I am normally 100% a lurker but \"Derby fever\" has now caused me to post again.
In all the discussion re Essence of Dubai, can someone tell me why Detorri, who is scheduled to fly over and ride Imperial Gesture in the Oaks, is not staying to ride to ride EOD in the Derby, he returns to England to ride a Godolphin horse in the 1000 Guineas.
Now, the 1000 Guineas is the first leg of the English Triple Crown, I think, but he\'s probably won that race before and, if not, he has won other English Classics. The Kentucky Derby,otoh, is the Kentucky Derby and Godolphin wants to win it badly yet their #1 rider is elsewhere.
Flores is a very good Southern Cal rider but is, imo much better on front runners than closers and Dettori has much more experience in large fields than Flores does. Furthermore, Alex Solis rode EOD as a 2 year old so it\'s not like they are going back to Flores, it\'s the first time he\'s ridden him.
Any thoughts??
You are 100% correct. Will be an underlay because he won at 10f.
MO
Frankie is \"G\'s\" main boy and he\'ll ride wherever they want him. Friday nothing important is cooking in Europe, so Frankie\'s here.
There is far more prestige in winning their classics than ours (200+ yrs vs 128 LOL). The rivalry between Godolphin and Coolmore is unbelievable. Nothing in this country compares. Buuut it does make me wonder a little bit ;-)
I\'m not one to give much consideration to jockey\'s when handicapping. There is just too much speculation and unknowns when it comes to why and when which jocks ride which horses. Just look at what Bailey\'s doing, jumping off Mott\'s improving Blue Burner and riding Castle. My guess is (see I told you trying to figure out jockey decisions are guesses) he\'s positioning himself to ride for Coolmore down the road when the opportunity\'s present themselves, like he has done with Godolphin.
I do however know a little about Godolphin so I\'ll share some thoughts.
Thought number 1. Imperial Gesture has developed into a freakish monster of a runner. Expect her to be right there on Friday and she will be my Oaks/Derby double single.
Thought number 2. Nayeef going in the Guineas has also matured and come along quickly this year developing into one of Godolphin\'s best and thus you have the choices of jockey\'s you are seeing.
Thought number 3. I\'m still grinding my teeth from Frankie\'s ride on Swain. He\'s a great fit on a front running Imperial Gesture, he\'ll have some gas left for the final furlong with her. Love Flores on EOD. Even though EOD has apparantly developed a deliberate late running style I\'d rather have him breaking and running the first 1/2 mile in mid-pack on Saturday rather than from way back. And Flores is just the guy to do this with a fresh runner.