He just can’t get no respect. I’ve decided to forsake proper English in this piece, because frankly, I’m a little fired up over the total lack of appreciation being given to a really nice horse. Have we already forgotten who won the Kentucky Derby, and the fact that he is perfect so far in 2012?
“This group of 3-year-olds appears even worse than the weak crops of 2011, 2010, and 2009, with the notable exception of Bodemeister, whose effort on Saturday was so good that the defeat didn’t even sting Baffert.” ~Andy Beyer.
Hey check the chart, Andy. It says I’ll Have Another won the race. In fact, he has already won more stakes this year than Animal Kingdom, Super Saver, and Mine That Bird did their entire sophomore seasons. Never mind that Beyer picked Bodemeister to win before the race, as that could easily explain his one-sided crowing about the performance of the talented son of Empire Maker, but to completely disregard all the other horses that ran well on Saturday, especially the 1 ½ length winner, I’ll Have Another, seems downright out of line. And it is not just one of the deans of racing handicapping that is ignoring the winner.
Social Media seems to be reacting much the same way. All I have been hearing since the dust settled on the first leg of the Triple Crown is how great Bodemeister is, or how wonderful Bodemeister ran on Saturday; so much so that it would have been no surprise to hear I’ll Have Another muttering, “Bodemeister, Bodemeister, Bodemeister” on his trip over to Baltimore this afternoon, like something out of the Jan Brady diaries.
Poor little I’ll Have Another.
When Eli Manning won the Super Bowl, he went to Disneyworld. We know this because we saw him asked about his plans on national television. The only thing it seems people want to know after the Derby is what Bodemeister will do next. Remind me again which horse has lost three times this year, and which one is flawless in three graded stakes.
Surely the Derby winner will be favored in the Preakness, because everyone wants to see a Triple Crown winner after 34 years without one. Uh-uh, it ain’t happening. The straw poll over on the right clearly demonstrates how I think the bettors will go with the Preakness betting. Bodemeister will be a clear favorite, while horses like Union Rags, Went the Day Well, Hansen and Creative Cause lumped in with I’ll Have Another in the second string. And if the Bodemeister camp decides the Preakness is too much too soon for their horse, I still don’t expect I’ll Have Another to claim favoritism.
Union Rags had a trip from hell. Dullahan went way too wide. Went the Day Well was shuffled back so far, he could not possibly get there in time. I’ll Have Another had the perfect trip. Blah, blah, blah.
Maybe he had the perfect trip simply because he was good enough and relaxed enough to be able to put himself in the perfect positions throughout the race. Keep in mind most people considered his spot in the starting gate to be far from a bargain.
So let’s give the horse that became the first one ever to win the Kentucky Derby from the 19-post some credit. I mean please. He’s yet to be beaten in 2012, nor has he lost on fast dirt, nor around two-turns for that matter, and he just won the race that eeeeveryone wants to win by a full length-and-a-half. Sure Bodemeister ran big, as did Dullahan and Went the Day Well, and maybe Union Rags was a victim of circumstance, but none of them have a chance to win the Triple Crown. Capisce?