Weekend Winners Club

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Friday, May 19
Pimlico, Maryland
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We did this a few days before the Kentucky Derby: a brief but awesome analysis of the Derby Contenders sires and sirelines, including how those sires finished in Triple Crown races.
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In that analysis, we listed the contenders by the most relevant sires from top to bottom. Four of our first 5 finished in the top 4 of the Kentucky Derby.
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We’re going to do the same thing right here, so get your hands off your daughter, put your teeth back in your mouth, and pay attention because you might just learn something.
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Those that were in the Derby are already copied and pasted with their Derby finish added.
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Always Dreaming (1st Ky Derby): Bodemeister (Empire Maker, RAN) would have won Kentucky Derby and Preakness if it hadn’t been for a horse called I’ll Have Another, catching him just in time in both races. His sire Empire Maker finished top 3 in all 3 TC races and won the Belmont. Bode was retired before ever racing again.
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Classic Empire (4th Ky Derby): Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker, RAN) was all set to follow in his father’s footsteps, winning the Santa Anita Derby, then finishing a disappointing 2nd to long shot Mine that Bird in the Kentucky Derby. However, he struggled in the Preakness and was retired 2 months later.
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Lookin at Lee (2nd Ky Derby): Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike, RAN) was a solid 6th in the Kentucky Derby, and turned the tables to win the Preakness. He skipped the Belmont and went on to win the Haskell and Indiana Derby, and retired before the BC Classic. However, he still won 3yo American horse of the year honors, to go along with his 2yo champion award.
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Conquest Mo Money (2nd Ark Derby): Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie, In Excess) was another overhyped sire with lots of sprinters running around the US, until Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby last year in a field that featured 2 other Uncle Mo colts. Uncle Mo was the 2yo champ and favored in the Wood at odds of 1-10, and was eventually diagnosed with a liver disorder, which was his main excuse. His sire Indian Charlie finished 3rd in the Kentucky Derby and was an excellent sprinter and miler, and sire.
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Hence (11th Ky Derby): Street Boss (Street Cry, RAN) was dangerous as a sprinter, winning two G1 races and finishing 3rd in the BC sprint. His half brother Street Sense was a 2yo champ who also won the Kentucky Derby. His sire is from the formidable Mr. Prospector branch of the RAN sireline.
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Gunnevera (7th Derby): Dialed In (Mineshaft, API) was the Kentucky Derby favorite after winning the Florida, but wound up finishing 8th, then racing 4th in the Preakness. Regardless, it gave Mineshaft crops Triple Crown hopes. We’ll cover Mineshaft in more detail below.
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Term of Art (7th SA Derby): Tiznow (Cee’s Tizzy, IR) was another late bloomer, missing his 2yo year with a leg injury, and finally breaking his maiden after the Derby was already run. Later on that year he won the Louisiana Super Derby and BC Classic and won 3yo horse of the year honors anyway. The next year he would win more races and the BC Classic again, making him the only repeat champion in Breeders Cup history. Despite his on-track success, he has been mostly a non-factor as a sire in TC races, other than lucky Belmont winner Da Tara.
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Senior Investment (1st Lexington): Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft, AP Indy) was pointed to the Triple Crown after winning the Risen Star but later returned to win a couple sprint stakes and retired as a 3yo. Mineshaft got a late start in US racing after transferring from Great Britain, and was busy breaking his maiden while others were running in TC races. In his 4 year old season he dominated and won US horse of the year and champion older male honors.
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Multiplier (1st Ill Derby): The Factor (War Front, ND) looked like he would be a factor in the Triple Crown series of 2011 after winning the Rebel Stakes. However, after a 7th place finish in the Arkansas, he took the summer off and came back to win 3 G1 races that year and the next, all of which were at 7f, and a couple of good 2nd place finishes in G1s. So far, no great Triple Crown offspring from him but there were some from War Front.
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Cloud Computing (3rd Wood): Maclean’s Music (Distorted Humor, RAN) was a complete non-factor in Triple Crown racing, retiring before any significant wins after good speed figures in his maiden win. However, being the son of Distorted Humor, as was Funny Cide, he has some good classic genes to pass on.

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Full Preakness and Black Eyed Susan Day Grids Here

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