Identifying 2012 Kentucky Derby Contenders

The 138h Kentucky Derby is set to be run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, May 5, 2012, with a post time of 6:24 EDT.

The Derby prep schedule is well underway, and the big question is, of course, who are the best 2012 Kentucky Derby contenders? One thing people do when trying to answer such a question is to check out the list of graded stakes earnings to date by horses that are eligible for the 2012 Kentucky Derby. By that measurement, there are several top candidates, headed by the impressive young colt Hansen, trained by Michael Maker. Boasting an impressive record of 3 wins and 1 second in 4 career starts, this horse is a frontrunner that has shown the ability to run, and win, on synthetic turf and dirt. After breaking his maiden at Turfway Park in a 5 ½ furlong jaun on September 9, 2011, he then moved on to the Kentucky Cup Juvenile. A sign that his trainer, Maker, considered Hansen a horse of true quality, the Kentucky Cup Juvenile is a big step up distance wise at 1 1/16 miles. In his second effort on synthetic turf, he won easily. His third and final effort of his juvenile campaign was the prestigious Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, which was also his first effort on a natural dirt track. In a possible harbinger of things to come, Hansen won easily under a hand ride from R. Dominguez in a speedy but not overworked time of 1:44 â. His solid 2-year-old campaign earned Hansen a well deserved Eclipse Award as Champion 2-year-old colt.

Maker has decided on a light Kentucky Derby prep load for his colt during his 3-year-old year. His debut was at Gulfstream Park in the mile long Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida. He finished second behind Algorithms. However, it was that victory that secured Hansen’s top spot among Derby eligible graded stakes winnings. Maker’s plan is to have Hansen, who is fully healthy by all accounts, race in the Grade III Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 3, 2012, and then take a two month layoff, but with sharp workouts, leading up to the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012. Hansen is a frontrunner, and although it’s been done a few times, winning the Kentucky Derby wire-to-wire, or close to that, is extremely difficult. Most Kentucky Derbys are won by stalkers that establish solid position when they reach the first turn, in 5th or 6th place, perhaps 7 or 8 lengths behind the leader at the most.
Is Hansen a frontrunner that can capture the Run for the Roses? Well, one thing in Hansen’s favor is that he has already run on, and won, at Churchill Downs in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, so he has actually shown that he likes the dirt track in Louisville. Perhaps this is one frontrunner that can go the distance in the Derby, and then take a shot at becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.