Hoppertunity Version 2.0
Having abandoned the post-Wood Memorial choice of Wicked Strong as my 2014 Kentucky Derby selection after arriving at Churchill Downs, I landed on an improving, well bred colt, who appeared to be getting over the Churchill Downs track like a fine sports car over the Autobahn. His name was Hoppertunity. A run for the Roses was not in the cards for the lightly raced bay colt, though.
Trainer Bob Baffert had the unhappy duty of telling a large group in front of his barn that Hoppertunity had a bruised foot. It was especially tough timing, just two days before the Derby. The son of Any Given Saturday was also soon diagnosed with a spur in his left leg that required surgery. Would a healthy Hoppertunity have defeated California Chrome at Churchill Downs? No one knows for sure, but I carry the belief that he would have, at the least, run a big race.
It’s certainly not the Kentucky Derby, but next week’s Grade 1 Clark Handicap gives Hoppertunity the opportunity to gain some redemption in the same town where his fast track to stardom was derailed. Running against tough and more experienced horses in the day after Thanksgiving feature in Louisville, will be no easy task for the Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman owned runner, but he looks to be coming into the race much like the horse I liked so much nearly seven months ago.
Despite not starting as a juvenile, Hoppertunity quickly moved up the list of bona fide Kentucky Derby candidates. After running greenly in his career debut, the half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner, Executiveprivilege, came right back to win his second race smartly. From there, he moved comfortably into graded stakes racing.
A troubled fourth in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds was followed by a rough and tumble victory over Tapiture in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in only his fourth lifetime start. He could not match strides on the turn with the streaking California Chrome in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, but accounted himself very nicely down the lane to finish well ahead of Candy Boy for second. Which led him to Kentucky, where I saw him as thriving before the injury at Churchill Downs, and now half a season later, he is back and looking good.
In case you missed it, Hoppertunity returned from a long layoff two days before the Breeders’ Cup. Shaking off the rust, and fighting the natural track bias at Santa Anita, Hoppertunity came up just short in a seven furlong allowance race. It may have been a loss on the record, but for his connections, it was exactly what they were hoping to see. Closing like a freight train down the middle of the track, he was gaining gobs of ground on his stablemate, Pimpermel with every stride. He was left with too much to do in the stretch that day, but anyone that saw how quickly past the wire he had blown by the winner, knows that Hoppertunity is back and in good form. Hoppertunity ready and sharp, makes him a dangerous entity in the Clark, and beyond.