Derby Trail
by Pete Cataldo
Aqueduct has made legends
The only tune up for the Derby this week was the Whirlaway Stakes ($70,000) at Aqueduct in New York on Saturday.
It was won by the New York-based Achilles of Troy, the odds-on favorite which paid a modest $3.20 for the win.
Achilles is ridden by, in my opinion, the best jock around in Ramon Dominquez and is trained by Jennifer Petersen has blossomed into a star this year. Achilles ran 4 races in ’05 (all maidens), winning the last. In just two starts this year, he has won the Countfleet Stakes also at Aqueduct on January 7th by 14 lengths, and today he won under raps.
Trailing the early leader One Way Flight most of the way, Dominquez made one swift move and drew off to win by 5, and he was even eased at the wire.
Achilles has not faced graded stakes company yet, but he looked very sharp on Saturday. We’ll keep an eye out for him.
Owner Ernie Paragallo will ship Achilles to the Ocala, Florida training track and will aim him for the Fountain of *Youth Stakes (3/4) or the Florida Derby (4/1), both races will be run at Gulfstream Park.
My entrants
We (me and my partners) have three 3-year-old stakes next week. On February 18th, we have the Fred Capossela Stakes, 6F (Aqueduct) and the Jim’s Orbit Stakes 1M, at Sam Houston. Finally, we also have the Sam F. Davis Stakes 1 1/6 M, at Tampa Bay Downs.
Furlongs;
On February 4th, jockey Jose Santos (you may remember him as the rider of Funny Cide when he was aboard the New York-bred gelding making his bid for the Triple Crown) won his 4,000th race. The 21- year veteran said it was the highlight of his career. He won with Melodeeman at the Big A.
Guidry honored
Rider Mark Guidry, born in Louisiana and winner of over 4,700 races in his career, is the winner of the 2006 George Woolf Memorial Award. The award, voted by the jockeys themselves, is given to those whose career and personal character reflects positively on the sport. Guidry, 46, said it was “the icing on the cake”, and he is very appreciative The Award is named for one of the best riders of all time, George Woolf.
Quick Note
A press release I received this week tells me that the ban on shippers has been lifted at Pimlico racetrack. As far as I know, Penn National and Charlestown are still under quarantine.
For my Triple Crown Prep picks contact me at jrclemente@hotmail.com. We have a package for the major preps available now… Pete Cataldo can be heard every Wednesday at 3:30pm EST on BetUSradio.com.
*Starting with the Fountain of Youth on March 4th…
