Saturday in America was a day of nonstop graded stakes action. Favourites had their moments in the sun but, for the most part, fancied horses fell by the wayside. Two of the three major Kentucky Derby preps provided upsets.

I will begin with what happened at Hawthorne in Chicago where I am based. It was a picture perfect afternoon. Hawthorne is in a town called Stickney. In manageable traffic, it is about 20 minutes from downtown Chicago. The main event was the 51st running of the Illinois Derby, a Grade II race on the dirt with a purse of $500,000.

Recapturetheglory, at 15-1, took charge of the seven-horse field at once. The fractions were what Recapruretheglory’s jockey, E T Baird would have loved. They were ‘friendly and comfortable.’ Shaken up with about 300 metres to run, Recapturetheglory kicked into another gear. The winning margin was four lengths and the 1800-metre race was run in one minute 49.01 seconds. The track was fast. The tote return was $33.80.

The Illinois Derby was Recapturetheglory’s debut in a stakes race and he checked into the race with the lowest earnings in the field. Golden Spikes chased the winner all the way to be second. Z Humor was a non-threatening third. Denis Of Cork, the even money favourite, was fifth.

David Carroll, Denis Of Cork’s trainer made a terse statement. “Julien (Leparoux, the jockey) told me he (Denis Of Cork) never seemed comfortable. He did not travel well.”

Recapturetheglory has now won two races in six starts. He has $333,080 in his account and has booked a spot in the Derby if his connections wish to take their chances at Churchill Downs. Louis J Roussel III trains Recapturetheglory who is by Cherokee Run who is by Runaway Groom. The dam is Cold Awakening by Dehere.

E T Baird, you may recall, rode Holding Court at Arlington Park last September. He was surprised at the ease with which his victory came. “I had a lot of horse at the quarter pole. I knew it was going to take something special to catch me. He broke great and rated very kind. When I called on him, he gave me what he had and he had plenty.”

Let us now move to Santa Anita in California. There was celebration in trainer Eoin Harty’s camp. Colonel John, Harty’s trainee and the winner of the Sham Stakes, got an encore and on Saturday, the race he won was the 71st running of the Santa Anita Derby. The Grade I race carried a purse of $750,000.

Ridden by Cory Nakatani, Colonel John lay in middivision and was shuffled back to eighth or ninth as the field negotiated the final turn. Bob Black Jack had struck the front and was running determinedly as the wire loomed large. Taken to the outside, Colonel John was put on an even keel by jockey Nakatani and the response was electrifying. The winning post did not come soon enough for Bob Black Jack who could not contain Colonel John’s thrust. One half length separated the two.

The time for 1800 metres on the polytrack was 1 48.16 seconds. Colonel John paid $7.20. Tiznow by Cee’s Tizzy is Colonel John’s sire. Sweet Damsel by Turkoman is the dam.

Jockey Nakatani’s optimism came through in post-race comments. He told the outrider, “he will have no problems with the Derby distance. The dirt track is not a concern. We are going to the Derby. I bided my time and he made his run when I asked him.”

Trainer Eoin Harty outlined his plan. “We will get to Louisville 12 days before the Derby. He will have one piece of work and I’ll start praying.”

Jim Kasparoff, Bob Black Jack’s trainer, was in tears. “Tough beat, he just got beat by a better horse,” he averred.

El Gato Malo, the tote favourite, made a move on the far turn and failed to sustain and his Derby hopes may have ended.

I will now take you to Aqueduct in New York. Rain had lingered as Saturday broke. The track was rated sloppy and changed to ‘fast’ as the afternoon progressed. The clunker of a race that War Pass had come up with in the Tampa Bay Derby was being treated as an aberration and the 2007 Juvenile Champion was the post time choice in the Grade I Wood Memorial. It was a race over 1800 metres on the dirt and had a purse of $750,000.

War Pass, as expected, darted to the top. That was the good news. The ‘not so good’ news was that Inner Light, stablemate of the better fancied Court Vision, went with War Pass. Vicious fractions lit up the infield board. With War Pass fully extended to beat back Inner Light’s bid, Tale Of Ekati, ridden by the wily Edgar Prado, went from fourth to second as the run-in came up. As Cornelio Velasquez tried desperately to find that extra with the leg-weary War Pass who moved away from the fence, Prado and Tale Of Ekati took the inside path. War Pass’s lead was being whittled down and in the last stride or two, Prado nudged his mount to go one better. Court Vision rallied to take third.

Tale Of Ekati paid $19.00 as a result of a poor race in the Louisiana Derby. Tale Of The Cat by Storm Cat is Tale Of Ekati’s sire. Silence Beauty, a Sunday Silence mare, is the dam. The time was 1 52.35 seconds.

Winning trainer Barclay Tagg spoke about Tale Of Ekati justifying his confidence. “He got tangled up in the gate in the Louisiana Derby. It cost him the race. He’s a better horse than that. He’s a gem. We’re ready. We are going to Kentucky.”

War Pass has now suffered two defeats in a row. There is no question that the duel took its toll. The main question about War Pass was answered definitively. His race in the Tampa Bay Derby should be ignored.

Courtesy: NTRA, TV reports and local sources.