Conservative Musings

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Showing posts with label Kentucky Derby. Show all posts

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Patch Did Not Win Derby. He Is Loved

Where Did Patch Finish: One-

Eyed Horse Lost Kentucky

Derby But Won Hearts

The most-talked-about horse at the Kentucky Derby was a half-blind colt

named Patch. You can guess who we were rooting for.

By Dennis Robaugh (Patch National Staff) - May 6, 2017 9:19 pm ET

Where Did Patch Finish: One-Eyed Horse Lost Kentucky Derby But Won Hearts

LOUISVILLE, KY — The most-talked-about horse heading into

Saturday's Kentucky Derby wasn't the odds-on favorite and winner,

Always Dreaming. It was the one-eyed Bay Colt whose victory in the

Run for the Roses would've been an unlikely dream come true. Patch,

a 3-year-old novice in high-stakes races, may not have won the race,

but he clearly won hearts across the country.

Introduced Saturday evening to the Kentucky Derby crowd at

Churchill Downs, the crowd let out an emotional, throaty cheer

for Patch. After a three-minute-plus race on a sloppy track, Patch

finished 14th.

Of course, the folks at this Patch fell in love with the plucky, half-blind

youngster, too, from our newsroom to the boardroom. There's just

something about an underdog who keeps running, and running, and

running — though the experts didn't give him a chance in hell of

competing, let alone winning — that appealed to us. Maybe it's the

affection millions of fans feel for Patch, too, that moved us.

Whatever the reason, we pooled our hard-earned pennies and bet on

Patch. A week out, the odds were 40-1, but at post time, the odds were

13-1. The heart wants what the heart wants, it would seem, and many

lovestruck gamblers wanted Patch to see his way to the Derby's

finish line first. More than $2 million was wagered on his unlikely

victory.

Related: Always Dreaming Wins Kentucky Derby;

Order of Finish and More

The Sporting News fell in love with Patch, too, just for his name.

Out of the 20 Kentucky Derby entrants, Patch's name was ranked

as the best name.

"He's what you would call a beloved old faithful dog. And as the

one-eyed 30-to-1 "dark horse" everyone loves ... it's hard to find

a sweeter name than that."

The horse was named Patch before a mysterious ailment struck his

left eye one year ago. Swollen shut and seeping, a veterinarian

treated the eye with antibiotics for a few weeks before deciding the

eye couldn't be saved. Patch was in a lot of pain. The eye was removed

in June 2016.

“It was heartbreaking for me,” his trainer, Todd Pletcher, told

Thoroughbred Today. Pletcher was afraid the horse would need a

lot of retraining, too. His dad, J.J. Pletcher, took up the cause in

Ocala, Florida.

Get free real-time news alerts from the Across America Patch.

"I was concerned that it might compromise his ability in some way

or the way he carried himself," Pletcher said in an interview with

USA Today this week. "If you watched him train and didn't know

that he had one eye, there’s no indication of him doing anything

peculiar in his training or in his races that would make you concerned

about the one eye."

A few weeks in, according to Bloodhorse.com, the Pletchers realized

one eye was just as good as two for this horse. He didn't need special

training.

He started in the 20th post position, which meant all the horses

were positioned to his blind side to start the race. Patch has run

in just a handful of races, but he's run well. He recently finished

second in the Louisiana Derby. According to his Derby bio:

Patch provided an impressive performance in only running twice

prior to his start in the Louisiana Derby, which happens to be his

first graded stakes. He previously ran in two maiden special weight

races at Gulfstream Park in January and February of 2017, finishing

a close second in one and winning the other.A second-place finish

for Patch in the Louisiana Derby earned him 40 qualifying points

on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, putting him in 11th place with

a month to go until the 143rd edition of the Run for the Roses.

Patch is "a really, really cool horse to be around," Pletcher told

Bloodhorse. "Very professional, very straight forward, easy to

train. He's just a consummate pro."

No matter where Patch finished, Pletcher got to celebrate.

Always Dreaming was a Pletcher horse, too.

Go Patch! You keep dreaming! And so will we.

