LITTLE ROCK — Scratching their horse from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, owner Brereton Jones and his trainer validated the quality and depth of the Derby field.
Like every other long-time Kentucky horseman, Jones has Derby fever. As Kentucky governor from 1991-95, he had his hands on the Derby trophy four times, presenting it to the winning connections on the first Saturday in May.
He even told the Louisville newspaper, “I hated to give it away.”
But, on Tuesday, Jones’ Mark Valeski was removed from Saturday’s race. Explaining the decision, trainer Larry Jones called the field very deep.
“We feel like we belong with them, but there’s going to be a horse that runs 15th that’s a very good horse,” the trainer said. “It’s not like you just go out there and hope that if Union Rags gets a bad trip, we win. What with Gemologist, Bodemeister, Alpha, Take Charge Indy, somebody’s going to get a good trip other than just, say, Mark Valeski.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Union Rags and Arkansas Derby winner Bodemeister are likely to be the betting favorites at post time, but there are a half-dozen others who will get deserved support in the wagering.
Swapping e-mails with Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form, I suggested the ones trainer Jones had named, plus the one-two finishers in the Santa Anita Derby, and Blue Grass winner Dullahan would be 9-2 to 10-1. He expanded the top to 12-1 and agreed.
So many of the runners sport solid credentials because, unlike in many previous years, the Derby preps did not produce a rash of upsets to cloud the picture. In Arkansas, Kentucky, California, New York, and New Mexico, the winner of the last major prep was 4-1 or less.
California-based, Privman was in Hot Springs for the Arkansas Derby when Bodemeister posted a speed figure far superior to any of the others in the Derby field. Like most of us, Privman, who has covered the Kentucky Derby for three decades, has some doubts.
“Bodemeister’s talent is undeniable,” Privman said. The shared questions include whether Bodemeister will relax off the pace, how he will react if he doesn’t break sharply, whether he can duplicate his peak effort at Oaklawn Park, and whether the fact that he did not race at 2 is too much to overcome.
Bodemeister, Hansen, and others who have demonstrated an affinity for the lead will play second fiddle to Trinniberg on Saturday, at least in the early going. Bred to be a sprinter, Trinniberg is the only one of the 20 Derby starters who ran less than 1 1-8 miles in his last race. Trinniberg will go as far as he can as fast as he can and jocks such as Mike Smith on Bodemeister and Ramon Dominguez aboard Hansen must not get sucked into chasing him.
If they do, the race will set up for the likes of late-running Dullahan. “The rumor is not true that we paid for Trinniberg’s entrance fee,” Dullahan owner Jerry Crawford joked.
Further complicating the handicapping process is the fact that more horses than usual had their final workouts somewhere other than Churchill Downs. Privman said the success of Funny Cide, Giacomo, and Big Brown in the last decade convinced trainers that a work in Louisville is not essential.
“I think you have to take each case individually,” he said. “Gemologist, for instance, didn’t work here this week. But he trained here last fall and won two races here, so does he really need to work over the track to get used to it? No.”
For those who fancy the Arkansas Derby winner, Bodemeister worked well at Churchill and the surface is similar to the one at Oaklawn.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.