For the second year in a row, TSR will watch the Kentucky Derby on the tube after being on site for the previous 19 consecutive runs for the roses.<\/p>\n
The twenty 3-year-old colts running in the 2012 Derby stack up as a better-than-average group on the talent scale.\u00a0 From a handicapping standpoint, it\u2019s been intriguing the last week or two imagining how the known form of the field\u2019s top shelf will translate into trips that unfold for them after the gates open early Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
Traffic pitfalls always crush the hopes of at least a few of the top contenders as the race plays out.\u00a0 That part of it makes it awfully tricky to pick the winner of this race.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019ve never correctly predicted the Derby winner.\u00a0 You can expect the talented sprinter Trinniberg will run way ahead of the those chasing him for the first half of the race and then peter out abruptly.\u00a0 The white-as-a-ghost-colored horse Hansen will stride quickly in Trinny\u2019s wake (along with the unusually low-to-the-ground Bodemeister) and likely find himself inheriting desirable clean airspace with about five furlongs remaining.<\/p>\n
Hansen is a colt properly tested for this event.\u00a0 He won the 2-year-old Breeder\u2019s Cup dirt route race on the Churchill strip and seasoned for the Derby as a 3-year-old in stakes races at Gulfstream, Aqueduct and Keeneland.\u00a0 Casual racing fans may know\u00a0about Hansen\u00a0more for his sideshow element than his racing talent.\u00a0 Hansen bears the name of his eccentric, outspoken, hands-on owner Dr. Kendall Hansen.\u00a0 Before each of Hansen\u2019s last two Derby preps, the Doctor tangled with racing officials about plans to paint Hansen\u2019s bushy tail the color blue.\u00a0 Permission was firmly declined in each instance and Hansen\u2019s tail was left to fly its natural color.<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t need distinctive coloring to know who\u2019s winning this race as the final moments play out.\u00a0 You\u2019ll get that cue anyway.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be the white horse.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s your TSR Derby trifecta:<\/p>\n
Hansen<\/strong><\/p>\n Alpha<\/strong><\/p>\n Rousing Sermon<\/strong><\/p>\n To add to the excitement of Derby Day, there\u2019s a Rangers playoff game on TV early in the afternoon.\u00a0 And later that night in Brooklyn, the full cast of Woods (Lucas Crane is back behind the knobs) anchors a triple bill at 285 Kent.\u00a0 I\u2019ve\u00a0heard a harmonica has come out of the trick bag on this tour.\u00a0 Looking forward to it.<\/p>\n Happy Derby Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the second year in a row, TSR will watch the Kentucky Derby on the tube after being on site for the previous 19 consecutive runs for the roses. The twenty 3-year-old colts running in the 2012 Derby stack up … Continue reading