Risen Star hero Girvin is the one to beat in the LA Derby. The patient runner is lightly raced and on the improve. Local Hero is the one to catch, Guest Suite is the one to fear late, and Patch tries to give trainer Todd Pletcher another Derby prep victory.
The Florida Derby features impressive late running Fountain of Youth winner Gunnevera but he must overcome a difficult outside draw and a potentially challenging pace scenario. FOY show finisher Three Rules might get brave if able to shake loose early and Always Dreaming might be able to step up and play ball in the big leagues for Pletcher.
You can view my Florida Derby/LA Derby video preview at the bottom of this blog post.
The two Derby preps last week (Spiral Stakes + Sunland Derby) hardly got the heart pumping.
First up was the Spiral Stakes on March 25 and former claimer Fast and Accurate earned an 82 BSF for his upset win. There was nothing behind him and his speed figure was below par in the slowest derby prep yet.
The Sunland Derby was contested on March 26 and Hence got a 93 BSF for his off the pace victory. There was not much behind him and his speed figure was okay at best.
El Areeb came out of his March 29 workout at Laurel Park with a knee injury and is expected to miss six months. 9th place Rebel finisher Royal Mo drops out of the Top 11.
Jarrod Horak’s “Exceptional Eleven" Kentucky Derby 2017 Contenders (Updated 4-1-17)
#1 - GUNNEVERA
#2 - McCraken
#3 - Three Rules
#4 - Practical Joke
#5 - Battalion Runner
#6 - Tapwrit
#7 - Irish War Cry
#8 - Gormley
#9 - Classic Empire
#10 - Iliad
#11 - Always Dreaming
You can read my entire Kentucky Derby 2017 contenders update blog at The Runaway Horse.
* Churchill Downs photo by Stacy Edwards
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