DMR Derby – Grade II
1 1/8 Mile Turf Stake Purse $250.00 Open 3 Year Olds.
1st Homme de Guerre John Henry Maldonado E
I said in the write up for this race that form can be misleading at HRP and sure enough there was just too many factors in this ones favor and in the end he ran out a fairly comfortable winner. Maldonado has gone from hero to zero and back to hero again thanks to a visit to the 9%ers and now a return to his 10% status. It does remind us that these arent real people they are just numbers and when those numbers get a little percentage boost that can be enough to send them back to the top. Apart from the in form jockey we had an inform stable and the magic draw of 2. All of those factors certainly played their part but we must not forget it still takes a good horse to win and this one if you read between the lines was certainly good enough. Rapidly improving this year he looked pretty special when taking a big ticket allowance and then finishing a close fourth in the Wise Dan. His poor run in the American Derby cant really be explained but he looked right back to his best in the KD Turf Cup. So make no mistakes this is a good horse and when you add in all the other factors it was no real surprise he beat the form horses.
2nd Prince Of Theories Mb Stables Beschizza A
Whatever instruction caused this one to run into the lead and go clear early on was also the reason that on the end he didnt last home. He has looked very good over a mile but going to nine furlongs for the first time and being asked to do it from the front was always going to be a tough ask. Back to a mile and there are still some good races against the older horses for this one to take home.
3rd Z Modest One Gdp Inc Pennington F
I noticed that the numbers called Pennington lost their turf strength recently and since then the formerly star turf jockey hasnt been quite as sharp. I expect a Maldonado type revival when it is returned to him but until then i may be avoiding him in these turf races. Today he took this horse back a bit and as the horse is a real dour stayer he was always going to find it tough to claw back the sprightlier rivals. He plugged away for third but will welcome a return to 12 furlongs.
4th Humzinger Maxmillion Farm Centeno D E
Stalked the lead but looked outclassed at the end. He looks a useful type but maybe his future lies in a class or two lower.
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
