‘Did you get the number' of that Big Truck?
Zito perplexed, but determined to push on after War Pass' clunker
In this case, the truck that ran over Zito’s protégé — the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champ and early Kentucky Derby favorite War Pass — had no license plate. He did have a lip tattoo, though, which identified him as Big Truck, a son of Hook and Ladder, who finally registered a graded stakes victory with a hard-fought neck victory over Atoned.
The headline of the $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby (Gr. 3) was deservedly the failure of War Pass, sent off as the 1-20 favorite only to finish last in the seven-horse field. The champ found himself in trouble immediately, getting sandwiched between Gentleman James and Make Me Zach leaving the gate and never reaching his accustomed spot in the front. He threatened briefly at the top of the stretch, but it was clear that he didn’t have it on this day and jockey Cornelio Velasquez wisely let him coast to the wire.
Not my cup of tea
A cup of tea may help a hangover, but making sense of the tea leaves strewn around in the wake of War Pass’ disastrous race can only make a handicapper’s head hurt.
Zito said after the race that he was puzzled by the poor effort, while noting that the son of Cherokee Run had suffered several cuts on his leg, apparently as a result of the early body checking, and had been overly eager in the gate.
Nonetheless, he said that he plans to push on down the Derby trail with War Pass, with the $750,000 Wood Memorial (Gr. 1) on April 5 planned as his last start before the Run for the Roses.
Meantime, War Pass’ owner, Robert LaPenta, brought the kettle to a boil when he said the colt had a fever in the week before the Tampa race and suggested that could be the reason he ran out of steam.
That’s a strange comment from a guy who was comparing his horse to Seattle Slew just a couple days before the race.
And then there was Zito’s reluctance to be interviewed before the race. TVG analyst Simon Bray sought out the usually voluble trainer shortly before the horses went to post only to be turned down. Zito then retreated to the Tampa Bay Downs paddock, where he watched the race far from prying eyes, Bray said.
So now we can only wonder if it was the quirky, sandy Tampa Bay Downs racetrack combined with the bumping that led to War Pass’ first defeat in six starts, or if something has gone seriously wrong with Zito’s star. My reading of the tea leaves is that not all is well, but I certainly hope I’m wrong.
Meantime, let me know what you think about War Pass’ poor performance. Will he rebound in the Wood Memorial or will he even make that race? Click here to e-mail me your thoughts and I’ll run a few of the best in next week’s column.
Big race by Big Truck
What shouldn’t be lost in the furor about War Pass’ meltdown is the fact that Big Truck, trained by Kentucky Derby winning trainer Barclay Tagg, ran a bang-up race. He also took a hard shot out of the gate from Atoned, then found himself in an uncomfortable spot on the first turn, tossing his head to avoid blowback from the horses in front.
But he handled the adversity like a seasoned pro once jockey Eibar Coa got him settled down, racing in tight quarters up the backstretch, then shifting to the outside exiting the far turn so he could launch his stretch run unimpeded.
The Todd Pletcher trained Atoned ran a big race as well, running wide throughout before grabbing the lead at the top of the stretch and battling back gamely when hooked by Big Truck.
In the other major races of the weekend, the California contingent made a statement that it may not be wise to discount their chances in Kentucky, artificial racing surfaces or no.
Temporary California transplant Sierra Sunset continued to take to the South like kudzu, winning the $300,000 Rebel Stakes (Gr. 3) at Oaklawn Park by three lengths over King’s Silver Son. The win by the Jeff Bonde-trained colt flattered the form of the absent Denis of Cork, who beat Sierra Sunset in the Southwest Stakes.
And California-bred Georgie Boy looked good annexing the $200,000 San Felipe Stakes (Gr. 2) at Santa Anita. Making his first start around two turns, the gelded son of Tribal Rule, trained by Kathy Walsh, blasted pass leaders Gayego and Bob Black Jack in deep stretch to win by ¾ of a length.
The races run over Santa Anita’s new artificial Cushion Track are devilishly hard to evaluate, as they tend to be run more like turf races – slow early and fast late – than races run on dirt. So all I can say for sure after watching the San Felipe is that Georgie Boy’s late surge was visually impressive and he looks to have further room for improvement, as he was reluctant to change leads and was weaving around in the stretch under substitute jockey Michael Baze, who picked up the mount from the injured Rafael Bejarano.
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Meantime, Liberty Bull won Sunday’s $600,000 WinStar Derby (the richest ungraded stakes in the world, as the Sunland Park publicity staff likes to note) by 2 lengths over Screen to Screen. Some day a Kentucky Derby winner will stop over in New Mexico to pick up the lion’s share of a big purse, but I don’t think this is the year.
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