5/1/2010 Kentucky Derby(G1) Super Saver

11th race - Churchill Downs - May 01, 2010
Race Name: Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands -Grade: 1
Race Type: Stakes
Age Restriction: Three Year Old
Value of Race: $2,185,200
Distance: One And One Fourth Miles On The Dirt
Track Condition: Sloppy
Winning Time: 2:04.45

Pgm	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
4	Super Saver	Calvin H. Borel	18.00	8.80	6.00
2	Ice Box	Jose Lezcano		11.20	8.00
10	Paddy O'Prado	Kent J. Desormeaux			7.40
Also ran: 9 - Make Music for Me , 3 - Noble's Promise , 1 - Lookin At Lucky , 17 - Dublin , 6 - Stately Victor , 14 - Mission Impazible , 11 - Devil May Care , 7 - American Lion , 13 - Jackson Bend , 15 - Discreetly Mine , 8 - Dean's Kitten , 12 - Conveyance , 19 - Homeboykris , 20 - Sidney's Candy , 5 - Line of David , 16 - Awesome Act , 18 - Backtalk
Wager Type		Winning Numbers		Payoff
$2 Pick 3		OAKS/WDFRD/DERBY 5-2-4 (3 correct)		755.80
$2 Pick 3		9-2-4 (3 correct)		5,726.20
$2 Pick 4		10-9-2-4 (4 correct)		73,752.00
$2 Pick 6		1-2-10-9-2-4 (5 correct)		52,898.40
$2 Daily Double		OAKS/DERBY 5-4		56.60
$2 Daily Double		2-4		294.80
$2 Exacta		4-2		152.40
$2 Future Wager		POOL 1 - 19		43.20
$2 Future Wager		POOL 2 - 21		51.20
$2 Future Wager		POOL 3 - 22		73.00
$2 Future Wager		EAXCTA POOL 1 19-24		176.40
$2 Future Wager		EXACTA POOL 2 24-24		259.20
$2 Future Wager		EXACTA POOL 3 22-11		1,077.40
$2 Superfecta		4-2-10-9		202,569.20
$2 Super High Five		4-2-10-9-3		0.00
$2 Trifecta		4-2-10		2,337.40
Winning Breeder: WinStar Farm, LLC
Winning Owner: WinStar Farm LLC
Winning Trainer: Todd A. Pletcher

2010 Kentucky Derby(G1) Super Saver.pdf

Super Saver Wins the Derby!
By Evan Hammonds
Updated: Wednesday, May 5, 2010 2:50 PM
Posted: Saturday, May 1, 2010 6:42 PM
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/56810/super-saver-wins-the-derby

Super Saver, with Calvin Borel up, took the lead in the stretch while coming up along the rail to win the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) (VIDEO) by 2 ½ lengths. WinStar Farm’s homebred son of Maria’s Mon gave trainer Todd Pletcher his first Derby win.

Borel's victory makes him the first jockey to win the Derby three times in a four-year span. The Churchill Downs-based rider was aboard Street Sense   in 2007 and Mine That Bird last year.

Super Saver covered the 1 1/4 miles of the Derby over a sloppy track in 2:04.45. Ice Box rallied to finish second, a neck ahead of Paddy O'Prado in third.

It was another two lengths back to Make Music for Me in fourth.

Conveyance went to the lead and set a blistering pace over the sealed going. He flashed under the wire the first time in front and was followed by Sidney's Candy, Line of David, Discreetly Mine, and Mission Impazible. The opening quarter was run in :22.63 and the opening half was a brisk :46.16.

Borel had Super Saver on the rail around the first bend and down the backstretch in a stalking position. In the early stages, Ice Box was last and Make Music for Me was next to last.

“I had him where I wanted,” Borel said after the race. “I got him off the pace and he relaxed real good. I learned a lot the last time I rode him (in the Arkansas Derby). The first time I rode him, I won on the lead, but in the last race, I took him back and learned a lot about him.”

Super Saver came to the Derby off a neck loss to Line of David in the April 10 Arkansas Derby (gr. I). In his 3-year-old debut he was third, beaten a half-length by Odysseus and Schoolyard Dreams in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III). Last year, the colt won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Downs under Borel.

