Horse Racing Blog Posts by Post Time Pete

Optimizer is an English Channel and Indy Pick colt. He broke his maiden on his first attempt and finished third in the Breeders' Futurity during his two-year old campaign. Despite not placing in the money in his first two races as a three-year old, he finished second in the Rebel G2 under new jockey Jon Court.

Alpha is a Bernardini and Munnaya colt. He broke his maiden in convincing fashion and, despite a disappointing finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile G1, has gotten off to a solid 3 year old campaign. He won the Count Fleet and Withers G3 at Aqueduct earlier this year and ran a very solid 2nd in the Wood Memorial. He came very close to edging out Gemologist but had to pull up twice during the race.

Trinniberg is a Teuflesberg and Bella Dorato colt. He won the Swale G3 at Gulfstream Park in his three year old debut which shows signs of progress after a disappointing 7th place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint.

Castaway rates for an entry simply because he was #24 on the earnings lists effective April 1st. However, this will be a brief update because we don't believe we'll see Castaway in the Run for the Roses on May 5th. He's a Street Sense and Priceless Storm colt who required six races and five different jockeys to break his maiden. Despite a win in the Southwest G3 at Oaklawn Park, he was unable to handle the pace in the Sunland Derby and finished well out of the money at 7th.

I'll Have Another is a Flower Alley and Arch's Gal Edith colt. Right now, we're having a hard time gauging this horse. After breaking his maiden in his first attempt, he went on to finish second in the Best Pal G2 at Del Mar a month later. However, in the Hopeful G1 at Saratoga Race Track he finished well out of the money. That race was sixth months ago. In February, in his three year old campaign debut, he won the Robert B. Lewis in convincing fashion.

Currency Swap is a High Cotton and Echo Bluff colt. He broke his maiden in his first try and won the Hopeful G1 at Saratoga. He finished second to Gemologist in a Gulfstream Park allowance race in mid-March despite going off as the favorite. We don't think this is something to get caught up on and still like Currency Swap's chances of running on May 5th.

My Adonis is a Pleasantly Perfect and Silent Justice colt. It took My Adonis 4 tries before he was able to break his maiden, placing in his first three races. However, he's been able to put together a strong resume. He finished third in the Holy Bull G3 at Gulfstream Park and second in the Gotham G3 at aqueduct to current Kentucky Derby favorite, Hansen. He'll need a few more earnings if he's going to make an appearance on May 5th and his connections have indicated a start in the Wood Memorial.

Battle Hardened is a Giant's Causeway and Jen's Fashion colt. In 5 career mounts he has one win and two places. His win came in the Sam F. Davis G3 at Tampa Bay Downs against Kentucky Derby contender Prospective and Reveron (who would later finish second in the Florida Derby). However, Prospective would go on to win the Tampa Bay Derby G2 while Battle Hardened finished out of the money.

Brother Francis is a Lion Heart and Viapervita chestnut colt. He has yet to break his maiden, however, in his first 4 career mounts he has two places and two shows. In November he finished second in the Hollywood Prevue G3 at Hollywood Park and followed that up with a third place finish in the CashCall Futurity G1. He was beaten in that race by two other Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Liaison and Rousing Sermon. He is slated to run in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7th.

Gemologist is a Tiznow and Crystal Shard colt. He is currently 4-0 in his career. However, his only significant win came in the Kentucky Jockey Club Grade II stakes at Churchill Downs, which also explains his low total earnings. He did defeat Currency Swap, another strong Kentucky Derby contender, in his last race, an allowance at Gulfstream Park.