2012 Kentucky Derby Contenders – How To Spot Them Early

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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Overdriven owns the highest Beyer Speed Figure among the two year olds with a 100, a figure which he received in breaking his 5 furlong maiden race at Belmont Park on July 1st. He is by Tale of the Cat, who sired the 2004 Kentucky Derby runner up, Lion Heart. He is certainly impressive, and has a bright future, but my instincts tell me he will have distance limitations down the road. He is next entered in the G2 Sanford to be run on July 24th at Saratoga Race course.

Canigotoo is a handsome gray horse who broke his maiden at 5 furlongs at Lone Star Park with a 96 Beyer, the second highest so far this year. He won by around 15 lengths, a feat hard to accomplish over so short a distance. I would pick him to be the 2012 Breeder’s Cup Sprint winner rather than the 2012 Kentucky Derby winner. Like Overdriven, he too appears to have the gait of a sprinter. Of course, much can change as they mature into bigger stronger animals, but from the looks of it, he looks like a sprinter.

Majestic City is by sprinter City Zip and doesn’t have a distance pedigree. He is an undefeated two for two, having broken his maiden ...
... with an 86 Beyer, and then took the Willard Proctor Memorial at Hollywood Park by 3 ½ lengths. I was actually more impressed with the runner up, Truco Latino who absolutely bolted turning into the stretch, losing at least three lengths in the process. Despite his continually bearing out, he still closed nicely on Majestic City. I think the latter has tremendous potential and it is too early to say whether he will be best as a sprinter or not. He does have a nice long stride which is what you want to see in horses that will become eventual Derby contenders. He will make his next start on July 17th in the Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile Championship.

One other worth looking at is Night Tide who is by Malibu Moon, so he has the pedigree that says stamina. In his maiden debut at Hollywood on June 19, he won by ¾ lengths, and beat the third place finisher by less than two lengths. Generally, you want to see maidens separate themselves from the others by a bit larger margin, which usually indicates that they have distinguished themselves from just the average maiden runner. He too will start next in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, and we will get to see him stretch out and see what he is made of.

There are a more prospects that we will take a look at soon, so check back for more news on the two year olds!
I know it’s early for the 2012 Kentucky Derby, but just thinking about it gets both the novice and the ophisticated racing enthusiast very excited. Not everybody can afford to own a racing thoroughbred. Horses are expensive and costly to maintain. If you want to get the thrill of owning a racing horse, why not start out with a virtual racing experience? There is an online horse racing game that emulates horse racing almost to perfection. Breed, train and own and then manage the careers of virtual thoroughbreds. I know there are a lot of horse racing game out there, but this particular game, horseracegame.com, covers every aspect of racing. It has enough depth to satisfy even the most hard-core fan, but yet it has a soft, simple introduction process that doesn’t scare the beginner or newbie to racing away.

Maybe you’ll never own a true Kentucky Derby contender, but at least you can experience it in the virtual racing world.