The Nashville Derby Grade 2

1 5/16 on Turf – Purse $3,000.00 For Three Year Olds
Kentucky Downs, Franklin Kentucky

-When the money comes out the top barns are usually there or thereabouts and Saturday was a money festival in Franklin Kentucky. Mb Stables, the perineal leading barn in the country by several metrics showed up in a big way and took down the gold and silver medals in The Grade 2 $3000.00 Nashville Derby. Reign Supreme, the race favorite broke mid-pack and slowly moved up, then took over in the stretch run and held on gamely in track record time to boot. Congrats to the connections. Go Go Goblin received a masterful ride from Luis Saez as he broke calmly and was not hustled today from his rail draw. He then found the magic passage through to just get up for the silver medal in a solid effort. Gaelic Commander from High Voltage had set the bar high for himself coming into this as the now horse, but in retrospect was tackling a new distance. He ran good, so no excuses and none really needed, but I do have to wonder about the distance. He seems to be able to handle any gate draw or pace scenario. I am sure these guys will all show up together again in our future. Eyes Forward from Royalty Stables continues on the improve after the claim and will be an interesting horse to watch as the season progresses.

Of The Rest;

Cumberland Blue from Jerry Garcia Racing was some thirteen lengths off the pace at the halfway point and did well to close up the gap and just missing the bottom of the superfecta.

Wealthy B Wonka, also from Mb Stables gunned for the early lead and held sway for about three quarters of the race before calling it a day and finished sixth.

Terafunk from Maletto sat a nice tracking trip but could not keep the engines going into the stretch and had to settle for a seventh place finish on the afternoon.

Yellowbrick Road from DJC Racing Stables simply got too far back and was not effective with this context or distance.

Launch Code from TwinTowers Racing did not show the speed we had anticipated and ran an even race today without impacting.

Bold Intruder from The Sidley Stud simply could not overcome the post draw and offered little on the afternoon. Expect him to look vastly improved with a decent post.

Sausage Wiz from Night Rider Stables did not get the scenario he needed up front and just circled the oval Saturday bringing the barns hopes back down to earth.

Southwind from Acber Farms was not as big a price as we had forecast, but certainly ran like a horse in completely the wrong context.

Simple Man from Serenity Stables is simply put, becoming a nightmare for his connections. Taken for $400, he looked lost out there today and might need a reset and certainly a rebound to get back on track. He is also looking at the daunting task of facing older horses very quickly, not a great proposition.

New Yorks Finest from Big Jd Racing never got involved today and will appreciate a drop back to reality.

*Knockturn Alley from Delta Farms did not scratch in from the AE list.

-Trackman

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES