Title Ready might break through in Indiana Derby
By: Reinier Macatangay, Setting the Pace
Whoever comes home first will take the winner’s share of a $500,000 purse.
The morning line is a little odd, and possibly inaccurate. Nevertheless, the analysis of each horse below will be written with those odds in mind.
1) Trigger Warning (8-1) – Odd horse. He spent a lot of time at Turf Paradise and Sunland Park without really accomplishing much. The connections decided to throw in a trip to Fair Grounds for the Lecomte Stakes (G3) in between, and he lost by 76 lengths. But after the last trainer switch, he posted a solid third in the Ohio Derby (G3), earning a 123 TimeformUS Speed Figure in the process. Contender.
2) Blame the Rider (6-1) – Turf horse looks like a turf horse. The pedigree signals both surfaces are fine, but in three starts on turf he never finished worse than second. On dirt, his best finish is a third place in a Santa Anita maiden race.
3) Givemeaminit (20-1) – Despite finishing sixth in the Woody Stephens (G2) around one turn, this runner’s future is in sprint races. He made up significant ground in the stretch in that loss, and fades every time he tries to route. While he could do enough to complete the trifecta in this spot, the distance is too long.
4) Dark Vader (8-1) – Love the name. As for the actual form, this Ohio-bred colt is consistent without being overly fast. He just finished third in the ungraded Easy Goer Stakes at Belmont Park against Rugbyman and Prince Lucky. The former runner is promising, although has not proven his class yet. Dark Vader earned a career best 118 TimeformUS Speed Figure for the effort. He is eligible to move forward again in this spot and win. But there is nothing to get too excited about.
5) The Money Dance (20-1) – This horse is too slow on numbers to win. If he runs his absolute best race though, maybe he can complete the trifecta or superfecta.
6) Axelrod (6-1) – Nice effort to finish second in the Affirmed Stakes (G3). He even finished in front of Solomini, which may not be such an accomplishment. TimeformUS awarded a low 106, and his other numbers are not great.
7) Title Ready (12-1) – Wow, a grandson of Personal Ensign. That is quite the pedigree. For those who do not know, Personal Ensign is a legend who completed her career undefeated in 1988 by defeating the Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors in a dramatic stretch drive. As for Title Ready, he is improving and ran a credible fourth in the Ohio Derby, earning a 122 TimeformUS Speed Figure. He needs to repeat that number at a minimum to score in this spot. Expect him to lay around third or fourth and get first run. He can make the trifecta interesting.
8) King Zachary (6/5) – His morning line is low. Very low. This horse only owns one fast race, when he picked up a nearly five-length victory in the Matt Winn (G3) over such horses as Tiz Mischief and the promising Ax Man. Before the Matt Winn, King Zachary barely won an allowance by a half length at Churchill Downs, and lost by over 13 lengths in the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct. But if he repeats the Matt Win effort, then he probably wins in this spot. It is just hard to trust him alone.
9) Funny Duck (10-1) – He sure looks like a horse who loved slop when he won the Pat Day Mile (G3). Once he reverted back to fast dirt in the Matt Winn, he finished fourth and lost by 13 lengths, in a six-horse field. The 119 TimeformUS Speed Figure from the Pat Day win is good. Can he duplicate it on fast dirt though? It is nice to see Seattle Slew as the damsire, and maybe the Matt Winn was an off race.
Handigambling ($100)
$50 Win/Place - #7 Title Ready (12-1)
(To be clear though, King Zachary, Trigger Warning and Dark Vader can win too.)
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