After two days of
pouring rain in Kentucky, I had the pleasure of going to Keeneland for Blue Grass Stakes Day on April 4. The sun had come out and the track had dried up enough to be
labeled fast. Five of the day’s races were stakes, each of them graded.
While there were plenty of
good races with several good horses, the spotlight of the day was the
Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI).
Carpe Diem went off as
the 2-5 favorite in this Derby prep race, and he certainly did deliver. The chestnut
colt broke from gate 5 and set right off the pace of early leader, Ocho Ocho
Ocho, who set fractions of :24.15, :48.05, and 1:12.18. Carpe Diem looked like
he wanted to go in front on the back stretch, racing nose to nose with Ocho
Ocho Ocho, before his jockey, John Velazquez, set him back.
As the field turned for
home and the crowd’s volume rose, Carpe Diem raced to the lead. He pulled away
and won the mile and an eighth by three lengths with a time of 1:49.77. Danzig
Moon rallied for second, with Ocho Ocho Ocho two and half lengths behind in
third.
The son of Giant’s
Causeway and Rebridled Dreams (by Unbridled’s Song) gained 100 points on the
road to the Kentucky Derby, where he will make his next appearance for owners
WinStar Farm and Stonestreet Stables. He now has 164 points and sits in third
on the leaderboard, right between Dortmund and American Pharoah, who appear to
be his biggest competition. Under the direction of Todd Pletcher, Carpe Diem
will meet these two for the first time on May 2 when the gates open up at Churchill
Downs.
Though there are other
great colts heading into the run for the roses, Carpe Diem has something about
him that just exuberates class. Maybe it’s the handsome build, the look in his
eye, the arched neck, or the way he moves. This strong colt may have tough
competition coming up, but he is in a class all of his own. It is of no coincidence
that this colt received the name he did.
Carpe Diem – seize the
day.
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