2010 KENTUCKY DERBY TRAIL LATEST SHOWS ESKENDEREYA MAKING MOVES

The 2010 Kentucky Derby Trail is now fully under way and we had our first big statement of the season yesterday as Todd Pletcher’s Eskendereya (Giant’s Causeway) threw down the gauntlet for the class of 2010 at Gulfstream Park in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes.
The classy chestnut colt is owned by recently bankrupt Zayat Stables LLC so it will be interesting to see if he changes hands at any point soon, but I wouldn’t bet on him moving barns at all as Pletcher seems to be getting the dirt specialist in the right form at the right time. He is 2 from 4 lifetime on the dirt, running second on a turf debut at Saratoga in a Maiden Special Weight and a disappointing ninth place to Vale of York in the Breeders Cup Juvenile on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride.
The current Ante Post betting market at Ladbrokes for the 2010 Kentucky Derby shows a big clip for Eskendereya, who drops to 9.0 from a price in the mid 20s. Bob Baffert’s Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike) continues to hold steady at 13.0 while Super Saver (Maria’s Mon) and Rule (Roman Ruler) trade at 17.0 prices. Rule, in particular, has amassed nearly half a million pounds in his three victories from three straight starts.
Buddy’s Saint (Saint Liam) has been looked to as a real contender for the Derby this year and his credentials took a battering yesterday as he went off as the 9/5 favourite and put in a 9th place performance, and it was fitting that he was only able to best a single horse- the ironically-titled Lost Aptitude. The Bruce Levine-trained bay now trades at 21.0. Jackson Bend (Hear No Evil) has been progressing but is without a win in two races having finished 2nd yesterday with perennial show-horse Aikenite (Yes It’s True) coming in 3rd.
The other prices listed include Sidneys Candy at 21.0, Dublin at 21.0 with Nobles Promise, Conveyance, Caracortado and Eightyfiveinafifty all trading at 26.0. The Godolphin-owned Vale of York, my early Derby tip, also trades at 26.0. Discreetly Mine, D’Funnybone, American Lion and Jackson Bend all trade at 34.0.