Barbaro | Superfectablog v3.0

The Barbaro Family Good News/Bad News

First, the good news; little brother Lentenor broke his maiden impressively at Gulfstream Park yesterday in a 1 1/16 turf race. Granted, he was only facing fellow maidens, but his finish was very nice indeed, noting especially how he pulled away on turf. While it’s hardly time to start penciling him in for [...]

In Which We Counsel Patience

More often than not, once the Kentucky Derby result is in the books, it seems obvious in retrospect. Who was going to beat Big Brown? Street Sense was naturally going to win that day, and Barbaro was most assuredly the class of the field.

Sometimes, however, it’s a trickier business. Giacomo? Where [...]

2009 Kentucky Derby: On the Record

It’s official – I’ve (almost) made some decisions. Without further ado, here is your official Superfecta Kentucky Derby handicapping exercise for 2009 – as ever, with the note that my recent successes with Smarty Jones and Barbaro are tempered by the fact that my last correctly-predicted winner was Winning Colors in 1988. You [...]

Busy Breeding Season So Far

There’s a lot of breeding news today – yet another bay full brother to Barbaro arrived, Rags to Riches had a healthy Giant’s Causeway filly, and Dreaming of Anna is in foal to Street Cry. But perhaps the most interesting news in this genre is that Vertigineux, dam to Zenyatta and Balance, is in [...]

A Long-Expected Party?

The nation’s best-documented unraced 3-year-old is getting ready for his debut, complete with a CBS TV crew (which is considerably more coverage than the entire Sunshine Millions event received) – Nicanor, full brother to Barbaro, is likely to race shortly. He’s been training in Florida for the winter and the likely spot is [...]

Managing Expectations

Note: A revised version of this post appears at The Blood-Horse.

While there is much excitement in certain quarters over the upcoming debut of brother, Barbaro’s brother Nicanor, it’s a good idea to temper expectations with a bit of reality. Most horses never compete at racing’s highest level. Some show early promise that [...]

Genetics, Stud Fees and Luck

The major news outlets seem to be filling space while waiting for tonight’s Preakness draw (and that’s no bad thing, given that it highlights the sport beyond the Triple Crown to some extent). The New York Times profiles Nicanor (pictured), the full brother to Barbaro, who has recently arrived (video here) at Fair Hill [...]

Derby Favorites

The first Derby horse I have a clear picture of rooting for was Genuine Risk; when she won, I figured this whole picking winners thing was pretty easy. The next horse I recall backing was Slew O’Gold, who finished 4th in 1983. I was back in form with Swale in 1984 (and was [...]

The Blue Grass, and a Cure for Derby Fever?

You can (apparently) tear up any future wagers you may have had on Denis of Cork; I can’t decide whether this letter from his owner, William K. Warren, is a little too melodramatic (I didn’t really need the financial details on hotel rooms, for example) or a nice opportunity to see someone take some responsibility [...]

Expectations

The Derby trail heats up this weekend with the Louisiana Derby; Pyro is back (and even has his own Wikipedia entry) and faces Majestic Warrior and Tale of Ekati, both of whom I have very much been looking forward to seeing. Blackberry Road seems to be a cut below the top class, but you [...]

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