Unexpected horses on Derby trail after upsets April 12th, 2010
One colt had never won a graded stakes race. The other had nevereven raced in one.
Stately Victor and Line of David were barely blips on theKentucky Derby radar. But after surprising wins Saturday in theBlue Grass Stakes and Arkansas Derby, theyre suddenly very much inthe picture.
“This one kind of got along late. We knew he could run, Lineof David owner Ike Thrash said. “Well show up, now that hesin.
The Kentucky Derby field is limited to 20 starters. If morehorses are entered, the field is determined by graded stakesearnings, and sometimes all it takes is one big victory to earnenough money for a spot. That was the case for Stately Victor andLine of David.
It makes no difference that the former was a 40-1 shot in theBlue Grass or that the latter had never won on a nonturf trackbefore his Arkansas Derby victory on Oaklawn Parks dirt.
Now the question is whether either of these horses has a chancein the May 1 Run for the Roses, which was won last year bylong-shot Mine That Bird. Stately Victor had won just once in sevencareer starts, but his victory in the Blue Grass at Keeneland wasby a convincing 4 1/4 lengths.
“We always believed he was a runner, owner Tom Conway saidSaturday. “Hes been getting a lot of bad breaks, bad draws,getting stopped and blocked. But today the jockey was magnificent.He got him out there and he dusted them, didnt he?
Line of Davids finish was a lot closer, but he managed to holdup down the stretch despite being in the lead through some quickearly fractions. Thrash said he considered entering Line of Davidin the Blue Grass but forgot to nominate him. The Arkansas Derbywas the horses debut on dirt after racing exclusively on turf andsynthetic tracks.
“Its always good to try the dirt in a Grade 1 race for thefirst time, Thrash joked.
Line of David certainly seemed to like it, holding offchallenges from Super Saver and Dublin to win by a neck. Thevictory earned him a shot in three weeks in Kentucky, although inthe Derby hes likely to have some company if he tries to movestraight to the front again.
“Twenty horses, and probably eight of them in this bunch looklike theyre dedicated to be front-runners, Thrash said. “Buthes a nice horse. Maybe he can move up another 10 lengths everytime he runs.
The upsets by Stately Victor and Line of David came a week afterEskendereya won the Wood Memorial by 9 3/4 lengths. Some otherDerby favorites may be struggling to keep up. Nobles Promisefinished out of the money for the first time in eight career startsin the Arkansas Derby, while Dublin and Super Saver couldnt putaway Line of David after pulling up next to him in the stretch.
“I think we got our nose in front at one point there. It seemedlike the speed held pretty good, said D. Wayne Lukas, Dublinstrainer. “The first three finishers stayed there all the way.Nobody closed.
Dublin, Super Saver and Nobles Promise still have enoughearnings to make the Derby field, although Nobles Promise came outof his race with cuts on both front legs and will have to beevaluated again. Blue Grass favorite Interactif appears safedespite a fourth-place finish. Tampa Bay Derby winner Odysseusmight be stuck on the outside looking in after coming up short inthe Blue Grass – although defections from horses with high earningsare always a possibility.
Stately Victor and Line of David dont need any more money tomake the field. They rewarded their owners patience just intime.
“You hate to make excuses over and over for this horse, butthats basically what weve been doing, said Mike Maker, StatelyVictors trainer. “Hes had bad trips and so forth. But I neverquit believing in this horse.