Kentucky Derby: Gemologist Is Back in the Picture After Win
Gemologist thrust himself back into the Kentucky Derby picture after an impressive win in his debut as a three-year-old in an allowance race Friday at Gulfstream Park.
The son of Tiznow was coming from a three-and-a-half month layoff, but he looked in Derby form as he powered to a wire-to-wire seven-lengths win over four opponents that included last year's Grade I Hopeful winner Currency Swap.
The $80,000 allowance race was the third on Friday's card at Gulfstream Park and was supposed to be a showdown between two of last year's top two-year-old colts.
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Gemologist went off slightly as the favorite at 8/5 odds over Currency Swap who closed at 9/5 odds.
At the start of the race, both Gemologist and Currency Swap went for the lead, but jockey Javier Castellano took advantage of his inside position and took Gemologist to a one-length lead going into the first quarter-pole in a pedestrian :24.93.
Going into the half-mile pole, Gemologist was still ahead by a length but quickened the pace bit as jockey Rajiv Maragh was pressing aboard Currency Swap and they stop the fractional at :47.58.
But that was all Currency Swap had for the WinStar Farm protege. As they entered the home stretch, Castellano put position on Gemologist and went to work as he drew off to and easy seven-lenghts win.
The final time was 1:35.95, which is not impressive, but given how easy we was hand-ridden, he might have gone lower if he needed to.
Both Gemologist and Currency Swap presented serious question marks, as they were making such a late season debut as three-year-olds.
Gemologist's last race was his win in the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs last Nov. 26.
Currency Swap was coming off a bigger layoff than Gemologist, as his last race was his win at the Grade I Hopeful at Saratoga on Sept. 5.
Gemologist was being considered for the Rebel Stakes today, but instead was entered in this easier race.
Maybe his trainer Todd Pletcher wanted a tune-up race instead and once this race opened up he decided to make the switch. It makes perfect sense, since you don't want to make one of your Derby hopes overwork himself now and gradually take him to the big race on the first Saturday of May.
But the way Gemologist demolished his opponents yesterday showed he is ready for the big race right now.
Pletcher has not decided yet which would be Gemologist's next race, but the Grade I Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 14th or the Grade I Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds six days before that would make sense as his possible destinations.
The Grade I Florida Derby is out of the question since that would mean bringing him back in two weeks. Besides that race is already loaded with Fountain of Youth winner, Union Rags, the runner-up in that race, News Pending and Risen Star winner El Padrino.
Another interesting twist is that now jockey Javier Castellano will have another tough decision to make soon—he is also the rider of El Padrino.
He faced a similar situation when he had to decide between Union Rags and Algorithms earlier in the year. He went for Algorithms and unfortunately he got injured and is off the Derby trail.
Of course, Pletcher has two-time Eclipse Award winner and big time rider John Velazquez as his main call rider, so whomever Castillo decides for, expect Velazquez to ride the other horse.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see if Velazquez gets another win in the Kentucky Derby with a horse he get called on as the replacement for the regular ride?
The Road for the Roses heats up, keep coming back as I will be bringing you coverage on everything that happens with all the contenders and pretenders leading up to the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Derby.
| 1 | Gemologist | Javier Castellano | 3.40 | 2.20 | 2.10 |
| 3 | Currency Swap | Rajiv Maragh | 2.40 | 2.10 | |
| 5 | Angel's Tune | John R. Velazquez | 2.20 | ||
| Also ran: 2 - Jordan's Image , 4 - Brother Pat | |||||
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