Top photo: Kentucky Derby entrant Patch is bathed during morning workouts ahead of the 143rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 4, 2017, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Derby Winner Wins Big

Always Dreaming wins Kentucky Derby on sloppy track

Dan Wolken , USA TODAY SportsPublished 6:54 p.m. ET May 6, 2017 | Updated 1 hour ago

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USA TODAY Sports' Dan Wolken breaks down Always Dreaming's impressive win at Churchill Downs and explains why this horse is a legitimate contender for the Triple Crown. USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE — In big money race after big money race, the combination of trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez has been powerful across the country for nearly two decades. Now, their partnership has claimed the ultimate prize.

Always Dreaming, who didn’t break his maiden until Jan. 25 but showed his talent in Florida this spring with a series of stunning performances, delivered a powerful victory in the 143rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, splashing through the Churchill Downs stretch 2 3/4 lengths in front of 33-to-1 longshot Lookin At Lee.

Though it was the second Derby victory for both Pletcher and Velazquez, winning it as a team was a long time coming.

“It’s very special,” said the 46-year old Velazquez, who won the 2011 Kentucky Derby on Animal Kingdom. “With all the success we’ve had in the past, winning important races, missing this one is definitely a big one. We’ve been 24 years together, something like that, and for him to still trust in me and give me an opportunity, it doesn’t happen often in this business.”

For Pletcher, this Kentucky Derby victory is a different kind of validation. Though he’s won seven Eclipse Awards as the nation’s top trainer and his barn annually leads the nation in earnings, his record in this race had become something of a burden. Before Saturday, Pletcher had sent 45 horses to the gate over 16 years, most of them regally bred and even more insanely hyped. Given all the high-priced horse flesh in his barn, it was viewed as a bit of a disappointment that his only Kentucky Derby victory came with Super Saver in 2010.

“I felt like I really needed that second one,” Pletcher said. “I don’t think I’m any better trainer than I was an hour ago, but I felt like another one would solidify it. The first was extra special and I have a tremendous respect for how difficult it is to win, but we needed another one as a team to put it together.”

Brooklyn Boyz have magical week in Kentucky Derby debut

Always Dreaming, who went off at 4.70-to-1, became the fifth straight betting favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Though the final time was a relatively slow 2:03.59 on a sloppy track, Always Dreaming sat second off a fast pace through the first half mile, took the lead heading into the far turn and impressively opened up when Velazquez asked him to accelerate.

While other horses who pressed the pace faded badly in the stretch, Always Dreaming finished with authority and heads to the Preakness in two weeks looking like a strong favorite to take that race as well. If he can win in Baltimore, he’ll give his Brooklyn born-and-bred owners the thrill of a lifetime, going for the Triple Crown in front of their home crowd in New York.

“This is the greatest feeling,” said Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola, who co-owns the horse with lifelong friend Anthony Bonomo. “We represent everybody who went to the racetrack for the first time with their dads and were astonished by the brilliance of these equine athletes and never fell out of love with the sport.”

It’s rare that a horse who started on the Kentucky Derby trail as late as Always Dreaming can get to the top so quickly. But from the moment he arrived in Pletcher’s barn from a winter freshening, he showed the talent to justify pointing him to this race. When he won the Florida Derby on April 1 by a commanding five lengths, the question wasn’t talent but whether he would have the experience to handle the 20-horse field and the fast pace.

Having Velazquez as a passenger helped significantly in that regard.

While other favorites like Irish War Cry, McCraken and Classic Empire were jostled at the start of the race and had a difficult time establishing position in the first quarter mile, Velazquez hustled Always Dreaming out of the gate and secured a favorable spot on the rail and in the clear.

“His first step, I wasn’t too happy,” Velazquez said. “The second I had to ask him to straighten up and once I got under the wire for the first time, I was happy where I was. I took a hold of him as soon as I got to the backstretch and he was really comfortable.”

Though Always Dreaming pressed longshot State of Honor through a very fast half mile of 46.53 seconds, he was moving easily. And by the time other contenders put in their bids around the far turn, it was too late, especially over a track that had been pounded by rain for the better part of two days.

Classic Empire, the morning line favorite, got up for fourth despite getting almost wiped out when the gates opened. Irish War Cry, who went off as the second choice, faded to 10th.

“It’s surreal,” Bonomo said. “I played the race in my mind all week and it came out the way I was dreaming about it. I guess dreams do come true.”

PHOTOS: Best of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

Always Dreaming's team celebrates in the winner's circle with the trophy after the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Jamie Rhodes, USA TODAY Sports

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