Key Races for Triple Crown

Looking for the winner of this year's Kentucky Derby watch Sunday's Louisiana Derby very intently. The Grade II mile and one sixteenth test at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans (ESPN2, 3 p.m., one hour tape-delayed) will pit two of this year's top contenders in Badge of Silver and Kafwain. Badge of Silver burst on the 3-year-old scene Feb. 16 when he won the Risen Star Stakes by 10 lengths in his first start around two turns. Kafwain seemed to inherit top dog status in trainer Bob Baffert's barn when 2-year-old champion Vindication went down with injury, but for some reason Baffert has decided to keep Domestic Dispute in California while shipping Kafwain out of town despite the fact he would seem to have better credentials. Kafwain, owned by the Thoroughbred Corp., won the Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar last summer. The son of Cherokee Run went on to win the Norfolk Stakes and finished second to Vindication in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Kafwain opened 2003 with a win in the seven-furlong San Vicente at Santa Anita. "This horse always acted like he wanted to go long," said jockey Victor Espinoza Tuesday on an NTRA teleconference. "I told Mr. Mulhall (Richard Mulhall, racing manager of the Thoroughbred Corp.) that of all his 2-year-olds, Kafwain was the best. He doesn't like to be rushed from the start. He likes to do his own thing in the beginning and then come running. Horses like that last longer and they have a better chance to compete with the good horses. "That's why I like Kafwain. Every race he has proven it. The longer they go, the better for him. I think the Kentucky Derby might be just perfect for him." And Espinoza knows a little bit of what he speaks. After all, he won the Derby last year for the first time aboard War Emblem for the Thoroughbred Corp. "I'm excited," said Espinoza of the possibility of winning the Derby a second time. "I want to do it again. I want to be there every year. I enjoyed last year a lot. It's fun and I'm ready for this year again. "Kafwain is a good horse and he can run with anyone. Bob (Baffert) knows how to win these races. Bob changed his blinkers last time and Kafwain really impressed me. He closed the cups up a little. I can't wait until Sunday to see what he will do." Favorite Badge - There's no doubt Badge of Silver, trained by Ronny Werner and ridden by Robby Albarado, will be the favorite on Sunday. Two wins in 2003 by a total of 17 lengths and homefield advantage will tip the scales. "Horses are creatures of habit," said Werner. "If they are in their home base they are going to be more comfortable and don't have to go through the haul (of traveling). That doesn't mean he's going to win the race. If a better horse, a faster horse comes in, he can win the race. I'm definitely not at a disadvantage (on Sunday)." Werner wasn't even sure he was going to run this week. After the Risen Star, Badge of Silver was listless for a period of time and Werner was ready to skip this race. However last week, the son of Silver Deputy started looking and feeling like his old self. Then came a huge work on Sunday and Werner was all set. "You have to let the horse decide when he is ready to go," said Werner. "He has to be ready to run at this level. "It (the Risen Star) took a lot out of him. It was his first time around two turns. Running back in three weeks is a little quick. I don't like the three weeks, but right now he's telling me he's ready. I feel he's in good shape." This is Werner's first time on the Derby trail, but he has a couple of good role models. Like Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas before him, Werner started in the quarterhorse game. "Horsemen come from every where," said Werner. "I'm just trying to get some place, they have already been." Funny long shot - Looking for a price play in Sunday's Louisiana Derby, check out Funny Cide, who is shipping from Florida for trainer Barclay Tagg. Funny Cide, the son of the hot young sire Distorted Humor, was undefeated in three races at two against New York breds. He was 5-1 in the Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park, finishing a distant fifth after a horrible trip. He hit the gate coming out and was on the outside the entire way around. "It was rail-skimming," said Tagg, "except it was the outer rail. It was sick. he's fine now. Everything is on go. "I've seen nothing in the horse that says he will mind the two turns. He's by Seattle Slew on the bottom. "Some of the figures people tell me he ran big in the Holy Bull (despite the trouble). I just want a smooth race for him." NoCal bound - Saturday's major prep will be the mile and one sixteenth El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields in Albany. Espinzoa will be there to ride Peace Rules for trainer Bobby Frankel, but the favorite will be Ministers Wild Cat, trained by Neil Drysdale and ridden by Kent Desormeaux. Ministers Wild Cat is a son of Deputy Minister and the brilliant race mare Hollywood Wildcat. Drysdale has decided to take an easier route with the late developer. Ministers Wild Cat didn't make his debut until Dec. 26 at Santa Anita followed by a maiden breaker on Jan. 11 and a win in the Feb. 9 Golden State Mile at GGF. "Obviously he is lacking some experience and we're trying to get that into him," said Drysdale. "We're trying to see if he is up to the Triple Crown. "He's a May foal so that was one of the reasons we got started late. He was a small, quick 2-year-old. Then he suddenly started to grow in the middle of the summer. He's finished growing and he's started to strengthen." Ministers Wild Cat has the pedigree to be a good one as he is a half-brother to Breeders' Cup Mile winner War Chant. "I have no worries about getting a distance of ground," said Drysdale, who won the Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus. "Running in Northern California has more to do with timing. I didn't want to run into Group I competition too early and the 3-year-old series is strangely written at Santa Anita. It forces people to go to different places. It needs to be rewritten. "He will get experience going further and you don't want to overmatch him at this stage of the game." Drysdale said if poor track conditions occur Saturday, he will wait for next weekend's San Felipe at Santa Anita. After that it will be on to the Santa Anita Derby or Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York. Drysdale believes his colt's last race did him a world of good. "He got banged around a bit," he said. "This horse seems to be maturing. I think he will improve by leaps and bounds. He worked well Monday and I expect to see improvement (on Saturday by Jeffrey Michaels Previous Article           Next Article Copyright © 2003 - Hi2winners.com - All Rights Reserved