Storm in May
 

Anyone have any input on him? I watched the Ark Derby. I was kinda diggin the comeback run to get 2nd. The earnings are there. Maybe a fat exotics crasher? I dunno, been kinda out of the game for a bit. Any input would be :cool: .

Oh, and I'm a sucker for tha greys!

Brianwspencer loves him. I've heard nothing but Storm in May this and Storm in May that... he doesn't like him to win the whole thing though, but Brian has been talking about this horse since January. We have a little side wager on which horse finishes first in the Derby: Scat Daddy or Storm in May.

If they make the mistake of going in the Derby he is probably a reasonably strong favorite for last. Even Cowtown Cat towers over him....and that's saying a lot.

Yeah, I figured our bet was definitely in my favor. Neither one of us thought Storm in May would actually make it in the gate. But alas... there you go.

Cool, I like Scat Dizzle too. I'm thinking outside the box this year. Double digit odds win this year. Curlin looked real strong winning, but the time was not all that.

Well, It really doesn't take a superstar to hit the board here. All you really will need is a good trip, decent position, and pass a bunch of tired horses in the end.

Great article on him in DRF online: http://www.drf.com/news/article/84099.html

Who knew Storm in May was blind in his right eye? :confused: :eek: Interesting fact...

Pollard's Vision was blind in the right eye as well... interesting. I didn't know that about Storm in May.

He is the Red Pollard of 2007.

You can go to the window right now, Jamie...that's a winner! :)

Hey! Thanks Derbycat! I am definatley making a senitmental bet on him if he runs. My Dad Lost sight in his eye last December after a cornea transplant. He got a bacterial infection that got into the retina. It has not changed his outlook on life one bit. He is my hero. Huh, blind in the right eye? May not notice the 130,000 fans? Karma?

Tiger Ridge's will be few and far between in the future unless you wanna ship your mare to South Africa

1.) Don't worry for me on the Storm in May/Scat Daddy wager. I know I've lost already, luckily the as yet undetermined stakes will be small. It was tossed around some time ago before Storm in May looked like he would actually get into the Derby.

2.) I don't think he's got a shot to win, not at all. I'm not pipe dreaming about the horse and won't have him on just about any tickets short of a couple of cheap supers keying him in fourth. I'm not being unrealistic about his chances in here, and neither is Kaplan luckily given his quote in the DRF article.

I really just love this horse's versatility and the fact that he's run well enough at so many distances on both surfaces. He's my sentimental choice for a good run on Derby Day.

And Andy, I would respectfully disagree that he is a good candidate to finish last. With his style and the way he finishes his races (evenly, at worst), there will certainly be a horse, if not more than a few who will be stopping. He's shown a propensity to at least finish his races acceptably enough even if he isn't flashy. He's consistent, and when you think about the Beyer that the last place finisher in the Derby usually earns, I don't see how a horse with his running style could not pass any stragglers, if not a few more depending on the race shape.

Brian
 

Obviously without seeing all the pps together it is hard to have a serious opinion, but it is hard to believe he will beat, at most, three horses. He isn't very good and he is severly distance challenged, especially on the dirt.

The problem with this is that he's got to look at the folks in the infield :eek:

I like this horses heart, too... of course I like Stormello's heart and drive as well... I hope they both do well (or at least better than Pletcher's horses ;) )

maybe drunks are what spur him on...

Pollard's Vision was one of the calmest, nicest horses I've ever seen. At Saratoga the groom would tie him to a post and let him graze by himself, not typical of most high strung t-breds... He wore this contact lens type thing over his blind eye, a decent talent but ran with a ton of heart. Hard not to like.

His new foals look very nice too.

And when he ran down the stretch he cocked his head to the side in a way that made Easy Goer squel in delight!

I don't know what type of runner he'll get, quite honestly I was surprised he's standing in Ky, but like I said before he's easy to root for.

Well in being realistic, I'm expecting a finish about five or six from the back.

Don't get me wrong, I am really trying to be realistic about this one's chances. I've never said he has a shot at the top spot, and really will only play a few cheap supers with him at the bottom.

I wouldn't call him "severely distance challenged," though, as in his route races, while he doesn't close strongly, he is rarely passed. He doesn't keep going after making his move, but he runs evenly. Thus, I find that his running evenly at the end of the Derby will allow him to pass more than a couple.

Not that my opinion matters in the grand scheme of things, but I have been following Storm in May’s progress since he ran in the Tropical Derby on January 1, and I think has as good a shot as any of the horses. He has run four more races since then, and only tanked once in all five (the Hutchenson). He hit the board on the other four races he ran this year. And if he runs, he would be the token gray, which would make me happy. Besides, it really doesn’t matter who wins, it is an honor to be nominated. :)

Of course I love the horse, but I just think he's too slow to legitimately compete for the top spots. I love that he's consistent though like you noted the Hutcheson was his only tankjob, and that was with a bit of an excuse on the turn as well.