This is the first Derby victory as an owner for WinStar, Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner’s farm on Pisgah Pike in Woodford County, Ky. And their second as a breeder. They bred 2003 winner Funny Cide.

As an owner, WinStar had 10 runners in the Derby prior to this year, with their best running coming in 2006 with a runner-up effort from Bluegrass Cat  .

It is the second Derby winner for sire Maria’s Mon, who also is the sire of 2001 winner Monarchos. Maria’s Mon was euthanized in September 2007 of multiple organ dysfunction.

Super Saver is out of the A.P. Indy   mare Supercharger, who traces back in tail-female line to grade I winner Dance Number, a blue hen mare for the Phipps family and a direct descendant of the great La Troienne. Supercharger’s dam, Get Lucky (by Mr. Prospector), is a full sister to Travers (gr. I) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner Rhythm.

Super Saver was the early favorite in the wagering after Oaks day and went off the second choice in the 20-horse field. Super Saver paid $18, $8.80, and $6. Ice Box returned $11.20 and $8 and Paddy O’Prado paid $7.40 to show. The exacta, 4-2, paid $152.40. The trifecta paid $2,337 and the superfecta, with fourth-place finisher Make Music for Me, paid $202,569.

Much has been made of Pletcher’s record in the Derby and was 0-for-24 prior to today’s running. With four starters in the field, he is now 1-for-28.

Devil May Care, the lone filly in the cast and a member of Pletcher’s contingent, finished 10th as the 40th filly to run in the Derby. She was seeking to join Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980), and Winning Colors (1988) to win the Run for the Roses. The last filly to run in the Derby was Eight Belles, who broke down after finishing second to Big Brown in 2008.

Pletcher’s other runners were Mission Impazible, which finished ninth, and Discreetly Mine, the 13th across the wire.

“It’s a joy,” Pletcher said right after the race of getting his first win. “People said we had one with our name written on it. I didn’t take anything for granted. It feels awfully good.”

It is a bit of vindication for Pletcher after the defection of early favorite Eskendereya who was withdrawn from consideration last week due to a filling of edema in a leg.

“This colt has just been getting better and better,” Pletcher said. “We were kind of playing catch up earlier in the year, but after the Arkansas Derby, he just really moved forward.”

Lookin At Lucky, who broke from post 1, was the favorite in the 20-horse field at 6-1. He was jostled around early and shuffled back, rallying to finish sixth.

"I lost all chance at the post position draw when I drew the 1 (post with Lookin At Lucky)," trainer Bob Baffert said after the race. "Everything had been going smooth and great and then, boom, right in the 1 hole. I had a bad feeling about it.

"I quit watching him after the first bump," he said. "He was done. I wish (jockey Garrett Gomez) would have pulled him up. That's horse racing. You have good luck and bad luck and I've been lucky to win this race and other guys have had bad luck."

Trainer Nick Zito was pleased with Ice Box's performance.

"I couldn't get lucky enough to beat Calvin, but my horse did get me second," Zito said. "He ran a great race. I have to be happy with the way he ran today. He put in a great run."

Paddy O'Prado's trainer Dale Romans said, "He ran so big for us. I thought we were going to win. He just ran super. You couldn't ask for any more from the horse."

Even with the wet and blustery conditions, attendance for the Derby was 155,804, the sixth largest crowd for a Kentucky Derby. 

As a bonus to the Kentucky Derby and it's coverage by NBC, a promotion by the CNBC network offered one winner a $100,000 bet on the Derby. Glen Fullerton was the winner and he placed his bet on Super Saver, which is now worth $900,000.

 "I studied the PPs and knew Super Saver had success over a wet track and Calvin Borel had success here. It was just a gut feeling," Fullerton said. "This is life-changing but I don't have to spend it all in one week."

Pletcher: Derby is 'One You Want to Win Most'
By Ron Mitchell
Updated: Monday, May 3, 2010 6:58 PM
Posted: Sunday, May 2, 2010 11:55 AM
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/56819/pletcher-derby-is-one-you-want-to-win-most

As rain continued to pour on a soggy Churchill Downs stable area the morning of May 2, trainer Todd Pletcher was absorbing the previous day’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) victory by Super Saver as the trainers of those who finished behind the WinStar homebred were considering their future plans.

