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Anticipation mounting

His story started as an interesting aside. Now it threatens to steal the spotlight.

The last time we saw Showing Up, the son of Strategic Mission was posting a blazing 100 Beyer Speed Figure at Gulfstream Park back in March, winning a one-mile allowance race and boosting his career record to 2-for-2. “He’s got everything you look for in a Derby horse except the experience,” trainer Barclay Tagg told reporters after the victory.

The chestnut colt was also lacking the graded stakes earnings that horses require to enter the Derby field. That problem was taken care of last Saturday when Showing Up won the Grade II Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Race Course. The $201,500 in earnings was more than enough to ensure a spot at the 132nd Run for the Roses. Showing Up (3-2) finished the Lexington 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Like Now (4-1), who also qualified for the Derby with $65,000 in second-place money.

It’s conceivable that neither horse will actually enter the Derby. Like Now trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is waiting for owner John Dillon to give the OK; Showing Up, meanwhile, was revealed Monday to have a punctured right foreleg. If the wound heals in time, Tagg says he will enter his horse in the Derby.

“I’ve had them go both ways,” Tagg told reporters after making the long van ride from Keeneland to Belmont Park. “I’ve had them heal up overnight, and I’ve had them get really bad and you damn near lose the horse. It’s certainly a concern.” Should the colt make it to the Derby, owner Lael Stables will have two undefeated representatives, the other being Barbaro at five wins in five career races. This would be a first in the long and storied history of the Derby.

Tagg has surprised us before. Four years ago, the former steeplechase jockey took a chance on a chestnut gelding from New York named Funny Cide. His $75,000 investment paid huge dividends when the horse won the 2003 Kentucky Derby. If success can rub off on a horse, Showing Up has ample opportunity – Funny Cide is still racing for Tagg as a six-year-old since retiring to stud is not an option.

A decision on Showing Up’s status is expected as early as Friday. Tagg has already booked a May 4 flight to Louisville; if his horse is declared healthy, he will make the trip and get a run in before the May 6 Derby.

Louisville is also the scene for this Saturday’s Derby Trial, where the fates of several horses on the bubble for the big race could be determined. Mister Triester and Dawn of War are both entered in the one-mile Trial, and both of their owners (B. Wayne Hughes and Ken Ramsey, respectively) say it will take solid efforts on Saturday for their horses to return on Derby Day.

The Trial field includes three horses that will be tough to beat: Protagonus, Record and Noonmark. All three have had success this year, but Noonmark looks to be the pick of the litter. The sprint specialist, who was never really considered for the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby, finished second to Sharp Humor at the Mar. 4 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park Also entered are New Awakening, Smokeyjonessutton, R Loyal Man and Spotsgone.

Should Mister Triester and Dawn of War fail to make a big enough impression at the Trial, and if Showing Up is taken out of Derby contention, there will be a collective sigh of relief from owners and trainers relieved to get off the bubble. Handicappers will also be more prepared to lay some cash down on the futures market for a horse like Sunriver, who has been very fast in workouts this month at Churchill Downs. Trainer Todd Pletcher took a bit of a gamble by not running Sunriver in any graded stakes following his third place finish to Barbaro and Sharp Humor at the Apr. 1 Florida Derby. We’ll see this weekend if that gamble pays off.

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