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My Kentucky Derby choice already decided

Mon 12th, January 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Here we are less than four months until the horses break from the starting gate for the 135th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. None of us know for certain which 20 three-year-old thoroughbreds will be loaded into the gate for the 1 1/4 mile test.

However, as of January 10 I decided on my selection for the Run for the Roses. This past Saturday at the Fair Grounds trainer Larry Jones set an early standard for this year's crop of Derby hopefuls.

In the one-mile $100,000 Lecomte Stakes Jones' Friesan Fire toyed with seven other sophomores on his way to a 1 1/2 length win. The colt easily put away the competition with a lot left in the tank. The time for the mile was 1:37.67

"When we watched the replay we realized that he absolutely dragged Gabe (jockey Saez) to the lead," noted Jones' wife Cindy. "The horse did all that basically on his own. We wanted the jock to get him in behind horses for the experience, but putting blinkers on him has made him a lot more competitive. Like a lot of A. P. Indys, he has that 'want to' quality about his running."

I admit there is a certain amount of prejudice involved with this early pick. Jones and the colt's co-owner Rick Porter were the connections of Hard Spun, the 2007 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up. Hard Spun was the fourth consecutive Kentucky Derby starter who hailed from the Philadelphia region.

Friesan Fire has won two of his five starts, picking up his first stakes victory in the Lecomte. He was third as a two-year-old in the Belmont Futurity and fourth in the Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct. He closed 2008 with a second in an allowance race at the Fair Grounds.

Jones and Porter also have Old Fashioned in the barn. The undefeated colt is considered better than Friesan Fire, but my choice is final. Well final unless I change my mind.

I don't remember ever making a decision this early regarding my choice for the Kentucky Derby. There a lot of prep races still to be run before the first Saturday in May.

Late last year Larry Jones announced that 2009 will probably be his last as an active thoroughbred trainer. Over the last couple of years he has established himself as an excellent conditioner on a national level. Maybe having such a formidable stable will keep Jones active on the thoroughbred circuit.