Zito’s five fizzle out
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The jockeys on trainer Nick Zito’s five horses in the Kentucky Derby went in with high hopes Saturday, but none finished better than seventh.
Bellamy Road, the 5-2 favorite, was the biggest disappointment.
“He seemed to handle the track well, but he just didn’t have it,” Javier Castellano said of his colt’s seventh-place finish.
Andromeda’s Hero, the longest-price among the five at 57-1, ran the best race. He rallied from 16th to get eighth with Rafael Bejarano aboard.
High Fly, the Florida Derby winner, was 10th after taking a slim lead at the top of the stretch for Jerry Bailey.
“I inched my way between horses,” Bailey said. “They swamped me so bad I don’t know where I finished.”
Noble Causeway never settled for Gary Stevens and finished 14th. “He would not relax for me at all,” Stevens said.
Sun King was 15th for Edgar Prado. “He was running OK for a while, but he had no finish,” Prado said.
Also overlooked
Giacomo wasn’t the only overlooked horse to run well in the Derby.
Closing Argument, 72-1, rallied to take a short lead in the stretch and finished second, only a half length behind Giacomo.
“It was the thrill of a lifetime in an eighth of a mile,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “He’s one hell of a horse who might now start getting some respect.”
McLaughlin, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis five years ago, made his Derby debut.
Third in the Blue Grass Stakes, Closing Argument rallied from sixth in the Derby under Cornelio Velasquez.
“I had a lot of horse,” Velasquez said. “I think he ran very hard. He was in perfect condition today.”
Numbers don’t produce wins
Like Zito, Todd Pletcher believed there was strength in numbers in the Derby.
Pletcher saddled three. Flower Alley was ninth, Coin Silver 12th, with Bandini, the Blue Grass winner, the biggest failure, 19th.
“We’re obviously disappointed with Bandini,” Pletcher said. “Johnny (Velazquez) said he could never get him to settle in.”
Velazquez felt his colt was never comfortable.
“We had a good position early, but he didn’t take to getting hit with the dirt, at all,” Velazquez said.
Flower Alley raced close to the quick pace set by Spanish Chestnut.
“The only thing I was disappointed in was that we got behind Spanish Chestnut,” Pletcher said. “Of all the horses you want to follow, Spanish Chestnut is not one of them.”
Coin Silver never got into the hunt after a slow start
“Coin Silver didn’t break great, but he got the kind of trip from that point on that I thought he needed,” Pletcher said.
Mission partly accomplished
The rabbit ran his race.
Spanish Chestnut was entered in the Derby by owners Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor to insure a rapid pace. They wanted to set up a rally by their other runner, Bandini.
Spanish Chestnut upheld his end of the bargain.
With Joe Bravo aboard, Spanish Chestnut set an impossibly fast clip. He set the pace through a half-mile in an unreasonable 45.38 seconds.
He eventually faded to 16th.
“He was out there like he was supposed to be,” Bravo said of his first Derby ride. “He ran hard.”
The strategy bombed as Bandini, the third choice in the betting, did not take advantage. He finished 19th.
Infantry delivers garland
Cpl. Jacob Snyder of C Company, 2-327th Infantry Battalion, and eight other soldiers from the 327th, were the official escorts for the garland of roses that would be draped over Derby winner Giacomo. The detail carried the garland in its glass case from the grandstand to the winner’s circle.
The Thoroughbred Thank You Fund, started by Terry Finley, military veteran and president of West Point Thoroughbreds, footed the bill for a few hundred soldiers, including the 10-man rose garland detail. Finley, a West Point grad, was able to raise about $50,000, he said, and is already preparing to bring another group to next year’s Derby.
America Alive wins undercard
America Alive surged to the front in deep stretch to capture the $470,400 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs.
America Alive rolled to 1 3/4 -length win over Meteor Storm with Quest Star third in the Grade 1 stakes.
America Alive ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.34.