Pletcher said WinStar Farm’s Super Saver would remain at Churchill Downs and likely ship to Baltimore, Md. on May 12 to prepare for the May 15 Preakness Stakes (gr. I), the second leg of the coveted Triple Crown series for 3-year-olds.

Pletcher, who rarely shows much emotion, experienced the highs and lows of the Kentucky Derby leading up to the 136th renewal. Earlier in the week, Eskendereya, the morning-line favorite, was scratched due to an injury and Rule was withdrawn from consideration. Pletcher responded by entering the filly Devil May Care in the Derby instead of the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), giving him a  four-horse Derby entry.

"It’s the one thing that was missing on our resume," said Pletcher, who was winless with 24 starters prior to this year’s Kentucky Derby. "I don’t think it necessarily makes me a better trainer than I was, but I think in everyone else’s eyes it means something.

"As far as accomplishments, there are a lot of big races and races with bigger purses, but I think everyone out there and my colleagues would agree the Derby is the one you want to win the most."

Referring to his four Derby runners, Pletcher reported they had all come out of their 10-furlong battles in good order. Each was walked on the shedrow at Barn 34 as a hard rain fell outside.

When asked if he slept at all the night of May 1, Pletcher replied, “A little bit. We went back to our hotel and had some dinner with family and friends, like we always do, though I must say this one was more fun.”

Overall, the trainers of horses that finished behind Super Saver were complimentary of the Derby winner, noting that he was the best horse and that jockey Calvin Borel, winning his third Derby in the last four years, was a major factor.

While winning the Derby was satisfying to Pletcher, he said he was especially happy for owner WinStar Farm and his stable staff. With 175 horses in training and 150 employees, Pletcher has one of the largest stables in the country.

Glencrest Farm’s filly Devil May Care, who finished 10th in the 20-horse field, would not be considered for the Preakness, Pletcher said. That was the case also with E. Paul Robsham Stables’ Discreetly Mine, who finished 13th.

But with ninth-place finisher Mission Impazible, owned by Twin Creek Racing Stables, the jury was still out. “We’ll take a couple of days and think about him running there,” Pletcher said.

The trainers of Ice Box, Paddy O'Prado, and Make Music for Me, the respective second through fourth finishers in the Derby, were non-committal about running in the Preakness.

Officials of the Maryland Jockey Club, which operates Pimlico, said the short list of Preakness possibles include Super Saver as well as Dublin, the Derby seventh-place finisher, and Stately Victor, who ran eighth. Among others committed to the Preakness are Aikenite, Bushwhacked, and Caracortado, while A Little Warm and Schoolyard Dreams are possibles.

"There are people who are sitting on the fence, but they have said ‘don’t put my name out yet.’ But I think we will have a full field (of 14)," said MJC stakes coordinator Coley Blind.

Nick Zito, who trains Ice Box, said he was pleased with the colt’s runner-up effort, considering all of the problems he had in the race.

"He was checked three times, he easily could have run 18th," said Zito, who was non-committal about the prospects of Ice Box and 13th-place finisher Jackson Bend for the Preakness. He said that he would wait until later in the week to make a decision.

Despite being bumped around in the race, Ice Box only had superficial scrapes, the trainer said.

“It was kind of great to see Ice Box run so well,” said Zito. “You salute WinStar, but you always say what could have been,” said the Hall of Fame trainer who saddled Strike the Gold (1991) and Go for Gin (1994) for Derby victories.

“It was a tough race to lose, obviously, but a great race to be thankful for. We have to be thankful for the horse we’ve got, and knock wood, it looks like he came back good; that’s the most important thing,” Zito said. “(Ice Box) definitely had an excuse, that’s for sure. The winner was very good and Ice Box was just as good, that’s for sure. He was just as good as the winner, he just didn’t get the chance to win.

“I don’t like making excuses, but even if you read the paper a little bit, you’ll see he was checked not once but three times. He ran a winning race. He runs even harder than the winner.”

Zito was far from disappointed with Jacks or Better Farm and LaPenta’s Jackson Bend’s 12th-place effort in which he had to alter course under Mike Smith on the turn into the homestretch. “Jackson Bend came back good. He’s a tough little guy,” Zito said. “Mike said he didn’t beat him up. He had to be checked at a bad time.”

