Candy, American Lion and Lentenor, who ran second in an allowance race at Gulfstream last Wednesday.

Several races Saturday could produce Kentucky Derby prospects: the Sham at Santa Anita, the Borderland Derby at Sunland Park and the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park.
---
Keep an eye on: Buddy's Saint, Caracortado, Noble's Promise, Sidney's Candy, Super Saver.




1. Lookin At Lucky (Bob Baffert, trainer; Garrett Gomez, jockey): 2-year-old champion worked 6 furlongs in 1:15.40 on Monday at Santa Anita ... winner in 5 of 6 starts in 2009 ... only loss was runner-up in BC Juvenile ... Next start: San Felipe (March 13, Santa Anita, synthetic) ... Derby future wager odds: 8-1.
2. Eskendereya (Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez): Romped by 8 1/2 lengths in Fountain of Youth ... 2 for 2 in 2010 ... son of Giant's Causeway is 3 for 3 overall on dirt ... Next start: Florida Derby (March 20, Gulfstream, dirt) ... Odds: 22-1.
3. Conveyance (Baffert, Gomez): Gray colt is 4-for 4 after three-quarter length win in Southwest ... Transition to dirt went smoothly with rider Martin Garcia subbing for Gomez ... Next start: Santa Anita Derby (April 3, Santa Anita) ... Odds: 33-1.
4. Rule (Pletcher, Velazquez): Sam F. Davis winner has four-race winning streak ... Training in south Florida ... Next start: Undecided ... Odds: 24-1.
5. Discreetly Mine (Pletcher, Javier Castellano): Won Risen Star by 1 1/2 lengths ... Son of Mineshaft may have it together after losses to other Derby contenders ... Next start: Louisiana Derby (March 27, Fair Grounds, dirt) ... Odds: 3-2 (mutuel field).
6. Jackson Bend (Nick Zito, Jeremy Rose): Second again, this time in Fountain of Youth ... Game little colt has 5 wins, 3 seconds in 8 starts ... Next start: Florida Derby ... Odds: 27-1.
7. D'Funnybone (Rick Dutrow, Edgar Prado): Won 7-furlong Hutcheson by length ... Dutrow of Big Brown fame back in Derby hunt ... Throw out 13th-place finish in BC Juvenile on synthetics ... Next start: Undecided ... Odds: 3-2 (mutuel field).
8. Dublin (D. Wayne Lukas, Terry Thompson): Solid second in Southwest to kick of 2010 campaign ... Lukas encouraged as he looks for fifth Derby win ... Next start: Rebel (March 13, Oaklawn Park, dirt) ... Derby odds: 20-1.
9. Connemara (Pletcher, Russell Baze): Won El Camino Real Derby by three-quarters of a length ... Still much to prove, but we're talking Pletcher trainee here ... Next start: Santa Anita Derby ... Odds: 3-2 (mutuel field).
10. Tempted to Tapit (Steve Klesaris, David Cohen): Loved gray colt's runner-up effort in Risen Star ... Son of Tapit purchased in '08 for $18,000 ... Next start: Louisiana Derby ... Odds: 3-2 (mutuel field).