After looking at endless video of all contenders(including Sunriver), the one animal that stands out on all of his races is...BARBARO
He\'s early...he\'s late...he outgamed the extremely game Sharp Humor while pulling out of the worst hole in Fla. Went wider than Humor and broke his heart(and mine), in a short but decisive win.
If he\'s fortunate enough to win the Derby w/the race pattern his trainer has chosen,then once again Len and Jerry will be commended for preaching that \"more days between races is better\".
One of the problems with Barbaro is that he\'s not that fast, what a 1/2 pt slower than the previously mentioned PV and slower than AP warrior, Bob and john and several others, to me a major underlay.
If you use the Thoroughbred Times survey as a preliminary barometer of who the masses may bet on Saturday,it looks as though BARBARO and LAWYER RON may vie for favoritism.
Not far behind are BROTHER DEREK and SNS. POINT DETERMINED has also become a very popular choice.
The MOTOS (Masters Of The Obvious) love those 1\'s in the DRF. They also love those who close strongly for second going 1 1/8th. You can\'t believe how many people at my job, who wouldn\'t recognize a thoroughbred if it ran them over, love PD and STEPPENWOLFER because they \"ran out of ground\" at 1 1/8th.
This is not to knock their chances on Saturday. It\'s just to point out that one or both of them may be lower odds than they should be.
Good Luck,
Joe B.
I was thinking pretty much the same thing. There is such a thing as inherent talent and some of these colts have more than others. I\'ll reserve judgment on Point Determined for now but Steppenwolfer, come on.
Watchmaker of the DRF said two years ago that Smarty Jones should have been preparing for the Derby Trial rather than the Derby.Bzzt, wrong answer. Yes, the horse\'s breeding suggested distance limitations but the horse had such obvious talent. You can\'t let the trees obscure your view of the forest.