TAM Derby Winner is Immoral in Name Only

By Nynl Stables on March 8, 2020

The TAM Derby (Grade 2) (KYD)- $400.000 Purse
TAM- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
March 7, 2020

The big guns showed up in the TAM Derby, as the two top trainers on the TC trail right now, Mb Stables and Aer Stables saddled the favorites, and they would finish 1-2 in the race. Neither Immoral or Night Creature are the main threats of their respective stables, but they show the depth in this division that each of them have. They had to work for it, as both Laffin Hero and Lord Of Peace looked strong in a race that had four of them in close proximity at the wire. This battle between the two of them was won by Mb Stables, and it is the fourth time that he has visited the winners circle after the TAM Derby, but just the first time for jockey G Saez. Congratulations to them! If you played our picks, you should have had success, as we called the trifecta on this one! As for the time of the race, that was 1:41.55, the fourth quickest in history. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :23.43)- Ngannou breaks well from the gate for Mb Stables, but naturally it’s a horse that starts on the outside that gets pushed out to the front. That would be Nakamura Stables’ Cheap Trick, and he leads by a length over Ngannou and Laffin Hero, out of Alydar Stables while moving around the turn. The eventual winner, Mb Stables’ Immoral runs in the fourth position, situated well on the rail, and just two lengths out of it. We then have a break of about two lengths to a group of four running side by side. Stormy Sultan (Tiratzo), the outside horse of this group, has a slight advantage over Quarter Plan (Gdp Inc), who is on the rail. Between them are Tall Greek Stud (Oquinn Farm) and Lord Of Peace (Fractious). It’s another length to Opus Illusion (Axeman), Night Creature (Aer Stables), and Bell Boy (Rampage Stable). At the back by himself, it’s the maiden from Night Rider Stables, Most High.

(½ Mile- :46.93)- Completing the run around the turn and moving down the backstretch, we do not that much activity. Cheap Trick is still our leader, he has the same length and a half advantage over his three stalkers. Laffin Hero has a head in front of that group while running on the outside, but the two Mb Stables’ horses, Ngannou and Immoral continue to bide their time. We still have that two length gap behind them, and it seemed like Stormy Sultan was going to advance into that gap, but he would call that off. As others in the back were riding it out, there was one making a move, and that would be Night Creature, who gained nearly two lengths during this portion, and was now even with Tall Greek Stud, and likely about to advance more as we moved closer to the final turn.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- At the end of the backstretch, Cheap Trick was seeing his lead diminish, and both Immoral and Laffin Hero had pulled up alongside soon into the turn. Ngannou was right there with them, too. By the time they hit the top of the stretch, we had a new leader, and that would be Immoral, who had a great trip to this point. He also pulled a length ahead of Laffin Hero here, which was also pretty important. Cheap Trick tried to show some fight, and was still third. Ngannou held his ground as a new contender emerged from the back. Night Creature continued his advance, and made up a lot of ground within the turn. Now, he needed to make up a little more then two lengths on Immoral, and he was looking pretty good at this point. Lord Of Peace was starting to look like someone to watch out for as well, and had a good lane for the stretch, but the others had a lot of work to do.

(Finish- 1:41.55)- Immoral continues to lead in the stretch, but it would not be easy. Night Creature continued to eat into his lead, and Laffin Hero, who he pulled away from just a little bit in the turn was now cutting back into that and making a run. And what about the big power move by Lord Of Peace. I almost think that he could have stayed in his lane and would have had a clear path instead of making the kind of outside move that he did. So, while the trainer takes a fourth place finish, he might be wondering about the jockey’s choice there as it may have cost him a win here. That win though, goes to Immoral, who was clinging to that lead, and in a four way photo at the wire, the fifty points are his by a neck over Night Creature and Laffin Hero, with Lord Of Peace fourth. After a length and a half, Ngannou holds off Opus Illusion for fifth. The rest of the order is Cheap Trick, Tall Greek Stud, Bell Boy, Quarter Plan, Most High, and Stormy Sultan.

About The Winner- Immoral, trained by Mb Stables, and ridden to victory by G Saez, is a three year old gelding by No Doubt About It, and is out of Noble Moment. He was bred in Califonia as a second quarter two year old by Mb Stables, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in seven starts, his third stake win, and second graded win. His career earnings are now $567.260.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Immoral

Mb Stables

Saez G

2.55

1^nk