Who’s HOT
Forte- The current Kentucky Derby Leaderboard leader as of press time is the one
to fear the most come the 1st Saturday in May as he just towers over this field for
not just being the horse that he is but the connections are strong too with Todd
Pletcher leading the charge and possible jockey Irad Ortiz Jr having the mount
when the Derby rolls into town; Forte is already 1-for-1 this year after smoking the
competition in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream winning by 4 and a 1/2
lengths; Prior to that start as a 2 year-old he won the G1 Breeders Cup Juvenile as
well as the G1 Breeders Futurity both run at Keeneland plus he even won in the
sloppy-sealed conditions at Saratoga winning the G1 Hopeful; There are only 2
horses who posses a 100 Beyer Speed Figure so far (Practical Move is the other)
which is saying a lot about about the level of this years Derby; No matter how you
slice it Forte is definitely the one to beat right now no matter what track he races
on or the track condition!
Practical Move- The previously trained Bob Baffert-now-Tim Yakteen-trained-
horse is heating up coming into the Derby with already winning his 1st start on his
3YO campaign getting the job done in the G2 San Felipe winning by 2 1/2 lengths;
The switch from Drayden VanDyke to Ramon Vazquez a year ago has already paid
off well with Vazquez securing 2 wins from 2 starts since the switch; He hasn’t had
prior off-track conditions but his Tomlinson Ratings in the Daily Racing Form say
he can handle it with a 359 (320+ best); Pedigree stands out with his sire being
Practical Joke who actually ran 5th in the Kentucky Derby; The Sire’s Sire being
Into Mischief who is the best sire as of right right plus check the Dam’s Sire who is
Afleet Alex who ran 3rd in the Derby but ended up winning the Preakness and the
Belmont so lots of strong pedigree going for this horse right now and one to
lookout for behind Forte
Rocket Can- Has been able to keep his form in tact as of late being 2-1-1-0 so far
in his 3YO campaign winning the G3 Holy Bull and just finishing 2nd in the G2
Fountain Of Youth behind Forte both being run at Gulfstream Park; ‘Rocket has a
few positive things going for him being that he has solid pedigree plus he is trained
by a solid trainer in Bill (William) Mott and finally having experience over the
Churchill Downs track supporting a record of 2-1-1-0 with $94k made and a Best
Beyer of 82; If this one can get another win or another strong outing I think this is
another horse that can chase Forte heading for home and possibly finish on top if
Forte or Practical Move tire out
Who’s NOT
Blazing Sevens- Has not been able to keep his form in line after winning the G1
Champagne at Belmont @ TheBig A with finishing 4th in the G1 Breeders Cup
Juvenile at Keeneland and a distant 8th place by 26 lengths in the G2 Fountain Of
Youth at Gulfstream; Trained by Chad Brown who has had some nice horses in the
starting gate on Kentucky Derby day needs this one prove himself again with either
a new jockey or a step up in distance which his Sire Good Magic who finished 2nd
in the Kentucky Derby behind Justify in 2018
