RG - Great for them! cc - Frac Daddy? Well, he might get to the Derby but he needs Borel or someone better with the big ones! That foul claim was bogus.
War Academy was nfg before the race - washy, backed out of gate - I didn't think he belonged in the race but I hope, after pulling up about halfway, the horse is OK.
Overanalyze pulls away for Pletcher
By Marcus Hersh
Rebounding from a disappointing 3-year-old debut, when he finished fifth as the favorite in the March 2 Gotham Stakes, Overanalyze bounced back into the Kentucky Derby picture with a dominant win in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
With Rafael Bejarano riding for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole, Overanalyze rated in fourth as Falling Sky set splits of 23.32, 47.64, and 1:12.57 to the top of the stretch, moving four or five paths wide to challenge for the lead with about three-sixteenths of a mile left to run. Overanalyze briefly and slightly came over on Frac Daddy - leading to a quickly disallowed trainer’s objection following the posted result - before leveling off and finishing with good energy, coming home about 4 1/2 lengths in front of Frac Daddy. Carve, a $30,000 maiden-claimer earlier this year, finished third, with Falling Sky hanging on for fourth.
War Academy, the Bob Baffert-trained 9-5 favorite, was pulled up at about the half-mile pole after stalking the leaders. War Academy was briefly backed out of his starting stall just before the running of the race before being reloaded. Baffert’s second starter, Den’s Legacy, was in contention at the top of the stretch but had no closing punch. Oxbow, the second choice, also was a disappointment, failing to show his customary speed and tiring late after making a move into the stretch.
Overanalyze was one of the better North American 2-year-olds of 2012, winning the Grade 2 Futurity and the Grade 2 Remsen in New York. His flat fifth in the Gotham apparently moved Overanalyze’s form significantly forward, though his winning time of 1:51.94 seconds for 1 1/8 miles on a fast track producing decent times throughout the card was the slowest winning Arkansas Derby time since 1978.
The Arkansas Derby result reversed, in terms of trainers, the finish of the Grade 1 Blue Grass about an hour earlier, where the Ken McPeek-trained Java’s War bested the Pletcher-trained Palace Malice. Overanalyze earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points for his win, and is likely to give Pletcher four runners in the Derby. Frac Daddy, who had performed poorly in his two previous starts this year, earned 40 Derby qualifying points and might also have enough points to make the Derby field.
www.drf.com/news/arkansas-derby-overanalyze-pulls-away-pletcher
Coady Photography
Overanalyze Makes Arkansas Derby Look Simple
By Jack Shinar
Photo: Coady PhotographyOveranalyze rolls home to win the Arkansas Derby.Overanalyze, rebounding from a lackluster seasonal debut, overpowered his rivals in the drive to easily win the $1 million Arkansas Derby (gr. I) and stamp his ticket for this year's Run for the Roses (VIDEO).
Rafael Bejarano brought the son of Dixie Union from well off the pace to score handily by 4 1/4 lengths at 7-2 odds for Repole Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher. The Arkansas Derby, the last major prep race for the 2013 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), was worth 100 points to the winner. It guaranteed Overanalyze a starting spot in the 20-horse starting gate May 3.
Frac Daddy garnered 40 points for finishing second and also appears to be headed for Lousville. Unheralded Carve finished third, with pacesetter Falling Sky weakening to fourth in deep stretch. That left the Sam F. Davis (gr. III) winner with 30 points and on the bubble for the Derby.
Overanalyze was considered a top Derby candidate after a 2-year-old campaign that included wins in the Futurity Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont Park and the Remsen Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueduct Racetrack. In his only start since the Nov. 24 Remsen, which he won by a nose over Normandy Invasion, he ran a non-threatening fifth in the Gotham Stakes (gr. II) last month at Aqueduct.
The final time for the Arkansas Derby, a 1 1/8-mile test of 3-year-olds, was 1:51.94 on a fast track.
War Academy, the 9-5 favorite in the field of 10, was backed out of the starting gate when he was unruly before being reloaded. The son of Giant's Causeway , attempting to give trainer Bob Baffert, a second straight Arkansas Derby win following Bodemeister last year, never appeared comfortable while chasing the early pace. He was pulled up gradually after a half mile and walked off the track.
Baffert's second entrant, Den's Legacy, finished sixth.
The winner was a $380,000 Keeneland September sale yearling in 2011 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. He was bred in Kentucky by Gerald Ford’s Diamond A Racing out of the unraced Unaccounted For mare Unacloud. Overanalyze is a half bother to Belmont Matron Stakes (gr. II) winner Meadow Breeze, a daughter of Meadowlake.
Overanalyze raced seventh early as Falling Sky, challenged on the inside by 60-1 Divine Ambition, took a narrow advantage while racing off the rail after the opening quarter mile. the two leaders carved moderate splits of :23.32, 47.64, and 1:12.57.
Den's Legacy, getting through between horses as Divine Ambition faded on the final turn, and Frac Daddy on the outside, were the biggest threats as Falling Sky maintained a narow edge in upper stretch. But Overanalyze, still seventh while five wide rounding the bend, was put to a drive by Bejarano. The big colt responded impressively on the grandstand side to overtake the leaders a furlong out. He went on to win easily while drifting in after getting clear under steady handling.
Frac Daddy, ridden by Victor Lebron for trainer Ken McPeek, outlasted the rest of a tired lot to finish second, a half-length better than Carve. Frac Daddy rebounded from two subpar efforts at Gulfstream Park this season, including a distant seventh in the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I) March 30.
Lebron claimed foul against Bejarano for interference past mid-stretch, but stewards disallowed it.
Carve, meanwhile, showed vast improvement in his fourth start for trainer Steve Asmussen, including a sixth-place showing in Oaklawn's Rebel Stakes (gr. II) March 16.
Falling Sky was followed by Rebel runner-up Oxbow, the 3-1 second choice who lacked much punch in the stretch. Then came Den's Legacy, who faded after making a bold advance, Divine Ambition, Texas Bling, Heaven's Runway, and War Academy.
Overanalyze posted his fourth win from seven tries and boosted his earnings to $956,381 with the winner's share of $600,000.
The winner carried 122 pounds and paid $9.40, $5.60, and $4.60, keying a $195.40 exacta with Frac Daddy, who returned $16.80 and $11 as a 23-1 shot. Carve, off at 22-1, was $8.60 to show.
Read more on BloodHorse.com:
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