Derby winner Mine That Bird has returned to Churchill Downs, and he is expected to start twice prior to the BC Classic. He will get a much needed vacation after participating in all three legs of the Triple Crown. A better ride might have netted him a win in the final jewel, but Calvin Borel is only human and would be the first to admit that it was not his best effort.

Preakness heroine Rachel Alexandra passed on the Test of Champions and worked a six furlong bullet in 1:13-4/5 on June 8th. She may show up in the June 27th Mother Goose at Belmont Park.

Surprise Belmont Stakes hero Summer Bird could go the Jim Dandy-Travers route. Note that he is stabled at Louisiana Downs, and we have a little $750k event called the Super Derby on September 19th. Young conditioner Tim Ice has plenty of options with the son of Birdstone.

Other than Rachel, the 3yo division lacked quality pace players in the Triple Crown series. I am looking for late developing sorts and quality early/pressing types to step up in the coming months, and Quality Road sure fits that bill.

The James Jerkens trainee is back in training following quarter crack issues. He breezed three furlongs in :38.83 on June 8th. He is working with bar shoes on and still has a long way to go, but the Travers is likely on his plate if his health continues to improve.

Mr. Jerkens also has late bloomer Convocation, who romped to a flat mile maiden victory on the Belmont Stakes undercard. The Dwyer on the 4th of July might be his next target.

Todd Pletcher’s Dunkirk ran a big race to land the place in the Belmont, but the 3yo stable star of the day was Munnings, who garnered a 110 BSF in excellent Woody Stephens tally. The Dwyer or Haskell, followed by the King’s Bishop, are the preliminary plans Pletcher has mapped out for the son of Speightstown.

Nick Zito trainee Just Ben turned in an outstanding effort on the Belmont undercard. He could be a big player in the 3yo sprint division.

Derby-Preakness show finisher Musket Man is pointing to the Haskell Stakes, and Derby runner-up Pioneerof The Nile has returned to SoCal to prepare for the Swaps Stakes.

Dunkirk and Belmont 4th place finisher Charitable Man are likely Travers candidates.

Now that the dust has settled, I am looking forward to new shooters jumping up and biting the familiar faces in the near future.

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Summer Bird is stabled at Louisiana Downs, and it would be great if he contested the $750k Super Derby on September 19th.

The June 6th card at LAD started out by favoring early/pressing types, but off the pace runners did surprisingly well the 2nd half of the day.

Hat trick for Don Simington. Day was saved when my best bet Time of the Night ($6.00) was placed first via DQ.

Sunday’s (6-7-09) 9-race card includes a trio of grass races.

Sligo Joe (3-1) is my best bet in the 2nd race, an optional claiming turf route. He handles any footing an exits sharp local main track tally for formidable Simington/Cart team.

You can check out live streaming video, including my daily paddock reports, on the LAD site.

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June 4th

Fast main track and off the turf. Five wire jobs on the day.

Big day on the analysis front. Tabbed 6 tops on the 9-race card.

Bourque, Riquelme, and PVal each booted home a pair.

Apprentice rider Anna Roberts won her 2nd race of the meet with trainer Jorge Lara. She sent my best bet Black Giraffe straight to the front, and she never looked back in sharp extended sprint wire job. Lara was leading trainer here last year, and Roberts might have a productive meet if able to keep it going for this outfit.

June 5th

A bounce was expected after the 6-bagger, and a ho-hum pair of tops got the job done on Friday.

Edge to stalkers on the main. An off the pace type won the turf sprint, and the flat mile turfer was won in wire-to-wire fashion.

PVal continued his fine riding with a pair of winners. Alfonso Balderas was off to a slow start, and he made up for it by saddling a pair of turf winners.

Decent straight maiden event in the 7th. Churchill shipper Jump This (Tim Ice) was a sharp winner over Burt’s A Stitch , and the top two were well clear of the rest in 1:11.85. The runner-up is trained by the red-hot Michelle Lovell, and he showed much improved tactical speed in 2nd career outing. Won’t be a maiden much longer.

June 6th

Race 2: Cream Level (6-1) likes the local oval and hails from a profitable outfit. Could sit the right stalking trip at playable odds.