But Zito didn’t sound enthusiastic of running Ice Box back in the Preakness.

“He had six weeks for this race, so you have to train him pretty hard, so it’s not necessarily easy to come back in two weeks. We’ll see about (Jackson Bend) and talk to Bob, but I’m not going to make any decisions now, that’s for sure.”

Both Ice Box and Jackson Bend will remain at Churchill Downs while their connections decide upon their next starts.

Should he decide to pass on the Preakness with Ice Box, Zito said he’d have no trouble training the Florida Derby (gr. I) winner up to the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park.

Zito brought back Birdstone   from an eighth-place finish in the 2004 Derby for an upset victory over Triple Crown hopeful Smarty Jones   in the Belmont.

Dale Romans, who trains Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado, said there was nothing he could see that would preclude the third-place finisher from going on to the Preakness. He could make a decision later this week.

Baldemar Bahena, assistant to Dale Romans reported the colt “came back fine and ate up” after his Kentucky Derby run. “He is good this morning.”

Alexis Barba, whose Make Music for Me was the final horse to draw into the Kentucky Derby field and finished fourth, said she would take her colt to Keeneland. Barba said a Preakness decision would be made after she consulted with owners Peter and Ellen Johnson.

“I feel great; he’s a great little horse,” she said. “He’s fabulous. He ran a winning race as far as I’m concerned.” Make Music for Me closed from last place in the 20-horse field to finish fourth under Joel Rosario in his first start on a dirt track.

Chasing Dreams Racing 2008’s Noble's Promise is headed back to trainer Ken McPeek’s Magdalena Farm in Lexington May 3 “to be a horse for a couple of days,” McPeek assistant Philip Bauer said May 2.

Noble’s Promise had the lead at the quarter pole under Willie Martinez, but was overtaken by Super Saver and Calvin Borel.

“To be in the lead in the Derby is pretty thrilling,” Bauer said. “When I saw they went :46 and 1:10, I was worried he might be too close (to the pace). He left everything out there. You couldn’t ask him to run any harder.”

McPeek said the Preakness would be discussed in the coming days along with the possibility of going to Royal Ascot for the St. James’ Palace (Eng-I) to be run at a mile on the grass June 15.

“We will see how it looks like the Preakness is shaping up, but I would say now it is doubtful but not out of the question,” McPeek said. “He may not come back to Churchill Downs. If he goes to the Preakness, he would probably ship from my farm to Pimlico. If he goes to Royal Ascot, he would train at my farm and at Keeneland.”

Trainer Bob Baffert’s Derby duo of Zabeel Racing International’s Conveyance and Pegram, Watson and Weitman Performances’ Lookin At Lucky returned “in good order,” according to the conditioner.

“They’re all good,” Baffert said the morning of May 2. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do with them next. It’ll be the end of the week before we make a call on that.”

Conveyance cut out the pace for the first seven furlongs of the 10-furlong Derby before running out of steam and finally finishing 15th in the 20-horse field. Lookin At Lucky, who was roughed up early in the race and virtually lost all chance, did well to finish sixth in the Run for the Roses.

“Tough luck; what are you going to do,” Baffert said.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said that Robert Baker and William Mack’s seventh-place Dublin likely would be headed to Baltimore for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“It’s tough to make a decision the day after the race, but I would say more than likely he will go,” Lukas said. “He’s fine this morning and came out of the race good.”

Lukas had pleasure of watching one of his former assistants, Todd Pletcher, win his first Kentucky Derby with Super Saver.

“I am really happy for Todd. It was great,” Lukas said. “He’ll be back (with a chance to win more Derbys), no doubt about it.”

Borel on the Rail: A Key to Success
By The Associated Press
Updated: Thursday, May 6, 2010 7:06 PM
Posted: Thursday, May 6, 2010 6:54 PM
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/56892/borel-on-the-rail-a-key-to-success

Calvin Borel makes his living riding the rail. It's the shortest way around a racetrack, yet few jockeys are as comfortable down there as he is.

Of course, the rail doesn't mean much if you don't have a horse good enough underneath you. Borel certainly did in the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I), guiding Super Saver on the short path in the slop to a 2 1/2-length victory, his third in four years.

