On the Kentucky Derby Trail: Latest News
by Patricia Woo | Apr 20 2009
With only a couple of weeks left before the
Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 2, the top 20 contenders list is finally shaping up. This week, jockey Garrett Gomez confirms he will ride Pioneerof the Nile in the Derby, Mafaaz bows out, and two sons of Birdstone throw their hat into the ring. And trainer Todd Pletcher has decisions to make about his Lexington Stakes-winning charge Advice.
They've been an unbeatable combination all year, and jockey Garrett Gomez has announced that he and mount Pioneerof the Nile will once again team up, this time for the Kentucky Derby. Gomez, who has never won the Kentucky Derby, could have opted to ride another top contender, Dunkirk, the colt he steered to a second-place finish in the March 28 Florida Derby and an allowance race the month before. But together, he and Pioneerof the Nile have a winning streak that extends to 2008, and includes their most recent victory in the $750,000 Gr. 1 Santa Anita Derby. "Pioneerof the Nile is a quality horse and we're four-for-four together," Gomez said after making the announcement. "He's done nothing wrong and all we've done is win together."
English invader Mafaaz, who won a berth to the Kentucky Derby with his win in the $115,000 Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Kempton Park on March 18 will not run, according to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. The decision was made after the son of Medicean ran a disappointing eighth in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland; owner Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum announced that the colt will now be shipped to New York where further decisions about the colt's racing career will be made.
Two sons of 2004 Belmont Stakes-winning Birdstone are now expected to contest the Kentucky Derby. Out of Hong Kong Squall, the Tim Ice-trained Summer Bird turned heads at the Arkansas Derby on April 11 when he surged from 15 lengths back in the stretch run to clinch third. And the Bernie Woolley-trained Mine That Bird, out of Mining My Own, scored enough graded stakes earnings with his fourth-place finish in the Sunland Derby in March to warrant a trip to Lexington, Ky., for the Derby as well.
One other horse that could be on the Kentucky Derby trail is Advice, who overcame 15-1 longshot odds to win the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 18. He put together a last-to-first bid which saw him blow by
Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Square Eddie in the final strides. "[Advice] is a horse that is still putting it all together, but has a lot of talent," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who intends to take a wait-and-see approach to the Kentucky Derby with his charge. "He's still a touch green, and I don't think we've seen the best from him. I think the smart thing to do is see how he comes out of it and keep our options open." The Florida-bred son of Chapel Royal previously ran fifth in the Sunland Derby and has won two of six career starts.
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