Derby Blogs

He's named after a famous Roman architect and writer and he's a horse you should follow as we continue down the Triple Crown trail: Vitruvius

The 3-year-old colt debuted at Gulfstream on Saturday with an impressive maiden victory for trainer Jimmy Jerkens. After breaking a step slowly from the rail -- always a tough spot for a first-time starter -- Vitruvius cruised up to battle for the lead and fought head-to-head the length of the stretch with favored Fearless Vision. Vitruvius refused to surrender the lead and won by a neck. The time for seven furlongs wasn't very quick at 1:25, but the track was a bit dull; the nice older sprinter Changing Weather ran the same distance in 1:24 4/5 just two races earlier.

My friends at Boston-based owner Centennial Farms have been high on Vitruvius for a while. In fact, Vitruvius, a son of E Dubai, is a half-brother to their current stable star Corinthian, who recently looked awesome winning an allowance over Jazil. He's also a half to Desert Hero, a top runner at 3 who won the San Rafael in 1999. Centennial is unlikely to put Vitruvius into stakes company for his next start. A Gulfstream allowance is probably next. It's probably a stretch for him to be ready to run Kentucky Derby, but hey, you never know.

So, after hearing good things about Vitruvius prior to the race, I must have put down a bet and cashed a nice $9.20 mutuel, right? Nope. I was a bonehead and decided to take a stroll through the Upper East Side of Manhattan and passed the race, only to catch the replay. Uggh. The only positive for me: I found a $20 bill on the sidewalk on the way home. Maybe I'll put it to win on Vitruvius in his next start.