Steve Sherack & Brian DiDonato will make $100 win/place bets on 20 Kentucky Derby preps. The handicapper with the highest total at the end wins.
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GIII Withers S.:
SS: El Kabeir is a very deserving favorite and will be awfully tough to beat with a repeat performance of his last two efforts, but there is still room for some of the others to make an impact with a leap forward here. The well-bred Far From Over certainly fits the bill with an ultra-game debut win at a somewhat surprising 5-1 (considering his connections) going two turns over the inner Dec. 12. Campaigned by the same tandem as 2012 GI CashCall Futurity winner Violence, the $550,000 KEESEP yearling purchase has been working smartly since shipping to Pletcher's Palm Beach Downs base, including a bullet five furlongs in 1:01 (1/9) Jan. 25. Far From Over, produced by a graded stakes placed daughter of GI Go For Wand H. heroine Aldiza (Storm Cat), has every right to move forward in his second attempt at what has to be a fair number. Not thrilled about losing Irad to the rail horse, but Franco has been riding in good form at the Big A this winter as well. Selection: #2 Far From Over (5-1).
BD: Let's be honest, El Kabeir should really win this race. He lays over this field on paper and may have a pace edge, but I'll be stubborn and take a shot against him. Far From Over intrigues me partly because of how ordinary his debut was. Dismissed at 5-1 for his local one-mile seventy-yard bow Dec. 12 despite being a Todd Pletcher firster who brought $550,000 at Keeneland September, the bay took over pacesetting duties down the backside and dueled into upper stretch, but looked certain to be swallowed late. Headed by the favorite, Far From Over dug deep to claw back the victory by a nose and gallop out in front. Third finisher Tencendur came back to win and will also contest the Withers. Considering his odds, it seems possible that Far From Over may not have been fully cranked for his debut and may have more in the tank. By Blame out of the GSP A.P. Indy mare Alchemist who enjoyed a route of ground, the bay ridgling is a half to MGISP And Why Not (Street Cry {Ire}). Alchemist is out of Grade I winner Aldiza (Storm Cat), who also produced Altesse (A.P. Indy), a Grade III winner at nine panels. The more ground, the better for Far From Over. Selection: #2 Far From Over (5-1).
GIII Robert B. Lewis S.:
SS: Donegal Racing's Rock Shandy still has plenty of work to do before being tabbed as the next Dullahan (third '12 Derby) or Paddy O'Prado (third '10 Derby), but he looked like he may be on his way after a very solid runner-up effort behind stablemate Calculator (he was 4 1/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher that day) while making his dirt debut in the GIII Sham S. Produced by a half-sister to Brahms and La Reina (his second dam is champion Queena), Rock Shandy has a nice foundation of grass races, including a useful third in Del Mar's GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. Nov. 30. The bay continues to improve with each effort (49, 71, 75 & 90 Beyers), is tactical enough to secure a good position, and may have an edge in terms of fitness over the comebacking GI Los Alamitos Futurity one-two Dortmund and Firing Line.
Selection: #2 Rock Shandy (6-1).
BD: Dortmund was all the rage (and still is) following his head-turning Churchill allowance romp, but a little of the mystique was lost when he was only able to beat Firing Line by a head at 3-5 in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity. He did have one of the easiest trips in racing, sitting behind the runner-up and Mr. Z as they dueled through fractions of :21.98, :45.29 and 1:09.64. But it was still a fairly tall task for Dortmund, having debuted only some six weeks earlier and being asked to go two turns for the first time–especially at Los Al, where the turns might have been too tight for the hulking chestnut. Firing Line has plenty of upside and promise too, but Dortmund is supposed to be the best horse in this race, and I expect him to show it if he's close to ready. Selection: #6 Dortmund (4-5).
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