Race 8: Time of the Night (5-2) is my best bet. He does his best work at this 7f distance and should move forward 2nd off a layoff under Francisco Torres.

Belmont Stakes : Looking for a big effort from Chocolate Candy (10-1). He is one of 3 graded winners. Fresh colt attracts Gomez and has strong distance pedigree. Might stalk and pounce his way to a surprise victory!

We have live streaming video on the LAD website. Check out my paddock reports 15 minutes prior to each live race.

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Charitable Man is the 3-1 2nd choice, and the Peter Pan winner might get brave if able to sneak away early.

Dunkirk is next at 4-1, and the lightly raced $3.7 million colt flashed talent in Florida before finding trouble on the first Saturday in May.

Chocolate Candy looms the value play at 10-1. He is one of only three graded winners in the field, and he was hardly disgraced in 5th place Derby effort. He has the pedigree and reunites with Garrett Gomez, who booted him home to stakes tally at Hollywood late last year.

Summer Bird and Flying Private are sitting at 12-1. The former is a lightly raced late runner, while the latter is a bit of an iron horse making his 13th career start for Wayne Lukas.

Mr. Hot Stuff is 15-1, along with the Nick Zito duo of Miner’s Escape and Brave Victory .

Luv Gov rounds out the field at 20-1, and his 1-11 lifetime record hardly inspires confidence.

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Pace makes the race, and Charitable Man looms the one to catch. He is 3-3 on conventional dirt and 2-2 at Belmont. He pulled off a wire job in 6.5f career bow and is capable of rating should another rival get aggressive.

Miner’s Escape does not appear as swift as Charitable Man, but the improving sort exits a pair of prominent throughout nine furlong tallies. Remember that Nick Zito trainee Da’ Tara pulled off a wire job upset in this race last year.

The expected tepid early pace may hurt the chances of Mine That Bird, but the SoCal synthetic horses are used to such a race shape, so keep an eye on Chocolate Candy and Mr. Hot Stuff. The former owns striking range positional speed, while the latter is more of a one-run sort.

Breeding matters in the Test of Champions, and a couple of past winners have offspring in this event.

2004 hero Birdstone is represented by Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and Summer Bird. 1999 winner Lemon Drop Kid has pace threat Charitable Man.

Ten Most Wanted finished 2nd in the 2003 Belmont, and his son Luv Gov is set to contest the ‘09 renewal.

Chocolate Candy has a strong pedigree. His sire Candy Ride won the 10f Pacific Classic in 2003, and damsire Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown in 1977. He also has 1978 Triple Crown runner-up Alydar playing a prominent role on the female side.

Dunkirk has a speed sire (Unbridled’s Song) and a stamina damsire (A.P. Indy). He has a ton of upside with only four starts under his belt.

Flying Private has a Derby winner (Fusaichi Pegasus-Unbridled) on both sides of his pedigree, but the Belmont will be his 9th start this year.

Miner’s Escape has the speed as mentioned above, and he has some pedigree power with Mineshaft-A.P. Indy on top and Broad Brush on bottom.

Mr. Hot Stuff lacks speed but makes up for it in the pedigree department. Colonel John’s baby brother (Tiznow-Turkoman) should run all day.

I’ll give the breeding award to Chocolate Candy, and Charitable Man wins the pace paper race. Miner’s Escape is the longshot special.

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Rachel breezed an easy four furlongs (:50-1/5) on Monday, and Derby winner Mine That Bird went the same distance in :51 flat.

Chocolate Candy went a solid seven furlongs in 1:27.34 on Monday, and Garrett Gomez will ride in the Belmont Stakes.

Charitable Man (:47.88) and Dunkirk (1:00.77) worked on Saturday. The former is a dangerous pace player, and the latter is lightly raced and should continue to improve.

Nick Zito’s Nowhere To Hide went four panels in :49.84. Zito also has Brave Victory and Miner’s Escape set for the big dance. Barn has a long history of success in the Belmont, so do not ignore his longshot trio.

Big work for Mr. Hot Stuff on May 26th. He finished strongly in his five furlong bullet at Keeneland, and I have always been fond of Colonel John’s baby brother. The Belmont Stakes is wide open, especially with Rachel on the sidelines, and the Eoin Harty charge rates a realisic shot at a price.

