Kentucky Derby 2014 Favorite Shared Belief Wins CashCall Futurity

Shared Belief, ranked 5th on my Kentucky Derby 2014 contenders list last time (Dec. 7), shot to the head of the class with another facile victory in the Grade I CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park on Dec. 14.

Shared Belief has a deadly combination of tactical speed, finishing kick, and stamina, and has yet to be tested in three lifetime starts. He is clearly the fastest juvenile in the land but still must prove that he can run the same quality race on conventional dirt. He will get his chance this winter at Santa Anita.

Candy Boy made an early winning bid but could not come close to matching strides with Shared Belief when the real running began. He easily held the place over Tamarando. Bond Holder was 4^th and Kobe’s Back finished a troubled 10^th. Tap It Rich (11^th) is a head case and is his own worst enemy at this stage. Bob Baffert has his work cut out with the son of Tapit.

In the $250k Springboard Mile at Remington Park on Dec. 15, Bret Calhoun’s Louies Flower (Flower Alley – Tembisa, by Johannesburg) beat Noble Cornerstone by a neck, and it was more than five lengths back to show finisher Smack Smack. The BSF came back a solid 91. The top three Springboard finishers all have talent and will surely show up in the graded ranks in the near future.