John Asher Blog Post

The first Derby of 2008 has been run, with Cowboy Cal winning the Tropical Park Derby at Calder Race Course, and the road to Kentucky Derby 134 on May 3 at Churchill Downs is officially open.

Not to mention WIDE OPEN.

A year ago when the first Kentucky Derby mentions entered the Blogosphere, the reigning 2-year-old champion, Street Sense, was taking it easy in Florida before he launched a campaign that ended up in the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle at Churchill Downs. We knew he was a quality horse – his record 10-length romp in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs had provided ample evidence of that.

But what we did not know was that the 3-year-old crop that would yield the participants in the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands would prove to be one deepest and most talented ever.

Curlin, who is days away from being honored with Eclipse Awards that will proclaim him to be “Horse of the Year” and 3-year-old champion, had not raced and was not on the radar screen. Hard Spun was well-regarded, but unproven. Proven 3-year-old stars Circular Quay and Great Hunter were well-regarded, but future stars Any Given Saturday, Grasshopper and others were still well off the center of that radar. The filly Rags to Riches, who would win the Kentucky Oaks and then become the first female in a century to beat the boys in the Belmont Stakes, had only a fourth-place showing in a Churchill Downs maiden race the previous summer on her resume.

But what a remarkable group those 3-year-olds turned out to be, with Street Sense, Curlin and Rags to Riches dividing the Triple Crown spoils and Hard Spun and Any Given Saturday going on to defeat their elders in top races later in the year.

The accomplishments of that group of 3-year-olds provide a high bar for this year’s members of the Triple Crown crop to reach and clear, but there is talent in this group. There could be enough talent to continue a strong run of Kentucky Derbies that has seen memorable performances by Funny Cide, the New York-bred gelding who defeated the ultra-talented Empire Maker in 2003; Smarty Jones and his unbeaten run through the Derby and Preakness in 2004; Giacomo, the 50-1 shot who defeated eventual champion Afleet Alex in 2005; and the ill-fated Barbaro, who showed the world he was special in his mesmerizing Derby victory in 2006 – then displayed true courage and determination during the eight month fight for life that followed his injury in the Preakness.

Will we be talking about members of this year’s crop of 3-year-olds in those terms at this time next year? That’s difficult to say, but not impossible to imagine. There are some talented young stars in a group headed by the unbeaten War Pass, who will easily earn championship honors for his 2-year-old campaign that included a romp in the Monmouth Park slop in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

But he is just one horse – and may not even prove to be the best in the barn of two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Nick Zito by the time that the 134th “Run for the Roses” arrives.

The run to Saturday, May 3 will be a lot of fun and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and hearing from you along the road to Kentucky Derby 134.