NEWS
Champion Hansen signals readiness for Holy Bull with strong drill
Posted: Sunday, January 22, 2012 3:26 PM
HANSEN (inside) WINING THE BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE (G1)
PhotosByZ.com/Thoroughbred Times
by Mike Curry
Undefeated Hansen, the 2011 champion two-year-old male, moved closer to his 2012 debut with a strong workout on Sunday at Gulfstream Park.
The 2011 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner drilled five furlongs in :59.81 handily for trainer Mike Maker and owners Kendall Hansen, M.D., and Sky Chai Racing. The move, in preparation for a planned start in the $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) on January 29, ranked third of 39 timed moves at the distance
“It was nothing out of character,” Maker said. “He worked just fine.”
Maker said he is pleased with Hansen leading up to his three-year-old bow in the one-mile Holy Bull, which also is expected to lure Fort Loudon, who swept the 2011 Florida Stallion Stakes series; stakes winner My Adonis; and Algorithms and Consortium, the top two finishers in a recent Gulfstream allowance race.
“We’ve had no bumps in the road,” said Maker, whose three-year-old Tapit colt won each of his three races at two in front-running style. “Hopefully, that trend continues.
“It’s no different than a closer, you’re dependent on the pace. You just hope no one makes him go quicker earlier than he has to.”
Hansen won his first two starts by a combined margin of 25 1/2 lengths, including a 13 1/4-length romp in the Bluegrass Cat Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes at Turfway Park last September, before holding off Union Rags by a head in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on November 5 at Churchill Downs in his final start at two.
Bred in Kentucky by Hansen, the gray or roan colt is out of the winning Sir Cat mare Stormy Sunday.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
READER COMMENTS
|
|
|
Posted by: John, Somerset, KY on January 25, 2012 at 10:10 PM
Hansen, Union Rags, and My Miss Aurelia are were all 3 impressive juveniles. But at some point, Hansen's trainer is going to have to modify his running style a little if he's going to be any kind of threat on the Triple Crown trail, IMO. That bolt from the gate and go pillar to post running style can work at a mile or even a 8-1/2f. But once you start stepping up into Derby preps like the Wood, Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby, and such. That extra 1/16 of a mile can make a huge difference as to whether or not your horse gets home or not? And lord forbid if Hansen tries to win the Kentucky Derby at 10f with using that running style? He'll be cooked by the time he hits the top of the stretch at CD if he tries it, IMO?
Report Abuse 
|
|
|
|
|
|
