Is Street Sense Common Sense?
BC Juvenile Champ Chooses Unconventional Tactics
Last year, Michael Matz and Barbaro trained to the Kentucky Derby using unorthodox mehods. Can the 2006 Eclipse Juvenile Champ reverse the process with success?
It has been almost three months since Street Sense, a son of Street Cry out of Bedazzle, graced Churchill Downs with his romping 10-length victory in the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile. His slingshot dream trip along the rail and long shot odds are part of the image he cemented on that day. After the race, Trainer Carl Nafzger remarked “We want to come back the first Saturday in May, that's when we want to be here." He also added "This was our prep for the Kentucky Derby in 2007." More prophetic words were never spoken, and little was it realized that Nafzger meant it almost literally.
After the Cup, Street Sense was taken down for a freshening, a common precaution, particularly after a schedule which had him racing monthly for five straight months, an ambitious campaign. Soon thereafter he was rewarded for his efforts with the Eclipse Award for 2-year old male horse. Earlier this year he was selected as the 127-pound highweight in the 2006 Experimental Free Handicap. The Experimental Free Handicap, established by The Jockey Club, is an annual weight-based assessment of the previous year's leading 2-year-olds for a hypothetical race at 1 1/16 miles. While the high weight ranking was not unexpected, the honor in the assessment was the fact that the weight was an incredible four pounds higher than the next contender, Scat Daddy. Most recently, Street Sense along with Nobiz Like Showbiz were considered to be the favorites in the Kentucky Derby Future Pool.
In spite of these accolades, Street Sense has not raced since that day in early November and his connections have stated that it has always been their intention to run only two preparatory races up to the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2007. As of yet he has not run competitively, meaning that he has currently run only five races. The lightly raced colt has not even undergone a steady regimen of workouts and has only seriously started to work in earnest this week. On Sunday February 18, 2007, he ran five furlongs in 1:00.80 at Palm Meadows, a very good time all things considered. He may be fresh, but is he ready?
Nafzger and owner James Tafel have spent the better part of the last month contemplating the colt’s next start, a choice between the 7 1/2-furlong Hutcheson Stakes or the more grueling 1 1/8 mile Fountain of Youth, both at Gulfstream Park. The Hutcheson is the more likely of the two, with another anticipated start being the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, 1 1/8 mile, at Keenland on April 14, 2007.
Running in only two prep races prior to the Derby, with one race considered a sprint, is a controversial strategy, one that has received much speculation throughout the industry. If the Blue Grass Stakes is in fact Street Sense’s last race prior to the Derby, it only leaves him with a three week layoff to the first Saturday in May. It remains to be seen if a three month hiatus, followed by a two race schedule designed to get him peaking for the Derby, will pay dividends.
Last year trainer Michal Matz created quite a stir when he decided to give Barbaro a five week layoff prior to the Derby, another controversial move, one which many doubted would be successful. Few second guessed Matz after Barbaro’s sublime performance. This year, Nafzger is also banking on unconventional practices to supply a victory, although the strategy is, in a way, the polar opposite of Barbaro‘s prep schedule. In 2006, the courageous Barbaro ran early and often, then eased his way to Churchill Downs. Street Sense and his connections are now attempting the opposite by relaxing and light training for the first part of the year, then tightening up the intensity as May approaches. These two different and unorthodox methods have raised plenty of eyebrows with critics and handicappers, questioning if Street Sense is common sense. Only time and running will tell.
