LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Street Sense snapped the 22-year “Breeders’ Cup jinx” winning Saturday’s 133rd Kentucky Derby, and was the first since 1983 (and second since 1947) to win off just two preps as a 3-year-old.
But he did uphold one Derby tradition that many others were trying to buck this year: at least one sharp workout at Churchill Downs.
Street Sense’s dope showed four drills at Churchill, including bullet five-furlong works of 58.2 and 59 seconds.
In fact, each of the first five Derby finishers had their final workouts over the Churchill strip. Most noteworthy was runner-up Hard Spun’s 57.3, the fastest pre-Derby work since General Assembly went 57.2 in 1979, then ran second to Spectacular Bid – the last 2-year-old champion before Street Sense to win the Derby.
Other recent Derby winners with bullet works at Churchill were War Emblem (59.3), Smarty Jones (58) and Barbaro (four furlongs in 46).
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Trainer Barclay Tagg said Wood Memorial winner Nobiz Like Shobiz, who never ran a bad race in his life, came back tired but otherwise OK after finishing 10th. The Biz had a dream trip under Cornelio Velasquez, made a menacing run on the far turn, but then backed up down the lane to finish 15 lengths behind Street Sense.
“I don’t think he handled the track,” Tagg said. “Or maybe he doesn’t want to go that far, but it’s too soon to say off just one race.”
Nobiz Like Shobiz won’t run in the Preakness. He could shorten up in his next start, or stretch out to a mile-and-a-half for the Belmont Stakes, where he broke his maiden last September by 103/4 lengths.
Another top colt that threw in a bafflingly bad effort was 7-1 third choice Scat Daddy, winner of the Sanford, Champagne, Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby, who trailed home 18th.
Street Sense and Hard Spun, who spread-eagled what was regarded as a closely matched field, were the only two horses that raced on the rail almost the entire trip.