Who Do You Like in the Kentucky Derby?
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Greg Melikov
May 2, 2005
Chris McCarron, who rode two Kentucky Derby winners, says his criteria for selecting rides in major stakes were:
"Recent form would be No. 1 (and) the class and competition within that recent form. And next, the horses' connections, most importantly the trainer."
The retired Hall of Fame jockey guided Alysheba, trained by Jack Van Berg, to victory in the 1987 Derby. Van Berg had the most victories in a year ('76) until broken in '04 by Steve Asmussen. He also rode Go For Gin, trained by Nick Zito, when the colt captured the '94 Derby.
While neither winner captured his final prep, each did fairly well in talented company and hit the board: Alysheba in the Blue Grass Stakes, disqualified from first to third, and Go For Gin, runner-up in the Wood Memorial.
His favorite horse apparently was Alysheba because the colt was a challenge. "I don't think we ever saw how good Alysheba was. He was always doing that 70 to 80 percent stuff with me," Chris said during an online chat session.
About Go For Gin, he recalled: "I had the opportunity to work the colt a week before the race and that prompted me to talk my wife into attending The Derby because I loved my chances."
The 131st Derby should be as competitive as the '87 and '94 races because the large field will feature many talented horses. The big question: Who will take a giant step toward greatness?"
First, you can't go wrong with Mr. Zito's chances. The winner could come from any of his five horses. But I like the colt that hasn't had much press since winning the Florida Derby.
High Fly ran Gulfstream Park's premier race on April 2 faster than previous winners Monarchos ('01) and Thunder Gulch ('95) - 1:49 2/5 for the 1 1/8 miles. And both triumphed in the Kentucky Derby.
High Fly is bucking a 49-year-old bugaboo that no horse captured America's Race coming off a layoff of five weeks or longer. However, Zito is confident the son of Atticus can because he did quite well bucking the inside posts bias in routes at Gulfstream Park. The colt came off a longer layoff when he debuted as a 3-year-old with a nine-length victory in the Aventura Stakes at a mile.
Horses with tactical speed that stalk do better than speed demons or those that rally from way back at Churchill Downs. High Fly, with Jerry Bailey in the irons, does just that, staying close enough to pour it on heading for home.
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