By J. Keeler Johnson (“Keelerman”) Twitter: @J_Keelerman
The 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) is already in the history books, which means it’s time to turn our attention to the rest of the Triple Crown franchise.
Finally, we’ll spend this week analyzing the $200,000 Peter Pan S. (G3) at Belmont Park. The three-year-old 1 1/8-mile competition serves as a local stepping stone towards Belmont S. (G1), the final leg of the Triple Crown. Recent Belmont winners out of Peter Pan (or an equivalent race) include Sir Winston (2019), Tonalist (2014) and Drosselmeyer (2010).
Nine horses competed in Peter Pan 2023, of which five competed at stake level and three experienced in the Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying. But I want to support an upstart; namely, undefeated #9 Bishops Bay.
Led by two-time Eclipse Award-winning coach Brad Cox, Bishops Bay impressed on his six-long sprint debut at the Fair Grounds. After tracking and boosting the initial pace, Bishops Bay returned to the challenge from his stablemate’s First Mission to dominate 3/4 of the way, with third place 5 1/4 behind. road again.
This performance is noticeable on a few levels. Bishops Bay is the son of the champion and uncle Mo of the successful Pioneerof the Nile mare Catch My Drift, winner of the Saratoga’s Summer Colony S. 1 1/8 mile race. This is a top-down pedigree towards long-term success, so it’s important for Bishops Bay to show enough pace to win the sprint at launch.
Furthermore, Bishops Bay’s performance was praised by the subsequent heroes of the First Mission. As the first winner of the second start, First Mission launched its graded bets at Keeneland’s Lexington S. (G3) and battled for victory against a quality field that included Disarm, the finisher. in fourth place recently in the Kentucky Derby.
Likewise, Bishops Bay came back to win, winning a claimant $80,000 in the 70-yard mile race at the Fair Grounds. His victory was not without drama; Bishops Bay slipped badly on the first turn and luckily didn’t fall. After recovering to a slow track, Bishops Bay fought with tenacious tenacity at home to prevail against Demolition Duke, who finished in fifth place (1/4 of a degree behind Disarm). long) in Lexington.
Bishops Bay took a break for about three weeks after reaching the allowance and moved from Fair Grounds to Churchill Downs during that time. He returned to serious training with a half-mile bullet run at: 47 minutes on April 8 and has had a steady work routine ever since, ending Peter Pan’s prep. myself with a quick five-minute workout that lasted at 1:00 last Saturday.
Whichever way you slice it, Bishops Bay is a tempting pick to win Peter Pan. The field doesn’t contain a lot of speed on paper, so Triple Crown nominees will get a perfect ride that tracks speed under Florent Geroux, a 28% winner in partnership with Cox for two. last month according to Brisnet statistics. Considering the quality of competition that Bishops Bay has beaten, he looks poised to claim victory on his bet debut.
For the sub-prizes, #2 Slide Mahoney respect is guaranteed. Arrogate’s chubby son endured a tough ride at Wood Memorial (G2) last month, being beaten by his opponents in the first round before racing evenly to finish sixth. Before that, he opened up a big rally after a slow start to finish second in Gotham (G3).
Slip Mahoney has run out of speed in his last two starts, but in the past he has demonstrated tactical speed. Indeed, he sped and picked up pace in a special pair of mile-long girls’ weights at the Aqueduct during the winter, coming in second to future Blue Grass (G1) winner Tapit Trice before when he broke his girl’s head. If Slip Mahoney can get back to his original pace, he is certainly capable of finishing third in Peter Pan.
We will also highlight #8 Henry Q, who overcame the Mine That Bird Derby 14 3/4 before falling behind to finish third in the Sunland Park Derby (G3) behind Wild On Ice, who finished third in the Mine That Bird Derby. Henry Q was under-performing on his graded bets debut, but it was remarkable that he finished ahead of One in Vermillion, who finished in a decent fifth place (beaten up). beat 4 1/2 lengths) in the Santa Anita Derby’s (G1) quick renewal before beating Santa Anita’s Lazaro Barrera S. by 5 1/4 lengths.
In other words, Henry Q showed lightning talent against decent competition. He’s been in a series of productive workouts since the Sunland Park Derby and has the pace to set the pace in Peter Pan, so don’t be surprised if Henry Q proves difficult to catch under the buoyant jockey. international Frankie Dettori.
Now it’s your turn! Who do you like in Peter Pan?
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Congratulations to Lady Ann on winning the 2023 Unlocked Winners Challenge to the Kentucky Derby Handicap Challenge! Be sure to check out the final result. Thanks to everyone who played!
J. Keeler Johnson (also known as “Keelerman”) is a writer, cinematographer, voice actor, disabled athlete, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A huge fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager the greatest racehorse ever made in America, but considers Zenyatta his all-time favorite.