Borel won his first Derby in 2007 with a rail-hugging ride aboard favorite Street Sense  , and his second with 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird last year in a muddy dash from last to first along the rail.

This year wasn't as dramatic, since Super Saver was never worse than sixth in the 1 1/4-mile race. But Borel did it in his trademark style -- keeping close to the rail and swinging outside just once to pass Conveyance before zooming right back inside.

``He doesn't run in the one hole, he runs in the half-hole,'' Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. ``He could paint the fence while he's going.''

Actually, Borel said, Super Saver wasn't that close.

``Now Mine That Bird might have scraped the fence,'' he said. ``He was all right. I had plenty of room.''

Borel isn't expected to deviate from his famed style when he rides Super Saver in the Preakness (gr. I)  May 15, aiming for a victory that would set them up for a Triple Crown attempt.

``He has the talent to do it,'' Borel said about a Triple Crown sweep. ``It's hard to say you're going to win it, but he's peaking at the right time.''

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been burned by ``Bo-rail'' before. He thought he had his fourth Derby victory in the bag last year, but Borel came zooming up the rail - a path Baffert calls the Borel Trail - on Mine That Bird to overtake front-running Pioneerof the Nile  .

``He knows if he gets on top of the rail, it's a big advantage,'' Baffert said. ``Lots of guys try it, but they can't do it. He's got it mastered. He can get a horse to relax. He's got really great hands.''

Borel has enjoyed his greatest success at Churchill Downs, a track similar to Louisiana Downs, where the Cajun honed his riding skills and learned to take the shortest way around the track.

He even hugs the rail in the mornings when he's exercising horses.

``I love to ride the fence,'' he said. ``You can't be scared. If I can't do it my way and get the job done, that's when I'm going to retire.''

As much as Borel loves it down low, some horses dislike the rail, forcing him out a length or even as far as the middle of the track. Others, though, prefer running with the rail on one side, where another horse can't come up inside them and they won't get bumped.

``In a race, you've got to learn how to put one down there,'' Borel's agent, Jerry Hissam, said. ``Most of these horses, when you turn for home, they're starting to drift, they're starting to get tired. You've got to know how to put them down in there and keep them down in there. And why can't anybody else do it? I don't know.''

Dale Romans, who trains third-place Derby finisher Paddy O'Prado, attributes Borel's inside success to having the patience to wait for an opening.

``If you get left (behind), you have to use your head. Don't rush him up, put him in a bad spot because you're asking for trouble,'' Borel said. ``If you're on the best horse, let him take you there.''

Rachel Alexandra took Borel to the Preakness winner's circle last year, when he switched off Mine That Bird to ride the filly, who started from the No. 13 post. This time, Borel is sticking with the horse that got him to Pimlico for the 1 3-16-mile race.

``I've got total confidence he'll be able to handle Pimlico,'' said Todd Pletcher, who trains Super Saver.

Lukas believes Borel's success is more about confidence than fearlessness.

``When he gets a horse that will cooperate, he really does it,'' the trainer said. ``His confidence level is way up right now and so he's trying things that normally he might not even try.''

Borel's tactics don't fool anyone - not his fellow jockeys nor the betting public. But no one has tried to stop him yet.

``We all know what he's going to do,'' said Robby Albarado, who finished 14th in the Derby. ``He just does it anyway.''

The inside path isn't always open to Borel.

``He's got shut off before. They got out in front of him sometimes,'' Hissam said. ``A lot of times it's because he doesn't have the right horse to get to that spot. The hole is going faster than he is. He can't catch the hole so he can't get through it.''

Borel is keeping tabs on Super Saver at Churchill Downs, where the colt is training for the Preakness and is scheduled to arrive at Pimlico on Wednesday, three days before the race.

Super Saver had a light schedule before the Derby, with just two races in which he finished third and second. His freshness could work in his favor during the grueling five-week Triple Crown campaign.

``God willing, he's a colt that will take us all the way because he's a nice horse,'' Borel said.

Only 11 horses have swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont (gr. I), with Affirmed the last to do so in 1978. There have been 11 Triple tries since then, with Big Brown   making the most recent attempt in 2008. He won the first two legs, then finished last in the Belmont.