It doesn’t look like there will be a Barbaro in this year’s Kentucky Derby. This year’s field of three-year-olds is packed so full of potential that the oddsmakers might have a hard time nailing down a true favorite, while bettors may find a dart and a dartboard marks the easiest way to pick a winner.
The immensely talented field starts with Todd Pletcher’s pack of wild horses. Pletcher could have up to six horses in the Derby field, but right now only three of them look like real contenders. Headlining that list of studs is Circular Quay. The fiery colt is coming off a big victory in the Louisiana Derby that could vault him to the front of the favorites pack.
While Circular Quay is grabbing a lot of the attention right now, don’t forget about Any Given Saturday and Scat Daddy. Any Given Saturday started off the year with a win in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and also has impressive performances in the Tampa Bay Derby (2nd) and Wood Memorial (3rd). Scat Daddy flashed his blazing speed in the Florida Derby late last month when he left the rest of the field in his dust.
If this turns out not to be Pletcher’s year once again, there’s a good chance the winner’s circle will belong to either Steve Ausmussen, Barclay Tagg or Carl Nafzger.
Ausmussen’s prize thoroughbred this year is Curlin. The Arkansas Derby was Curlin’s coming out party earlier this month as he added his name to the contenders list after posting a record-breaking victory in the race.
Tagg has a proven winner on his hands in Nobiz Like Shobiz. The thunderous colt already has victories this year at the Wood Memorial and Holy Bull Stakes, but it was a disappointing third-place finish at the Fountain of Youth Stakes that has people wondering if there really is Nobiz Like Shobiz.
Nafzger could have them all beat with his horse Street Sense. Street Sense won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and started off with another win earlier this year at the Tampa Bay Derby. Street Sense finished a close second at the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes earlier this month, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this horse isn’t a winner.
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