Posted on 04/28/2007 4:18:28 AM PDT by gate2wire
Trainer Michael Matz was enthused with a strong gallop by Centennial Farm’s Chelokee on Friday at Keeneland, but said a bid for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) had been ruled out for the third-place finisher in the Florida Derby (gr. I).
Matz, who saddled Lael Stable’s Barbaro to win last year’s Derby, said the son of Cherokee Run would work over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface on Saturday or Sunday, then he will board a van on Sunday for trip home to Maryland’s Fair Hill training center. Chelokee had been in danger of failing to qualify for the anticipated 20-horse Kentucky Derby field because of insufficient earnings in graded stakes races, but Matz was also concerned about some minor setbacks that had affected Chelokee’s training in recent days.
“I think we’ve basically kind of giving up running in the Derby,” said Matz. “As much as I’d like to go, I don’t think he’s going to be the way I came into the Derby [with Barbaro] last year.”
Matz said he would feel more comfortable about Chelokee with a little more time, so he and Centennial Farm have decided to head home and look at a possible bid for the May 19 Preakness (gr. I), the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown.
(Excerpt) Read more at tcm.bloodhorse.com ...
Watch out for this horse later in the year. Gonna be a good one.
Is Churchill Downs polytrack this year?
Man, I hope not.
From my program—
Main course-One mile oval, sandy loam...whew.
I think Keeneland opened with poly this year.
Santa Anita next season.
Throw away all those PPs and wait a year before handicapping again :)
“One mile oval, sandy loam...whew.”
Good.
“Throw away all those PPs and wait a year before handicapping again :)”
Well, I guess we need to adapt. I miss the old inside speed bias at Keeneland.
I think the Santa Anita change will hurt me the most.
Guess I’ll just have to take a year off. Yeah, right.
I had a 1975 Racing Manual that listed all the track compositions and I loved when it got to Ferndale : Earth.
Thanks for the post. Hope you’ll keep sending them. “Some” of us still have a lot to learn about the track. Though I’m not sure who ‘those’ people might be.....
“Some”, “them”, I have you on my list for Barbaro news, so I guess you and I are some and them. (Whatever that means.) :-)
Just clowning around. Sorry it didn’t translate. I simply meant that I have a lot to learn about horseracing, and that I appreciate being on your ping list. Thanks again!
No problem at all. The way today went, I’d say I have a lot to learn about horseracing also. LOL.
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