Will Nobiz take to Wood Memorial?
Circular Quay out of Wood; Any Given Saturday in Blue Grass Rematch
The Wood Memorial is an opportunity for Nobiz Like Shobiz. Will blinkers help his behavior? Tagg says, hopefully. Any Given Saturday gets another try at Street Sense.
New York City's Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct could have an impact on the first Saturday in May, not necessarily due to keen competition, but rather for, possibly, the lack of it. No.2 rated Circular Quay will not run Saturday at Aqueduct. Trainer Todd Pletcher said the colt needed a little more rest before his Kentucky Derby quest.
Pletcher had already pulled Any Given Saturday, rated No.6, from the run in favor of the April 14 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. AGS ran a gutsy second to Street Sense in the March 17 Tampa Bay Derby.
Wood Memorial will Showcase Nobiz Like Shobiz
That leaves the wayward No.5 rated Nobiz Like Shobiz in the Wood Memorial as the favorite for the race's April 7 running. His chief competitor could be Summer Doldrums. S.D. is trying to get back on track after racing third in The Gotham at Aqueduct March 10, and experiencing problems recently with mucus in his lungs.
Again, Barclay Tagg, training Nobiz Like Shobiz, claims that Nobiz is totally ready. Last time out, in the Fountain of Youth Stakes March 3, Nobiz's behavior defied Tagg's logic as he continued to lug in (pull toward the rail) after Tagg said before the race that the problem had been solved. Nobiz finished third.
Nobiz will wear blinkers to try to keep him better focused. Tagg will cross his fingers. The trainer said the colt, a season long Derby hopeful, has had great workouts and has responded well to all his training. Cornelio Velasquez rides Nobiz.
Only two Wood Memorial winners since Seattle Slew in 1977 have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby. They were Pleasant Colony, 1981, and Fusaichi Pegasus, 2000.
Blue Grass Stakes could be Best Derby Prep
An earlier seasonal decision to pull Any Given Saturday from the Wood Memorial to enter him in the April 14 Toyota Blue Grass instead, will make that race, in all probability, the most crucial Kentucky Derby prep of 2007. Headed there for a showdown before their Run for the Roses are Street Sense, the No.1 rated colt in the country, Great Hunter, Any Given Saturday, and Hard Spun. The latter three have all been given periodic plaudits.
In the Tampa Bay Derby, Street Sense and Any Given Saturday looked like Alydar and Affirmed in the 1978 battle of the three-year-old titans that ensued throughout the Triple Crown series. Carl Nafzger, training Street Sense conservatively, and the team of Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez in AGS's corner, promises to be a colossal trainer's rematch, as well. Calvin Borel is Street Sense's regular rider. John Velazquez guides Any Given Saturday.
For betting fun in the Blue Grass rematch come Great Hunter, Doug O'Neill's charge ridden by Corey Nakatani, and Hard Spun, a Larry Jones colt, piloted by Mario Pino. Hard Spun likes the new synthetic surfaces, so he should be all smiles at Keeneland April 14. He's got five wins in six starts.
Six weeks have elapsed since O'Neill's Great Hunter impressively captured the Robert B. Lewis Stakes. The colt's win there boosted him to No.1 on the Top Ten Derby list in early March. He has always been pointed next to the Blue Grass.
Pletcher and O'Neill have Numbers
O'Neill has as many top prospects as Pletcher. He trains Liquidity, Great Hunter, and Notional for J. Paul Reddam, and handles Colbalt Blue for Merv Griffin.
Pletcher lost Ravel to a cannon bone injury, but hopes Any Given Saturday, Circular Quay, or Scat Daddy can race him to his first Kentucky Derby victory. Pletcher has posted 14 colts in the May Classic.
The Wood and the Blue Grass should have some of the final say on who will be up for the competitive Kentucky Derby May 5.
