Kentucky Derby Contenders - Day 2: #29 Brother Francis
Contributed By Post Time PetePosted on 4/2/12 8:00 AM
Day 2: #29 Brother Francis
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Trainer: James M. Cassidy |
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| Jockey: Garrett Gomez* | ||
| Owner: Norman Cheng | ||
| Breeder: Norman Cheng | ||
| Earnings: $120,000* | ||
| Next Race: Santa Anita Derby | ||
| * Current as of April 1, 2012 | ||
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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.
"He's training really well," trainer James Cassidy said of the Kentucky-bred son of Lion Heart. "He's been so close in all his races, it'd be a shame not to run him. We tried to break his maiden last time, but a bit of a slow break cost us the race. Other than that, he ran great. I think the mile and an eighth of the Santa Anita Derby will suit him."
Victor Espinoza has been Brother Francis' regular jockey but he will be ridden by Garrett Gomez in the Santa Anita Derby.
"I don't look at the fact that he's a maiden," said Tony Matos, the agent who booked two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Garrett Gomez to ride Brother Francis. "I look at the horses he's been running with and how he's been running," Matos said. "He's a fresh horse and a horse that's got a chance to move forward."
The problem with trying to gauge three year olds and their chances in the Kentucky Derby is the difference a few weeks makes at that age. Brother Francis has yet to win, but he's hung in their with the competition. The Santa Anita Derby will be his best test to date. It will determine not only if he achieves enough earnings to run in Kentucky, but if he's progressed enough to race against the best three year-olds in the country. We'll keep an eye on him for you and include an update on May 1st after the final prep races have been run.
Click here to preview yesterday's breakdown of #30 on the earnings list, Gemologist.
Check back tomorrow when we preview #28 on our list, Battle Hardened.
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