Nip and Tuck

This is a real moving and shaking weekend in our little competition. Benden Weyr clings to a fragile lead with an interesting weekend ahead. The Blue Grass Stakes may draw most of the hyped horse, but our little contest will be decided by what happens at Oaklawn. The stable that owns that track, will take the lead. I look for Antilles Stable to make their move.

League Rank	Score	Stable Name	Player
1	174	Benden Weyr	Thomas
2	173	Apache_Rose_Peacock	Andrew
3	164	Antilles Stable	Elizabeth
4	154	Clifton Pond Stable	Rebecca
5	141	SCHANUCI	John R
6	88	Hard Spun	John W
7	80	Lucky Farm	Amy

4/14	Toyota Blue Grass	I	Keeneland	$750,000	1 1/8m	ESPN
4/14	Arkansas Derby	II	Oaklawn	$1,000,000	1 1/8m	ESPN
4/14	Northern Spur Breeders’ Cup		Oaklawn	$100,000	1 mile	HRTV

A Look at the races...

Keeneland - April 14th, 2007 - Race 9 Toyota Blue Grass S. - Grade: 1 Estimated Local Post Time: 5:46 PM
Race Type: Stakes Breed: Thoroughbred Age Restriction: Three Year Old				Purse: $750,000 Distance: One And One Eighth Miles Surface: All Weather Track
Post	Horse Name	Age	Sex	Weight	Jockey Name
1	Zanjero (KY)	3	Colt	123	Garrett K. Gomez
2	Dominican (KY)	3	Gelding	123	Rafael Bejarano
3	Love Dubai (KY)	3	Colt	123	Miguel Mena
4	Street Sense (KY)	3	Colt	123	Calvin H. Borel
5	Time Squared (NY)	3	Colt	123	Julien R. Leparoux
6	Teuflesberg (KY)	3	Colt	123	Edgar S. Prado
7	Great Hunter (PA)	3	Colt	123	Corey S. Nakatani

The Blue Grass is not loaded like it was slated to be a couple of weeks ago. However, there is a group of four horses that stand above the rest. Street Sense should be at the top of the list in my opinion. He's my pick for this race. Great Hunter could challenge as could Zanjero and Teuflesberg. I'll add more about this race as we get closer to post. Look for an update Thursday.

Oaklawn Park - April 14th, 2007 - Race 11 Arkansas Derby - Grade: 2 Estimated Local Post Time: 5:47 PM
Race Type: Stakes Breed: Thoroughbred Age Restriction: Three Year Old				Purse: $1,000,000 Distance: One And One Eighth Miles Surface: Dirt
Post	Horse Name	Age	Sex	Weight	Jockey Name
1	Delightful Kiss (FL)	3	Gelding	118	Russell A. Baze
2	Curlin (KY)	3	Colt	122	Robby Albarado
3	Officer Rocket (GB)	3	Colt	122	Luis S. Quinonez
4	Going Ballistic (FL)	3	Colt	122	M. Clifton Berry
5	Flying First Class (CA)	3	Colt	118	Terry J. Thompson
6	Storm in May (FL)	3	Colt	122	Juan C. Leyva
7	Olympic Chief (KY)	3	Colt	118	Gen Kato
8	Slew by Slew (KY)	3	Gelding	122	Donald R. Pettinger
9	For You Reppo (KY)	3	Colt	118	Kent J. Desormeaux
10	Deadly Dealer (FL)	3	Colt	118	John R. Velazquez

The mighty Curlin may have found a race he can win. Look for Officer Rocket to provide the main challenge; however, For You Reppo and Deadly Dealer could sneak in. More later.

Oaklawn Park - April 14th, 2007 - Race 7 Northern Spur Breeders' Cup S. - Grade: Estimated Local Post Time: 3:30 PM
Race Type: Stakes Breed: Thoroughbred Age Restriction: Three Year Old				Purse: $100,000 Distance: One Mile Surface: Dirt
Post	Horse Name	Age	Sex	Weight	Jockey Name
1	Harrow Land (KY)	3	Gelding	117	Terry J. Thompson
2	Front Court (KY)	3	Gelding	117	Eusebio Razo, Jr.
3	St. Zarb (LA)	3	Gelding	122	Luis S. Quinonez
4	Sumac (KY)	3	Colt	115	Belen Quinonez
5	Speedway (KY)	3	Colt	119	Russell A. Baze
6	Takedown (KY)	3	Colt	122	Robby Albarado
7	Mr. Soul (ON)	3	Colt	117	Seth B. Martinez
8	Run Alex Run (KY)	3	Colt	117	Stewart Elliott

Here's the race that could bust the contest open. While most won't have any of these horses in their stable, some may have attractive trainer and jockey combination. I would not be surprised if Antilles Stable has Robby Albarado. If so, then Takedown could be their ticket to riches.