No hoof, no horse

[richiebee]

Ed Fountaine, in Sunday\'s NY Post, reports that Rockport Harbor \"suffered another, as yet undisclosed setback yesterday at Oaklawn Park that could keep him out of the Arkansas Derby\"

\'Rockport Harbor has a problem completely unrelated to his foot\' said trainer John Servis, who canceled a scheduled breeze and kept the big gray colt in his stall. \'Other than that, I really can\'t comment until I get together with the vet. It\'s a day to day thing. It\'s too early to say if he will make the Derby\'.

I\'m glad Servis and owner Porter were not at Parkland Hospital in Dallas in 1963. They would have said JFK was \"day to day\" and \"likely to be ready to run for re- election in 1964\"

After one of Rocky\'s first minor setbacks early in the year, I posted that it would have been prudent to take him off the Derby trail and point towards The Preakness. It seems like (and maybe this is the Visa 5 mill bonus)the Triple Crown contains 1 diamond and 2 rhinestones. You never hear of trainers pointing their horse toward the Preakness or the Belmont anymore.

Does anybody else think that maybe Zito should be trying to convince the owner of Noble Causeway to sit out the Derby and wait for the Preakness?

Everybody has Derby fever. On the one hand, its great for gamblers because it almost assures a full gate of 20. A colt like High Fly, who has had perfect trips in all but one of his races, may encounter some trouble due to the size of the field. A colt like High Limit may be pressured early for the first time in his career. A majority of the field will be racing over the Churchill strip for the first time. All this uncertainty makes for a great wagering event.

But on the other hand, every August or September, we despair at the short fields in the big added money events and the number of star runners prematurely retired to stud. This might be the true downside of Derby fever; this attrition may be caused by young colts being asked too early, too often.

[DRF UPDATE 4/3/05 11PM RH DIAGNOSED WITH BLOOD CLOT IN NECK. PROGNOSIS-- WHAT ELSE?--DAY TO DAY]



Post Edited (04-04-05 03:56)