> How good is the winner of this years Kentucky Derby we did not hear much of
> it once the Godolphin/Frankie Dettori horse was withdrawn.
>
>
> Look forward to hearing from you soon
>
> Steve

Hi Steve,

I think Monarchos is a nice horse -- it wasn't a fluke win. He had already
won the Florida Derby earlier this year against good company and would
probably have been bet down more at Churchill Downs if he hadn't lost his
last start before the Kentucky Derby. Also, his trainer was criticized
before the race, and some people thought the horse might not be 100%,
because he had no workouts the week before the Derby. Now it seems the
trainer knew what he was doing <g>.

It's great news for his sire, Maria's Mon, who was a very good horse at a
mile or at nine furlongs. Monarchos is from his first crop of foals -- nice
to have a Kentucky Derby winner in your first crop! It was a good win for
smaller breeders, too. The breeder was lucky and had purchased the
broodmare (very well bred) for just $13,000. The stud fee for Maria's Mon
was only $7,500 at the time. So, in this case a Derby winner was bred for a
little over $20,000: pretty modest compared to most "classic" breedings.
It was a very smart breeding from a pedigree point of view.

Point Given was the favorite for the Derby, but he's a monster-sized horse,
over 17 hands and very muscled and filled out for a young three year old.
His jockey has made some comments that the track compromised his horse's
chances. I don't know if I buy that, but it's true the track was raked thin
and was super hard (dirt, of course) that day. There were two or three
track records set earlier in the day on the same card. I guess an extra
hard track could hurt a very large horse, but Monarchos is no shrimp. I
think he also stands about 17 hands, though he's lighter than Point Given.

The Preakness looks to be wide open at this point. The best horses from the
Derby will be back, and two or three new speed horses are also expected.
Totally different track in every way. Sharp turns may hurt the bigger
horses. Congaree may do well. He ran a good third in the Kentucky Derby,
but the shorter distance of the Preakness may be just what he likes. Arazi
is his sire.

Carlotta Cooper