PA Derby (Grade 2)- $1,000.000 Purse
PRX- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
September 19, 2015

Many of the top three year olds in our virtual world are set to renew acquaintances in the 11th running of the PA Derby at PRX.  It is a race that often sees TC contenders who opted not to go to races like the Travers, but is always good to draw a couple runners every year who do not back down from the three week turnover between the two races.  Two of the greatest horses to ever grace our world have won the PA Derby in the past, one of which did so after winning the Travers, and the other went from the Dandy to the PA Derby.  The Travers winner was the great Five Fives, who won this race by six lengths in 2010.  The year prior, Whats Up skipped the Travers to give himself some time to prepare for this race, and he would be victorious.   Other great past winners include Noble Warrior and Cryptomagic.  This year, we’ll have a field of eight going to the gate, and only one of them ran in the Travers a few weeks ago.  We’ll get to that one and the other seven now in our run through the field.

#1- Dominant Speed (Rockitpad, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)-   The Breeders Futurity (Grade 1) must seem like such a long time ago for the trainer.  That race, eleven months ago now, is the last time that Dominant Speed as been in the winners circle.   Since then, the Skeleton Key colt has been painfully close to winning a few big races, such as the second place performance in the PRK, or the 3rd place run in the BEL.   This trend continued at the beginning of the month, when he ended up being second in the Grade 2 WV Derby.  Impressively, this means the colt has almost won $1,000.000 in 2015 without a victory.  This Saturday may just be the day as while there is good competition, they are opponents that he has beaten on multiple occasions before.  If you believe in a horse being due, then Dominant Speed is your pick.

#2- Generals Companion (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The General Assembly colt is the only one in the field who is coming out of the Travers and running in this race.  While it has only been three weeks, history has actually been on the side of those who run in both.  Unfortunately for the trainer, Generals Companion did not run well in the Travers, finishing 8th.  He’s run a recent pattern of alternating a very close second in a Grade 1 and a subpar finish.  If you believe in patterns holding true, then Generals Companion is about to run a big race.  I do believe that is what we should be expecting out of him anyway.

#3- Port on the Horizon (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J L Ortiz)- Gave the trainer a lot to be excited about during prep race season, winning the Grade 1 Wood Memorial after a pretty good run in the TAM Derby in the previous race.  In the two TC races that he attempted, he finished in the most frustrating position possible if you are a trainer here: fifth in both races.  He then won the Grade 2 LA Derby.   Not the prep race G2 LA Derby at FG in March, but the G2 LA Derby at LA in July.  (We should differentiate these better in the past performances, HRP?)  At any rate, Port on The Horizon is always able to be in the mix, and figures to do that again here as well.

#4- Unsuited (Hawaiian Shirt Guy, ridden by G L Olguin)- Unsuited was my favorite horse during the TC campaign.  I liked the form that he had going into the FL Derby, then was really impressed with the way he won that race.  Then, the TC hunt just did not go well for him, and he ended up being a non-factor in both of those races.   He would be sold in mid-June then, from D J C Racing Stables to Hawaiian Shirt Guy for an affordable $450.000.  His new trainer took a stab at the Queens Plate, but he was just as effective in that as he was in the two TC races he tried.  Then, just when maybe you wanted to give up on Unsuited, he bounced back nicely in the Grade 2 WV Derby, edging out Dominant Speed for the win there.  Is Unsuited back?  Well, we’re not sure.  He has to do it again here.

#5- Have A Seat (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Leparoux)- If it wasn’t for the trainer, I’d see this as a someone taking an ambitious shot with a budding talent.  But here we are talking about Mb Stables, who certainly has plenty of talented three year olds in his barn.   If Mb had another horse in this field, then still I’d see this as the ambitious shot.   The fact that the trainer has chosen Have A Seat to run in the PA Derby certainly does stand out at you.  He has no stake experience, but has won four of five races, including a pair of optional claimers.  The most recent win, at MTH in late August was done in an impressive time that shows he can run with these.  It was inevitable that Have A Seat was going to find his way into stakes soon, but the placement directly into the PA Derby shows an enormous vote of confidence by the trainer.   The race could suit his running style pretty well too.  It will be interesting story if he wins.

#6- Roxys Triple Crown (Aer Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Despite the promising name, Roxys Triple Crown emerged a little too late to be a TC threat for his trainer.   He has won two of seven career races, with the non-maiden win being the $75.000 Majestic Light at MTH in May.  However his best race was one in which he finished second, and that was also the last time he was out on the racetrack.   In the Grade 3 Longacres Mile last month, Roxys Triple Crown placed second at EMD for the race, but earned a 100 SRF in the process.   He’s flashed some talent and has patiently been brought along, but I have to pass on his chances.

#7- Valparaiso Harbor (Barcelona Farms, ridden by R J Albarado)- This gelding by Hail Two Bob is still looking for his first win of 2015, but like Dominant Speed this doesn’t mean that he not been competitive this year. Valparaiso Harbor represented himself well in the prep races, including a 2nd in the “always much more difficult then it ever gets credit for” TUP Derby.  He followed that up with a 3rd in the G2 LA Derby (the one at FG).  Recently, he has consistently been in the top three, including second places finishes in the Grade 2 Pegasus in June and the Grade 2 IND Derby in July.  Expect Valparaiso Harbor to be in the mix here, but the winless streak is likely to continue.

#8- Citizens Union (Saratoga Stud, ridden by R Bejarano)- One of the two KYD horses that the trainer made a significant investment to acquire just a couple weeks before that big race.   He did not deliver what Saratoga Stud was hoping for, with double digit finishes in both the KYD and the BEL.   This led to the horse being gelded, and he responded last month by winning an optional claimer at DMR that also featured the likes of Kingslayer and Rumby Willie.  Sometimes a win like this can get a horse back on track, so it will be interesting to see if it can happen with Citizens Union.

Prediction: 1-4-3-2

Categories: Grade II