Eventual Big Cap & BC Classic winners 4th and 5th in last years Gr 3 9.5f Skip Away

[Calzone Lord]

I happened to stumble across these two old picture today when I went into my saved photos.

The Florida Derby and Skip Away were run 30 minutes apart last year. The pace in the Fla Derby was over 2 full seconds faster after just a half mile.

This one shows Dialed In getting a dream trip through the 1st turn in the wickedly fast paced Fla Derby.



This one shows how Dialed In (ran his opening half mile in 48.11 while a clear and longway last) would have been loose on the early lead after a half mile in the slow paced Skip Away.




Drosselmeyer, from 9th place, attempted a sweeping wide move on the far turn in the Skip Away -- but couldn't sustain it and finished 5th beaten 6 lengths in the Skip Away.

Ron The Greek, from 11th place, attempted a sweeping wide move late and finished 4th beaten 5 lengths.

S.S. Stone and Colizeo -- the two isolated pace setters in the Skip Away finished 1st and 3rd and were clearly ahead of Drosselmeyer and Ron The Greek.

Meanwhile -- the two horses who survived the hot pace in the Fla Derby to finish 2nd and 3rd were Shackleford and To Honor And Serve ... both of them had a good moment or two later on in the year. Shackleford won the Preakness and To Honor And Serve won the Gr 1 Cigar Mile against his elders last time out.

Meanwhile, Dialed In hasn't had many good moments since winning that collapse in the Fla Derby. He was 8th as the favorite in the Ky Derby. Off the board as the 2nd choice in the Preakness. And he was a bad 4th in his comeback today.

This is all trival stuff. I bet Ron The Greek next chance I could and Hymn Book beat him in a small stake at Belmont. Drosselmeyer won back at a lousy 2/1.

Even though you wouldn't have profited with it unless you hung your hat on it for too long ... the '11 Fla Derby and '11 Skip Away is a textbook example of 'pace makes the race'