Blue Grass is Dominican's Time
Street Sense finds Crowded Wire a Nose Short: Ends Derby Prep 1 of 2
The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes was a Dominican to Street Sense to Zanjero to Teuflesberg affair as all four touched noses to the wire. Dominican nosed out the champ.
The best word to describe the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Saturday, April 14 probably is an old-fashioned, "Wow!"
What a horse race!
The real winner might have been the Keeneland Race Course surface, Polytrack. The new techie surface appeared to be the great eqaulizer, getting most of the field to the wire together, a handicapper's dream. The only favored horse not in the hunt to the finish was Great Hunter.
Dominican's nose proved longer at the end. Street Sense could not quite reach him and finished second, but pushed far enough ahead to beat Zanjero and Teuflesberg, respectively.
Lane crowded; no Violation
The charge through the lane was marred by a chain reaction lug out on the part of Teuflesberg, who had led the race all the way from the start. His lug out squeezed Great Hunter back just as Corey Nakatani wanted to fly forward. The complication finished Great Hunter's day. He held on for fifth position.
The four in front weaved and dueled, with Street Sense getting a better recovery than Great Hunter, although the champ came inside a little and may have been thrown off just a nose. The rush down the stretch left it any individual's race.
Dominican's jockey, Rafael Bejarano said his El Corredor-bred gelding gave everything he had to get the win. He raced through the middle of the track and nosed ahead to the right of Street Sense just at the wire.
Inside Street Sense, Zanjero gave his nose over Teuflesberg, who was closest to the rail.
Great Hunter will Enter Derby
Doug O'Neill, trainer of Great Hunter, said the misfortune for his colt in the stretch didn't change his plans to race in the Kentucky Derby. He said it was "a bummer" in the stretch when Great Hunter's pinch back occurred, but the colt was right there ready for a move and there was nothing his jockey could have done differently from that point.
Street Sense's trainer, Carl Nafzger, echoed those sentiments. The juvenile champ seemed to have things under control, with jockey Calvin Borel aiming the colt to perfection entering the stretch.
The pace, with Teuflesberg leading, was a park stroll. The first quarter was covered in :26.12 and the half in :51.46. The 1-1/8 miles was completed in 1:51.33 in a photo finish. No one cared to call it ahead of the development of the photo, but Dominican did appear to just get in front at the wire.
The gelding earned his way into the Derby, racking up his total graded stakes dollars to $498,484. With more than 20 entrants for the 133rd Derby, places are determined by total graded stakes earnings.
The race changed the Derby picture slightly. With Dominican earning his way in, and Notional going off the trail with injury, the door is open for an exchange of individuals. Some more juggling may occur before Derby day.
