Nice to look ahead to the Belmont to see if anyone other than Big Brown can beat Big Brown. Yes, a fresh, lightly raced horse can always pose a challenge-- ask Curlin's connections about Rags to Riches. While on the topic of Rags, yes, Casino Drive's wonderful dam, Better Than Honour, did foal the past two Belmont Stakes winners, the aformentioned Rags and Jazil. As nicely bred and as lightly race and fresh Casino Drive will be coming into the race, prudence might suggest looking elsewhere to either fill out your exotics or in picking a match stick to win a potential lumber yard-- call it the "quarantine factor": horses coming out of isolation like Casino Drive typically run great the first race back, and then bounce in the second start after leaving quarantine. That would place Casino Drive up for a regression trip in the Belmont, having won impressively last time out in the Peter Pan. If you need a "Japan Connection" horse, then consider the wonderful job Barcaly Tagg has done training Tale of Ekati, who is out of Japan-bred Silence Beauty. If you need a horse with Belmont Stakes-winning genes in the pedigree, consider Nick Zito-trained Anak Nakal( translated "Mischievous Child" from Arabic), who is by Victory Gallop, the 1998 Belmont winner. Frankly, if he came out of the Preakness sound, I would like Ambassdor Mack and trainer extraordinary HG Motion to consider bringing Icabad Crane back. Very nice horse, gentlemen. While this may be a Big Brown Belmont crowning ceremony, as he points to the breeding shed at Three Chimneys (the same stud-rich operation which stands Dynaformer, the sire of Barbaro and one of my favorites, a beautiful gray-roan, Exchange Rate), that does not mean it's a one-horse field, or Casino Drive the only angle of interest.
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Bryce,
Thanks for the rundown. I also had noticed that Casino Drive has relatives with impressive Belmont records.
-- Bill O.