THE REBEL....post your picks here

Just 7 horses, but WOW, a real race shaping up with a lot of variables. Get you capping caps on boys......

I am about to punt. I am having a very difficult time separating Lucky, Dublin, Noble’s Promise and Uh Oh Bango….and I see some potential good in the other three, as well.

Let’s go down the line:

#1 Cardiff Giant…it would be very easy to dismiss him, but if Dublin doesn’t come flying from West Memphis at the end of the SW, he’d be pretty close to Conveyance.  He can handle the dirt, and he’s 11/2-5-32 lifetime. Having said this, I believe the horse is destined to a career as a steady earner, but he might be a hair or two short of this bunch. Nonetheless, he is very capable of a big piece.

#2 Lookin’ at Lucky….and I want to put a Milwaukee tool up my nose figuring out this guy. First time on the dirt. First time he’s shipping. First time blinks. Baffet babbled about this race being an “experiment”, but as my good friend KURSH points out, Bob loves to Babble. He said similar things about Colonel John when he was a 3-year old and everyone thought the trainer was nuts for sending him East on the dirt. The distance is his and if he doesn’t get bumped in the BC Juve, he’s undefeated.  Make no mistake that this is a great horse and I think he can run anywhere on any surface out of SMART STRIKE, so I will choose to throw out the Baffert Blarney and will play accordingly.

#3 Royal Express…respect any horse out of Royal Academy, but I believe he is headed to the turf at some point. And this race is his one shot at glory. Another one that with racing luck could be there, and with a trainer who knows the tricks.  Compton is a bush-leaguer, but helped to  get him here, so that counts for something. Maybe a piece, but I’d feel better if Spanky would have brought Graham up from NOLA to ride.

more to come.....

#4 Uh Oh Bango….I just love this horse as he is a real hard-knocker who will get better, if he stays healthy. Five career races and 5 ITM (5/2-3-0), and he’s done it at FOUR different tracks.  Big-balls trainer isn’t afraid of anything, and Bango  will handle the surface easily as every one of his races has been on dirt. Keep this in mind….many of us, including me, are all over RULE so far. It was a pencil neck that separated BANGO form beating Rule in the Jackpot. He will figure with crafty vet Corbett handling the chores.

#5 Pleasant Storm….He took a box seat to watch the SW finishing a non-pulsed 7^th, but he is a dirt-boy and gets Jon Court, a big difference. Out of Pleasant Tap, he is game, although he is going to really need to get it going early and stay interested.

#6 Noble’s Promise….A $10K Keeneland purchase out of Cuvee, his work coming in and his one race on the grass tell me that he isn’t afraid of moving off the poly. On paper, you’d think that maybe he doesn’t belong, but think again. This is a Funnycide sort of guy who could very well win this one and end up in the Derby.  He’s raced “right-there” with Lucky and VOY finishing the Cash Call with a flurry, and will be closing like a monster. Robbie knows every inch of this track and McPeek is one of the better trainers of young horses. He figures.

#7 Dublin….Could this be D. Wayne’s final shot at the Derby with a LEGIT candidate? He has done a great job with this guy, who might be close to undefeated had he not run into trouble in every race he’s been in.  No one has made a bigger move to close Dublin in the SW. IT was breath-taking. Arguably, his dad, Afleet Alex, should have been a Triple Crown winner, and this guy could help vindicate. On concern….his work has been just incredible, so backers need to be careful that he didn’t leave it on the track in the morning. Nakatani , 24% wins at Oak Lawn, gets the mount for Lukas, so let’s see what happens.

My Picks:  I HATE picking chalk, but I think Lucky is all the best here, so I will play him to win.  I will play against Dublin’s racing trouble, and Noble Promises late kick to catch up, and Bango’s bit of a lack of back class.

#2 LOOKIN’ At LUCKY to WIN

$20 EX KEY: 2/6,7

$10 EX KEY: 2/4

$4 tri whl: 2/4,6,7/1,4,6,7

$2 tri whl: 2,6/2,4,6,7/1,2,4,6,7

GL TO ALL!

MYKE....make sure you have a beer for me and a great time!

Only way to go (no big pay day)

1st #2 Lookin at Lucky

2nd #7 Dublin

3rd #4 Uh Oh Bango

Big Truck was a good one...a bit of a lumberer, but a good one.

UL-Laf...thanks for the kind words. I miss the "ol' man'.

2-6-7-4 finish

LUCKY now the Derby fave?

Thanks for the kind words, boys. I have to give Baffert credit for sending the horse to ARK and not "hiding" him in CA.

Can't wait to see RULE and Esky next.