Lucky got a 97 Beyer for his impressive, troubled run. Give the same fig to Noble's Promise, not bad at all for his dirt and 3yo debut. Dublin was 3 back in third, so figure about a 90 for him. Not a terrible race for Dublin considering he was 5 wide the first turn, and then launched his move 4 wide on the far turn. That's not the place to be at Oaklawn.

Odysseus got a 93 Beyer for his Tampa Bay Derby win - so Schoolyard Dreams gets the same figure as well. Figure Super Saver gets a 92 for being a 1/2 length behind. Randy Moss wrote on his DRF blog that this race had a good pace early - also lot of talk about the big move Schoolyard Dreams made wide into the pace. If he can sustain that run, he could be formidable. The question is, why didn't he sustain the run? Was he short, short on pedigree, or maybe that's the limit of his run?

Sidney's Candy got a 95 Beyer figure for the San Felipe. Not a bad race by Interactif or Caracortado, either.

Lentenor is going to be entered into the Florida Derby. Alan Garcia will ride.

I'm curious? Awesome Act winning the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct has been probably the most impressive Kentucky Derby prep that I've personally seen run yet in 2010. He has a turf record in Great Britain of 5 starts, with 1 win, and 2 place efforts. On off-turf surfaces. he has 2 starts on the all-weather surface at Kempton with 1 win and 1 show. On the Santa Anita Turf, he has 1 fourth place effort in the 09' B.C. Juvenile Turf. And lastly, on Aqueducts conventional dirt surface, he has an impressive win in the Gotham. Yet, on attheraces.com, the Ireland and Great Britain racing web-site, he's shown as being listed to race in the stanjames.com 2000 Guineas on May 1, 2010. I'm curious why Awesome Act's owners and trainer would have in the U.S. at Aqueduct racing in a race that's generally considered a Kentucky Derby prep race if they intend to ship Awesome Act back to Great Britain to race in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, back on the Turf, on May 1st? There's no way the timing of the two races would allow him enough time to race in the 2000 Guineas in the UK, and then ship back to the U.S. to race in the Kentucky Derby. My gut tells me that after such an impressive performance on conventional dirt at Aqueduct, that Awesome Act will ultimately scratch out of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, and take his chances on the dirt at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May in the Kentucky Derby. TJMO.

With the 2010 Dubai World Cup rapidly approaching at Meydan on March 27th, the list of "who's who" from all over the world continues to expand for the race. They'll be plenty of big names with short odds like Vision D'Etat, Gio Ponti, Twice Over, Gloria De Campeao, and Mastery but to name a few. But if you're looking for a serious contender that might give you a little "bang for your buck" Gitano Hernando may be your horse. On Turf, he has one win, and two place efforts in four starts. But on synthetic track surfaces, Gitano Hernando has yet to taste defeat. With win three wins in Great Britain at Wolverhampton and Lingfield. He also played the spoiler at Santa Anita in the 2009 Goodwood Stakes. A prep for the 2009 Breeders Cup Classic. Making him 4 for 4 lifetime over synthetic track surfaces. With the main track at Meydan being the Tapeta surface, Gitano Hernando may be the most accomplished over synthetic surfaces that may go off at a price in the 2010 Dubai World Cup. IMO, he certainly wouldn't be a bad ATB bet in a field that's going to be loaded with great Turf stars from Europe and the United States.

With Cavalryman out of the Dubai World Cup, and going back to the Turf for the Sheema Classic, I'd have to say, just knowing his ability in "big money" Stakes races around the world that Vision D'Etat will likely be the World Cup favorite. Although, I've never seen him race over the Tapeta but only on Turf in his career. But there's a number of other horses that will be very game competitors in the race, IMO. Gio Ponti and Twice Over, although normally Turf horses, have proven themselves capable of performing on the synthetic track in the 09' Breeders Cup Classic. Also, Mastery has raced and performed well on synthetics at Kempton in the 09' Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes. Gloria De Campeao has proven to just like Dubai period. No matter which surface he races over, Tapeta or Turf. But the one horse in the field that sticks out to me, that because of all these great Turf horses in the race, that a person may get a price, and he loves the synthetic track is Gitano Hernando. Winning in both the UK and the U.S. over the synthetic tracks. He wouldn't be a bad ATB bet given he'll likely go off about 8 or 10-1. JMO.

Saturday, a big question for me got answered when Lookin at Lucky won the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn. The question of whether or not he would respond to a conventional dirt track surface. That he did. I personally think he may be the most talented of all of the potential Derby field, but I do think there are a handful that could "upset the balance." Rule, for me is one of those horses. Having won 4 straight races on dirt in both the slop and over a dry track, and never off of the board in 7 lifetime starts on dirt. He's just a big, physically fit looking 3yr.old to me, and I'll probably use him in some way on my Derby tickets. Until the Gotham Stakes, I had only seen replays of Awesome Act racing on Turf in Great Britain. Not overly impressive on the grass, he certainly made me rethink my position watching him perform on dirt at Aqueduct. I thought his Gotham performance is one of the strongest Derby preps I've seen thus far. Another horse, who ran very poorly on the synthetics in the B.C. Juvenile, but has really responded on dirt that catches my eye is D'Funnybone. As unimpressive as he was on synthetics, he's been equally impressive in the Belmont Futurity and the Saratoga Special. He may be one of those horses that one could get at a price on come the first Saturday in May. One more I'll mention, who most would consider a real long shot, is Interactif. Still, as of yet, to race on conventional dirt, to me as talented as LAL is on dirt, Interactif looked on Turf. So the talent is there. Whether or not he responds to dirt is the issue. But if he does, he could be a dangerous colt at a price also, IMO. He looked very strong on synthetics, and I personally feel that had he not been swung so wide off of the final turn, he had a shot to win the San Felipe Stakes. With an improved ride, and a response to dirt, this would make for a very talented colt. One that would likely be a real long shot given he started out on the grass. IMO.

Saw the 6 scratched and was gonna put $33/WPS on the 8... Paid $28.20 to place