Bob Hill
Staff writer
Tracksideview.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Right before the 20 entries loaded into the starting gate for the 136^th running of the Kentucky Derby I noted to TSV managing editor Ron Correll that if the Derby followed the form that we had seen all day (or the lack thereof) a turf horse would win the big race.  That did not quite happen, but two “grass” horses did fill the third and fourth spots in the superfecta.

The most significant of the firsts to occur on Derby Day obviously was the long anticipated win of the Kentucky Derby by trainer Todd Pletcher.  Just a week ago we learned of the injury to Eskendereya, Pletcher’s most highly regarded Derby entry and widely thought to represent the very best chance that Pletcher had to date to win the Derby.  By mid-week, the buzz moved quickly from Eskendereya to the filly Devil May Care. But on Saturday the betting public chose wisely in making Super Saver the second betting favorite at post time and the top pick from among Pletcher’s four entries.

Calvin Borel, with yet another masterful ride in the Kentucky Derby, guided Super Saver along the rail within striking distance of the leaders throughout torrid opening fractions. When Conveyance and Sidney’s Candy were spent on the lead, Noble’s Promise made the first move to the lead, but his time there lasted only briefly as Borel and Super Saver followed him and passed him at the eighth-pole and led all the way down the stretch.  Hooray for Todd Pletcher.  Borel became the first jockey in history to win the Kentucky Derby in three of four consecutive years.  He won in 2007 aboard Street Sense, in 2009 on long shot Mine That Bird, and then this year. 

So there is a reason I said what I said to Ron about a turf horse winning the Derby.  All day, the unexpected kept happening.  The payoffs were high in most of the Pick 3 and Pick 4 events, and the Pick 6 carried over to the tune of just under a million dollars.

In the fifth race, Pickapocket, a six-year-old lifetime turfer, ran on the dirt for the first time.  That dirt actually was mud.  He drew off to a multi-length victory – at a square price.  Then Mona de Momma won the Humana Distaff stepping onto dirt for the first time after spending her career on the West Coast synthetics.  She defeated reigning Breeders’ Cup champ Informed Decision in doing so.  The fun was only beginning.

In the Grade 2 Churchill Downs, a seven-furlong sprint, a horse shipping in from Turf Paradise by way of Emerald Downs named Atta Boy Roy crushed a good field of sprinters that included Munnings, Warrior’s Reward, and Musket Man.  Guess who was riding Atta Boy Roy? Borel. Calvin was serving notice right then that more was to come.

In the Woodford Reserve I just knew that a horse with literally no turf experience could win not on the sod for the first time in a Grade 1 race.  The horse I was thinking of is General Quarters, one of the darlings of last year’s Kentucky Derby.  He tried the turf once as a two-year-old with little success.  He had returned to the races this winter after six months of rest after a tough dirt campaign in 2009, finishing second four straight times in dirt route races.  He was facing proven turf foes in the Woodford, and the going was extremely soft – not the best conditions for a horse moving onto the grass from dirt.  He stuck a nose across the wire in time to beat multiple turf winner Court Vision, finishing strongly from off the pace.

Needless to say, it was a tough day to keep a multi-race bet alive.  When I quipped that a grass horse probably would win the Derby I was tired and beaten down by the day’s events.  Super Saver then reminded me why had I come to Louisville in the first place, and provided yet another thrill.  Oh by the way, those two grass horses that completed the Derby superfecta were Paddy O’Prado and Make Music for Me.  Between the two of them they own two wins – both on turf.  Each broke his maiden in a stakes race rather than in the more conventional manner.  If you are a handicapper, you already know how hard the game is, and today is living proof.