Saturday’s $300k Tampa Bay Derby has drawn an interesting field of 11, and note that there have only been two wire jobs in 61 races conducted at 8.5f. Stalk and pounce types perform best, and I will look for value contenders with the right running style.
Musket Man won his 1st three sprint starts and was hardly disgraced in Sam Davis show finish (post 9) at this distance here last time. He projects a ground saving stalking trip at playable odds. He sports a pair of local bullets for this, and note that he defeated Sam Davis winner General Quarters …read more

I Want Revenge uncorked a 113 BSF en route to a romping Gotham Stakes (G3) tally (replay below) while trying conventional dirt for the first time. He showed quality on synthetic, and his connections (Mullins/Talamo) were spot-on in saying he would move up on dirt. He will ship back to his Hollywood Park base before returning to the Big A for the Wood Memorial on April 4th.
Imperial Council ran a quality race to grab the place in his first start around two turns. If you like Shug’s well bred colt, don’t give up on him because the …read more

Weekend recap (Feb 14th & 15th)
How’s Your Halo pulled off a $96.20 shocker in Saturday’s 31st running of the Richter Scale (G2). 2nd choice Ikegai set the pace and clearly held the place. 6-5 fav Tale of Ekati finished a disappointing 4th for the struggling Barclay Tagg.
Also on Saturday, Imperial Council returned in the pink for Shug (replay below), and the lightly raced, talented Empire Maker colt is a 3yo to watch. He should get better with distance/experience.

Any Limit went straight to the front and withstood a stretch challenge from heavy Pletcher fav Game Face to post a 1-1/4 …read more

A field of seven three-year-olds are set to contest Friday’s seven furlong Hutcheson (G2), and Hello Broadway is the 5-2 morning line favorite.
The Barclay Tagg trainee kicked off his career with a neck victory at Saratoga last August, then finished an okay 5th when thrown to the wolves in the Champagne (G1).
He bounced back with a game place finish behind today’s rival Break Water Edison when last seen in Aqueduct’s Nashua (G3), and this is a perfect starting point for his Derby march.

Break Water Edison had a busy juvenile campaign with four stakes appearances, and he finally …read more

The promising Lieutenant Ron landed the outside post and has been installed as the 6-5 morning line favorite for Saturday’s nine furlong $100k Grade 3 Discovery Handicap at Aqueduct Race Track in New York.
The Kiaran McLaughlin three-year-old has won three of his four sprint starts by a combined 20+ lengths, with his lone loss a show finish at six furlongs following a troubled start off a layoff. The West Point Thoroughbreds ridgling son of Graeme Hall makes his graded stakes bow while trying a route of ground for the first time. He is 2-2 at the Big A and …read more

Barclay Tagg tasted Derby success in 2003 with Funny Cide, and he has two gents pointing for the Derby this year.
Tale of Ekati, currently third on the graded earnings list, is the more formidable of his two charges. The son of Tale of the Cat enjoyed a productive juvenile campaign, and he returned in the Louisiana Derby, a tough spot for his seasonal bow. He never got going in a disappointing effort, but better days were just around the corner.
Next up was the Wood Memorial, and he tracked a fast pace carved out by recently injured two-year-old champ …read more