FL Derby (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
April 1, 2017

Sometimes, things don’t go the way we think we will.  Two of the top horses who have looked real good this prep season, Profound Connection and Made To Sin were going head to head for the first time since the BC Juvenile.  They were the clear top two favorites in this race, and many were looking forward to see them battle it out.  However, there were ten other horses in this race, and a few of them did have the potential to pull off an upset.  Shootfromthehip was one of them. Perhaps not running in the BC Juvenile put him off the radar a little bit, but he made his presence felt when he won the Southwest prior to this race.  In adding this FL Derby victory to his resume, he is no longer a spoiler, but now a favorite himself.  Big time congratulations! He is right there with Profound Connection, Made To Sin, and Ginger Haggis now.  As for the two favorites in this race, don’t worry about either of them, they’ll be fine!  The proud winning trainer of Shootfromthehip is Nakamura Stables, and this is his first FL Derby win.  The same holds true for his jockey, K J Desormeaux.  The time of the victory was 1:48.00, the third quickest in stake history.  Let’s look at how it played out!

(½ Mile- :47.41)- The start of the race sees both They All Laughed (Mb Stables) and Shootfromthehip (Nakamura Stables) break well out of the gate, but Shootfromthehip would back off the leader while rounding the first turn.  The field ran at a steady pace up front, with They All Laughed leading Warrior Chant (Sccj Stables) by a length and a half.  Warrior Chant had broke well from outer most post and it never seemed as though the post was an issue for him. Everything seemed fine with Profound Connection (Mb Stables) early on, as he seemed to be right where he should be at this point, and he had stablemate Throwing Hands to his outside.  Looking to split those two in the backstretch was Mr C (D J C Racing Stables).  I didn’t forget Shootfromthehip, as the eventual race winner backed up into the pack considerably at a half mile, and was now 4 ½ lengths from the front.   Running with him were Tumultous (Red Square Stables), On The Up and Up (Night Rider Stables), and La Lune Rain (Blushing Meadows).  At the back was American Phuegoah (The A Stable), with Weakleftbutcheek (Fractious), who seemed to miss the break at the start of the race.  Trailing the field, was the great Made To Sin (John Henry).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.93)- The pace as methodical over the backstretch, and They All Laughed was looking good out on the front end, extending his advantage to two and a half lengths.  There were not any big movers at this point of the race as we moved into the turn.  Warrior Chant still was in second, with a little more pressure applied to him along the rail from Throwing Hands.  Profound Connection remained in a spot where we were just waiting for him to strike, three lengths from the lead.  Shootfromthehip ran with Mr C about four lengths from the lead.  La Lune Rain looked to move up a little, but other then that, those who had been in the back were still waiting to make their moves, if they had it in them.

(Top of stretch, 1.5F to go)- They All Laughed emerged from the turn, and it was his race to lose at this point.  He had a two length lead on the next closest rival, and all he had to do was maintain his current stride all the way to the wire.   Throwing Hands moved into second, and moving into the third spot became our eventual winner, Shootfromthehip.  He still had a three length deficit to make up, though, with time running out to do it in.   Profound Connection had no excuses not to be closer at this point.  He had a clear lane in front him, and there was nothing wrong with his trip at any point in this race.  In the stretch, he simply came up empty.   Mr C started creeping into the picture at the top of the stretch a little more, as Warrior Chant looked to hang on.   As for the others, they were still showing nothing, with Made To Sin also having no excuses at this point.

Finish (1:48.00)- Shootfromthehip exploded with run at the top of the stretch and impressively made up the ground on They All Laughed.  To the credit of the runner up, he hung in there, and I don’t want to make it sound like I am saying otherwise with him.  The effort of Shootfromthehip was extraordinary and special, and They All Laughed did all he could, but that effort could not be denied on this day. Throwing Hands ran a nice race as well, and was able to hold off Mr C at the wire for the key third place KYD points.  Another length behind them were three that nearly hit the line together for the fifth position: Warrior Chant, American Phuegoah, and Made To Sin, though none of them looked like they’d have a shot to win or crack the top three in the race.  Tumultous, who was deactivated after the race for some reason, was eighth, with On The Up and Up running ninth.  I look forward to seeing where he ends up next.   Profound Connection was disappointing, but there can be adage in sports that you have to lose one before you win one, so perhaps he just got the bad race out of his system before a big race next month.   La Lune Rain seemed destined for a better finish, but was flat.  Eventually, Weakleftbutcheek would cross the finish line as well.

About the winner: Shootfromthehip is a three old gelding by the underrated sire Knowledge Geek and out of Jessica James.  He was bred in California as a yearling by Nakamura Stables, the only trainer for which he has ever known!  Congratulations to the connections!  The win is his fifth win in nine starts, and second graded win.  His career earnings now sit at $1,106.800.

KYD Point Picture (following Saturday’s races):

Shootfromthehip’s victory gives him 112 points, and puts him on the top.

Profound Connection and Made to Sin have 74 and 71 points, respectively, and will still be top contenders.

They All Laughed has 61 points, and is 7th overall.  He is second on the Mb Stables leaderboard, which is mentioned because that trainer will be forced to have to choose three from a handful that are worthy.

Warrior Chant’s 54 points will earn Sccj Stables a berth in the KYD.

Mr C, with 24 points, is on the bubble, 17th overall.  D J C Racing Stables will be sweating things out in the final races.

Throwing Hands, with his 20 points, is in the 20th spot, but 6th on the Mb Stables leaderboard, and I would be surprised if Mb went with him as one of the three.  That has nothing to do with Throwing Hands, but everything to do with the strength of his others.

Track: Fast
Time: :47²  1:10⁴  1:35¹  1:48

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 6 Paid 146.20
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 6 – 5 Paid 885.70

Scratched: None

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES