Speed to The Factor of 10 (Furlongs)
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Photo:
Eclipse Sportswire
Zipse’s
Kentucky Derby Daily – Day 25
Regular readers of this column know that I remain skeptical whether the speedy son of first-crop sire War Front will be able to ration his speed over the demanding Kentucky Derby trip, but the fact remains that I am always thrilled to see a truly talented horse doing what they do best, and I would be a fool not to recognize the sizeable talent of The Factor. But back to my skeptical side again for a moment … super talent or not, things will only get tougher from here.
The Arkansas Derby may prove to be the strongest prep on the 2011 Kentucky Derby trail. At the time of the writing of this column, there were 13 horses listed as probable for the 1 1/8 mile race, and most of them are good enough to be considered potential winners. In fact horses like Sway Away, Elite Alex, Nehro, J P's Gusto, Alternation, Archarcharch, Brethren, Dance City, Caleb's Posse are all just one good performance away from heading to Louisville as a serious threat to be wearing the roses. Yet, they all could be running for second money on Saturday if lightning strikes once again.
The Factor
has arrived in Arkansas, and yes that is big news to ardent fans of the
Kentucky Derby such as me. Now clearly one of the primary favorites for the 2011
edition of the big race, the powerful grey colt made the cross-country trek
from Southern California attached to the good news of a strong final workout
back at his home in Southern California. The six furlong move was timed in 1:12
1/5 over a fast Santa Anita strip, and left a silver-haired onlooker quite
pleased. That of course being three-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Bob
Baffert. The Hall of Fame conditioner was fresh off a sixth win in the
prestigious Santa Anita Derby on Saturday with the lightly raced Midnight
Interlude.
A strong
hand in the Kentucky Derby is nothing new for Baffert, who has twice before
brought a trio of horses to the run for the roses. This year he hopes to repeat
that number with Jaycito (headed to the Lexington Stakes next), Midnight
Interlude, and the #2 ranked horse on HRN's 2011 Kentucky Derby Contenders, The Factor. Make no mistake, of the three; The Factor is the one
who will grab the most headlines, and rightly so.
The Fog
City Stable and George Bolton owned flash has been super impressive since his debut. He scorched the earth in a six furlong maiden. He wired strong foes in the San Vicente. Now he's back in Arkansas, and readying
for another run over the Oaklawn Park strip. When last seen, The Factor caught
the attention of everyone with a dynamic wire-to-wire score in the Rebel Stakes. The win was further proof of his great talent, but more importantly it
demonstrated an ability to dominate good horses around two-turns. The 6
½-length runaway on March 19 left many fans believing that he has the right
stuff to repeat the effort on May 7.
Regular readers of this column know that I remain skeptical whether the speedy son of first-crop sire War Front will be able to ration his speed over the demanding Kentucky Derby trip, but the fact remains that I am always thrilled to see a truly talented horse doing what they do best, and I would be a fool not to recognize the sizeable talent of The Factor. But back to my skeptical side again for a moment … super talent or not, things will only get tougher from here.
The Arkansas Derby may prove to be the strongest prep on the 2011 Kentucky Derby trail. At the time of the writing of this column, there were 13 horses listed as probable for the 1 1/8 mile race, and most of them are good enough to be considered potential winners. In fact horses like Sway Away, Elite Alex, Nehro, J P's Gusto, Alternation, Archarcharch, Brethren, Dance City, Caleb's Posse are all just one good performance away from heading to Louisville as a serious threat to be wearing the roses. Yet, they all could be running for second money on Saturday if lightning strikes once again.
If The Factor can reduce the Arkansas Derby into a one-horse show, just like he did in
the Rebel, then he deserves to become the Kentucky Derby favorite, and I will
move one step further in becoming a full-fledged Factor believer. Can he last ten furlongs? I would not put it past him.
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