As for me, I'm a Derby post position believer. The over-all percentages of the last 132 Derbys are high for post positions 1 through 5, 8 and 10. I'll be pondering my exotics after the post position draw. Or, I might just do what I did for Derby 131, and bet two bucks across the board on all. Giacomo and Closing Argument helped me win back all my money and then some. All in all, it should be a fun day at Trackside Arlington.

Have you been up there on derby day? Its a madhouse and you have all these clueless people wandering around chattering and cluttering up the teller windows and tote machines while they take 20 minutes each to make their wagers.

Yes, I have been there on Derby Day, for 131, although I was in the banquet room across the hall, which was just as much of a madhouse. But after going to CD last year for 132, I prefer the madhouse of Trackside. This year, I'm in the restaurant part of Trackside, and usually get there at opening, make all my bets right away (former accountant, does spreadsheets), and then sit with a nice cup or two of coffee until noon, when the alcohol begins. I decide how I am going to bet long before I even get there.:)

Well it sounds like you've got a good system that works. I definitely would advise against anyone waiting to handicap the derby day card until they're at the track!:)

Used to go up there quite a bit, I live real close, but not very often anymore.
I prefer playing at home. Fewer distractions and no smoke.

I prefer Trackside to Lucky Magees at Golf Mill, which reeks of cigar smoke, and feels like a warehouse. I prefer the ambience of Trackside.

When I go to for a "Saturday at the races", which isn't often anymore (lack of funds), I usually do my final handicapping from Equibase downloads on the Thursday and Friday evenings before. For the Derby, I chart the results of all races starting on January 1, and follow the races on Youbet. I don't bet online, can't afford it, but it's fun to watch the races at home, with the sounds of laundry washing in the distance. Anyway, by the time Derby week rolls around, I have already decided how I am going to bet, and I just wait to hear post positions. For the most part when I lose, my loss percentage is between 20 and 25% for the whole day. I'm still working off a really good credit voucher I ended up with on Breeder's Cup Day.:)

Can you explain what happened to him in ARk Derby where he dropped back from like 2nd to 7th or something on the backstretch? I think that was him. What was that all about?

Beats me completely. I'd wonder about it, and I was worried about it watching the race.

When he runs on dirt, he tends to run from off the pace, and on the turf he has of late been running up on the pace or very near it. You're right though, he broke in the top flight and then dropped well off the pace -- which in the end probably served him well once it all panned out. Who knows though....

I thought you were going to say that they deliberately took him back but now..?

The race sure had its share of problems or weirdness attending to it. 3 horses got bumped owing to Strorm in May at the start, although Oficer Rocket comes from behind he seemed to never recover from that. The "slew" horse got blocked in the stretch. Storm in May is going backwards in the backtretch hard to figure then how good Curlin really is.

I thought he showed a lack of quit doing that. He laid back, saved ground and made headway dts. He does that Derby Day and who knows? How many times have we seen a horse pass others to crash the board. I think an 8-10 show pay would be clutch.

I'm so torn about him, because I honestly think he's just too slow to be a factor in the Derby. On the other hand, the Derby is such a mind**** of a horse race and things happen that don't make sense. In that sense, his style and his unwillingness to quit makes him attractive to me. He doesn't mess around like some horses, seems to really have a total of zero race-affecting bad habits, etc. He's the kind of horse I love in a race like the Derby, I just wish he was the slightest bit faster on paper. :D

B Dub, paper schmaper! He was fast enough to make almost a half a mil so far. Be honest, I'm not feelin any super knockout horses in this mix. Curlin destroyed the field by 10. But yet he was 4 seconds or so off the track record. Not super fat for real.

I'm not saying that he can't factor in with the right trip/pace etc. But the fact remains that he has never once run a race good enough to win this, and has run only one (a 6f sprint at that) that was good enough to crash the superfecta if the race is run in a subpar fashion.

Don't get me wrong, he's without a doubt my sentimental choice (ask Jamie about my text messages of "take a picture of him for me!") everytime she was going to Gulfstream. I just don't think that when real money comes on the line, that he's worth for than a few sentimental dollars.

Yeah, same here. I'm proly putting a few bucks to show. I may just put 2 to win for the hell of it. :cool:

They don't serve alcohol til after noon? Philistines. ;)

I can already tell you Storm in May will be my mom's horse since he's grey. My dad's got an interesting method to pick horses at home. He only ever watches the TC races and picks the winner in the post parade 90% of the time. The other time he'll end up picking an 8th placer or something but rarely does he miss eyeballing the horse that looks the best to him and ending up with the Derby winner. Pity the man doesn't gamble. It's like that Deal or No Deal model with an IQ of 158 or something, kind of strange she doesn't use her Mensa-ness for some higher purpose. I should market him as a wagering gimmick on eBay. You can take him with you to a paddock and it'll be like money in the Paypal account.

Oh, they serve alcohol before noon. I need coffee first, beats me why. Old age, I guess :)

A mix of both sets the day up perfectly :)

Bloody at 10:00 a.m. is the proper way to start a Derby morning.