BEYER: Poly's Anti-Speed Bias

[Kasept]

On the surface, Blue Grass gives no Derby guidance
By Andrew Beyer

http://www.lcsun-news.com/sports/ci_5675976


Leave it to the experts... Sunday it was Steve Crist offering a fog-clearing view of the NY franchise situation, and below Andy Beyer delivers a succinct summary of what happened at KEE in Saturday's Blue Grass and 'Poly's Problem'. The Blue Grass was run in a manner totally incongruent with the way the Classics, particularly the Derby, are run, and offers little in the way of clues as to the principal's Rose Run prospects. I say little because there are a few clues about the 5 top finishers in the BG who will move forward to Louisville...

Dominican, who closed out the final eighth in under :11.0, was able to make up as much as four lengths in the late stages and demonstrated that he is a danger May 5th knowing that he has the speed to say within striking distance in a race run in an authentic manner... Street Sense could not have had a better race in which to 'react' from his layoff start in the Tampa Bay Derby tussle with Any Given Saturday, and can now be fine tuned for the next three weeks by Carl Nafzger, who will be one of three trainers, (potentially four), in the event looking for his 2nd Derby blanket... Zanjero remains a fascinating Derby player having run on the slowest part of the track and again demonstrating a tenacity and consistancy largely missing from many of the longshot candidates that will line up in Derby 133... Teufelsberg couldn't hold on at 9f running :51.4/1:16.3 on the lead, and is a good candidate to be last at Churchill going 10f in Jamie Sanders' campaign to ruin him... As long as Great Hunter exited the goofy race in good order after a DQ-worthy mauling by punchdrunk T-berg, he goes on as viable as any upper tier Derby hopeful knowing that Doug O'Neill will only start turning the screws on him now...