The Kentucky Derby dreams have an NHL feel to it to this year as the owner of the Florida Panthers, Vincent Viola, has a rooting interest in his star Always Dreaming. The up and coming youngster was impressive taking the Florida Derby on Saturday at Gulfstream and has solidified his start in the Kentucky Derby on May 6.
Viola’s Kentucky Derby dreams are also embraced the other owners of the colt. He is owned by a number of people including Viola’s long-time friend Anthony Bonomo.
Always Dreaming, under jockey Johnny Velazquez, coasted to a five-length victory in Saturday’s classic with a final time for the nine furlongs in 1:47.47. It was the fastest clocking since Alydar’s winning time in 1978.
Always Dreaming’s style will help him in the Kentucky. On Saturday he stalked the pacesetter Three Rules past fractions of 23.28, 47.08, and 1:10.75 for the first six furlongs. Always Dreaming was steadied between horses on the first turn, kicked and rallied four lengths wide and won with something left in the tank.
Trainer Todd Pletcher has yet another one for the Kentucky Derby dreams file. The trainer was pretty frank after the race, Pletcher: “The horse has been training exceptionally well and we were confident he was going to run as well as he’s capable of, and thank fully he did. I have to be honest with you, he was training so well that I would have been disappointed had he not run well, but that was a very impressive performance. Certainly, that’s why we were here today to hopefully get the points to go on. With two nine-furlong wins and the way he galloped out today, I’m confident he’ll get the trip (of the Kentucky Derby).”
Gunnevera, the even-money favorite in a field of 10, settled well off the pace after breaking from the No. 10 post position. Although Gunnevera, under Javier Castellano, finished with interest, he was just left with too much work to accomplish and settled for third. State of Honor used his positional speed to run second.
Gunnevera is trained by Antonio Sano, who has had an exciting and dangerous career. Trainer Antonio Sano is a legend in his native Venezuela. He is the leading trainer in the history of that country and was known as the “Czar Valencia Hipismo”, which means the King of Valencian horseracing.
He was kidnapped in 2009 and held for 36 days before his wife paid a ransom which freed him. It was the second time he had been kidnapped and for his safety and the safety of his family, he felt he had no choice but to leave.
For his part Sano will be keeping his Kentucky Derby dreams alive, Sano: “Castellano told me the post position was a little problem, but the horse wasn’t comfortable in the beginning. He finished strong but the horses in the front weren’t stopping. This is an important race to win, but it was a good race for the next one.”
Always Dreaming earned a career best 97 Beyer Speed Rating and it stands up well with the other winners of the Florida Derby. He has run well now at four different venues and there is reason to believe he will take to the surface at Churchill Downs.
Last year, Nyquist won the Florida Derby with a 92 Beyer and then took the Kentucky Derby. In 2015 Materiality won the Florida Derby with a 110 Beyer but never won another race.
Always Dreaming is one of three horses to reach 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. State of Honor now has 62 points and Gunnevera has 84. Pletcher now has four runners that are chasing their Kentucky Derby dreams and there is nothing wrong with having numbers on your side.
The bottom line is that Always Dreaming has valid Kentucky Derby dreams and has some big shoes to fill moving forward. Several winners of the Florida Derby have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby. Tim Tam did it in 1958 and four years later Carry Back matched him. Northern Dancer became a legendary sire after pulling off the Florida Derby/Kentucky Derby double.
Spectacular Bid, Swale, Unbridled, Orb, Barbaro and Big Brown also won both of these races. In recent years, tactical speed has been pivotal with the Kentucky Derby in mind and Always Dreaming fits the bill.
