DERBY/OAKS DAWN PATROL: (5/1) Valeski out, Optimizer in..
Steve Asmussen sent his Derby pair out early as usual with SABERCAT first with a very solid half mile in :48.0 and smooth gallop out through 1:01.0 and 1:15.2. DADDY NOSE BEST was asked to do less and had the easiest of half miles getting :49.1 on the watch with 1:02.2 finishing up. Daddy Nose Best continues to be a fashionable inclusion in Derby discussions and may indeed be the barn's Nehro for 2012. While Asmussen has made it clear that the Scat Daddy colt needs spacing between races, I personally prefer the fitness recency of Sabercat coming out of the continually productive Oaklawn path. I was wrong ignoring Nehro a year ago and nothing says it's a mistake to use BOTH of the barn's runners, but I'll take Sabercat at what should be nearly twice Daddy Nose Best's number..
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