72ND ARKANSAS DERBY : Bulky field, slim pickings
Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2008
HOT SPRINGS — The morning after the $ 300, 000 Grade II Rebel Stakes March 15 at Oaklawn Park, a reporter reminded Jerry Hissam that he seemed to be back at square one in the chase for a second consecutive Kentucky Derby victory.
Hissam, the longtime agent for jockey Calvin Borel, acknowledged the position, then added it was potentially a good place to be. Now, we know why. After a roller-coaster three months, Borel is reunited with Dogwood Stable’s Blackberry Road in today’s $ 1 million Grade II Arkansas Derby, which highlights Oaklawn’s closing-day program. Post time for the 72 nd Arkansas Derby is scheduled
1 for 5: 44 p. m. The 1 / 8-mile race will be televised live nationally by ESPN. Again this year, the Arkansas Derby is linked in the Premier Pick-4 with the $ 75, 000 Instant Racing Stakes and Keeneland’s $ 750, 000 Grade I Blue Grass Stakes and $ 400, 000 Grade II Commonwealth Stakes.
A full field of 14 is entered in the Arkansas Derby, which, unlike the past few years, lacks a nationally prominent name on the Triple Crown trail.
A year ago, Borel, a twotime Oaklawn jockey champion, and Hissam were locked into a champion in Street Sense, who won the 133 rd Run for the Roses
1 by 2 / 4 lengths over Hard Spun. But it’s been a bumpy and, at times, peculiar ride this year. “Getting back to this point has been interesting,” Hissam said. Borel and Hissam began 2008 juggling three promising prospects —Turf War, Denis of Cork and Blackberry Road — but eventually lost them all after one misstep and one hole didn’t open up in a race. Given a choice of riding Turf War or Denis of Cork in the $ 250, 000 Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 18 at Oaklawn, Borel went the wrong way. Turf War finished a well-beaten ninth as the 2-1 favorite, while Borel’s close friend, jockey Robby Albarado, won the race on Denis of Cork. “It was crushing blow that day with Denis of Cork,” said Hissam, a Hot Springs resident who has represented Borel since 1991. “I made the wrong decision. It was a coin flip between the two horses.” Aboard Blackberry Road in the $ 300, 000 Grade III Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 9 at Fair Grounds, Borel, in his trademark style, saved ground throughout but couldn’t find clear running room in the
1 stretch and was beaten 3 / 2 lengths by Pyro.
Borel subsequently was replaced by Albarado when Blackberry Road made his next start in the $ 600, 000 Grade II Louisiana Derby on March 8 at Fair Grounds.
Now in somewhat of a scramble mode, Hissam said there was never any discussion about riding back Turf War, who flopped again in the $ 500, 000 Grade II Lane’s End Stakes on March 22 at Turfway Park.
Hissam said Borel could have ridden Anak Nakal for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito in the Rebel, but the jockey landed on long shot Sacred Journey, who ran off to a long lead in the Southwest before tiring to finish in a deadheat for third.
Sacred Journey finished last in the Rebel.
Back to square one. In this case, back to Blackberry Road.
“Top-class rider,” said David Carroll, who trains Blackberry Road and Denis of Cork. “This is Calvin’s home track. He knows this track inside and out. It’s my job to bring the horse up the race the best possible way. I feel that I have done that.
“ We’ll give him a leg up, wish him luck, and hope for the best.”
Blackberry Road, a half-brother to champion Vindication by the sire Gone West, has teased his connections throughout a ninerace career that has produced just one victory, but strong efforts in graded stakes company.
Borel has ridden Blackberry Road four times and worked hard to get the colt to relax off the pace and finish strong.
Then came the Risen Star. Then came the Louisiana Derby, where Blackberry Road was surprisingly near the lead.
“If I see him as close to the front going into the first turn [today ], I’m going home,” Carroll jokingly said. “I don’t know what that was about. I think Robby wanted to get a clean trip. But I’m not blaming him at all.”
Carroll said it was strictly his decision to replace Borel for the Louisiana Derby, pointing to frustration over a couple of bad trips, especially the Risen Star.
But Carroll added there were no hard feelings. Ditto for when Borel chose Turf War over Denis of Cork for the Southwest.
“I think when you take care of things professionally, there’s no repercussions,” Carroll said. “We were just looking to make a change. We’d all gotten a little frustrated with a couple of the trips we had. Hopefully, it will be a happy ending.”
Hissam said two days after Blackberry Road ran fourth behind Pyro in the Louisiana Derby, Carroll asked if Borel would be interested in riding the colt again.
The only catch was Blackberry Road’s next start would be in the $ 500, 000 Grade II Illinois Derby on April 5 at Hawthorne.
Hissam said Borel was already committed to ride Kettleoneup and Jonesboro in the $ 500, 000 Grade I Apple Blossom Handicap and $ 500, 000 Grade II Oaklawn Handicap, respectively, the same day in Hot Springs.
“I had a million dollars worth of races here, but I told David, ‘Let me plant a seed in you,’” Hissam said. “I told him the Arkansas Derby was the same distance as the Illinois Derby … the bottom line is you’re running for $ 1 million instead of $ 500, 000.”
Borel said Carroll called about 1 2 / 2 hours later and said the Arkansas Derby was “under high consideration.”
“But I wasn’t moving [commit ] until I found out he was coming,” Hissam said.
On March 25, Dogwood President Cot Campbell announced Blackberry Road would run in the Arkansas Derby.
Carroll said the Arkansas Derby became a good fit because Blackberry Road came out of the Louisiana Derby tired physically and the additional week between races will serve him well.
Blackberry Road, who is 8-1 in the program, is scheduled to break from post 8, a spot Carroll prefers because the major speed horses appear to be inside.
“Ideally, he likes to be farther back,” Carroll said. “He’s got a really good turn of foot and Calvin knows him well. Hopefully, when it comes time to run he’ll have somewhere to go.”
Hissam said he believes Blackberry Road must finish at least fourth to earn enough graded stakes money to be among the 20 horses expected to run in the Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs.
“If not,” he said, “I guess we’ll be shopping again.”
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