Kentucky Derby Sleepers

Over the past two weeks DRF.com has given you two “sleepers” for the Kentucky Derby, but the two horses they have given out are really not sleepers at all.  One of them was El Padrino, who the week before ran a beyer speed figure of 100 and is at the top of our Derby list.  The other was Bodemeister, who the week before ran a beyer speed figure of 99 and is also on our top 20.  So here are three TRUE sleepers that our not on our list but we still think could make a big impact on the Derby.

1. Blingo – With just two races under his belt, I’m taking a risk putting him as my number one sleeper, but trainer John Sherriffs seems to have a lot of confidence in this one.  Blingo broke his maiden at a mile on the turf at Hollywood Park.  He then raced in the Grade one CashCall Futurity in his other start, where he finished 6th.  His owners are the same owners as Zenyatta’s; Jerry and Ann Moss, and also like Zenyatta, Mike Smith is the rider.  Wouldn’t it be great karma for the Mosses and Sherriffs to have a horse win the roses on the first Saturday in May?  With this horses distance pedigree it is possible.

2. Shared Property – This horse probably would have won the LeComte Stakes with a better trip; as he had to race very wide into both turns.  He looks like a horse that can get the Derby distance withouth much problem.  I love his trainer Tom Amoss, and I’m very confident he’ll have him peaking come Derby time.  To me this is a horse that has matured a lot from age two to three, and his upside is hard to ignore.

3. Optimizer – I’ve been called a “Lukas Lover” before, and you can go ahead and accuse me of that again if you want.  I just think this horse is going to be a true mile and one-quarter type horse.  His poor effort in the Smarty Jones had no negative effect on me, and another poor performance in the Southwest won’t bother me either.  Optimizer is working bullets at Oaklawn, and when the Rebel and Arkansas Derby comes around, he’s going to be a player.