Miguel Mena replaces the recently suspended Jamie Theriot aboard Luv Gov. He is expected to work later this week, along with stablemate Flying Pegasus.

Kent Desormeaux will ride Summer Bird for trainer Tim Ice. He worked 1:26.47 on Saturday.

“The more I talked with people, the more important it seemed to have someone who really knows this track,” said Ice, who worked as an assistant with Desormeaux’s brother, trainer Keith Desormeaux, in Louisiana for five years. “I’m just glad Kent wanted to ride him in the Belmont.”

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Mine That Bird is currently training at Churchill for his upcoming Belmont engagement. Mike Smith has a prior riding commitment in SoCal, and Borel will stick with Rachel Alexandra if she goes, so Chip Woolley still needs a pilot for his Derby winner. Expect a jockey to be named early next week.

It wouldn’t be the Belmont without Nick Zito , and two of his probables worked in company on May 21st.

Peter Pan show finisher Brave Victory got his four furlongs in :48.55, and stablemate and Tesio winner Miner’s Escape was right with him at :48.56.

Zito could also be represented by Nowhere To Hide. Chocolate Candy , Dunkirk, Flying Private, Luv Gov, Mr. Hot Stuff, and Summer Bird are also Belmont bound.

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Right after the Preakness the first thing that popped into my mind was no way the filly shoots for the Test of Champions. After all, the Oaks, Preakness, and Belmont is equivalent to the Triple Crown in terms of spacing, and there is no need to put her through that grueling schedule.

The feeling is she skips the 3rd leg and get a freshening for a summer/fall Horse of the Year run. If she does go, she figures a viable prominent throughout threat at underlaid odds, but a fresh horse might jump up and bite her.

If she does not go to Big Sandy, then Calvin Borel could reunite with Mine That Bird because Mike Smith has a prior commitment to Madeo on the same day in SoCal.

Wayne Lukas has Flying Private and possibly Luv Gov for the Belmont. Others pointing for the 3rd jewel include Mr. Hot Stuff, Summer Bird, Charitable Man, and Miner’s Escape.

A pair of Belmont probables turned in works on Monday. Chocolate Candy went six furlongs in 1:13.47 under Garrett Gomez, and Dunkirk drilled four furlongs in :47.37.

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Interesting that if Rachel was not in the Preakness, a Triple Crown could be on the line. On the other hand, if she ran in the Derby instead of the Oaks…hmmm!

Second day in the books at Louisiana Downs. Saturday’s best bet Token Diva saved all the ground as expected, but she did not kick it in when asked. Might be better on the main.

Francisco Torres was the riding star with two stakes wins on the card. Charles Hukill saddled two winners on the day.

Still getting the feel of things two days in. Might take a week or two to get into a rhythm. 0-2 on best bets.

My best bet on the LAD Sunday card is Sacred Psalm (race 8). Consistent miss is on the improve and exits a solid place finish behind a runaway stakes winner. She owns positional speed, and seven panels is right up her alley.

Racing resumes at LAD on Friday, May 22nd. We have a special Memorial Day card on May 25th.

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A horse I am particularly interested in at Pimlico is Parading. The Shug McGaughey runner looked sensational as my top choice in the Ben Ali, and the first thing that popped into my mind after that synthetic romp was the Hollywood Gold Cup. 6yo son of Pulpit reminds me a bit of Go Between, a quality turf runner who thrived on synthetic.

Parading is back on the grass in the Grade 2 Dixie on Saturday, and note that he is a 4-time winner on the weeds. I am looking for another strong effort, and I hope he shoots for California glory if everything goes well.

As for the Preakness, I have always liked Rachel Alexandra and would not be surprised if she won, but she will not offer much value.

I will stick with my Derby top Pioneerof The Nile. He was a solid 2nd at Churchill, and that was his first conventional dirt experience. Multiple graded winner continues to train forwardly and could wear down the filly.

First day at Louisiana Downs went well. My analyzed contenders were firing all day. Gary Duhon saddled a pair of winners. Zimmerman booted home a pair, and Bourque/Robideaux teamed up for two wins on the card. PVal/Morris Nicks also clicked twice.

My best bet on the LAD Saturday card is Token Diva (race 6). She earned a strong rating on the main last time, and she’s capable on the weeds as well.

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