Super Six Derby Pix

There was a whole lot of shuffling to the Super Six Derby Pix after the last weekend with multiple Kentucky Derby trials run from coast to coast. The top spot remained unchanged, but behind that, it was almost chaos. Here is Week 3 of the Super Six Derby Pix:

#1- Lookin At Lucky- He's got to run sometime soon, doesn't he? The DRF Derby Watch this week listed his next probable race as the San Felipe at Santa Anita on March 13. I had been under the impression that Bob Baffert was going to ship him out of Southern California to get some races in on actual dirt, as opposed to synthetics, but it appears that impression was wrong.

#2- Eskendereya- He absolutely demolished the deepest field in any of those multiple preps I mentioned earlier. He won the Grade 2 Fountain Of Youth by 8 1/2 lengths over a field that included Remsen winner, Buddy's Saint, and Zito's best shooter so far, Jackson Bend. Buddy's Saint was a tremendous disappointment after a troubled trip, but jockey Jose Lezcano tried to fit him in a hole that wasn't there on the first turn, so he has no one to blame but himself.

#3 Noble's Promise- In the same DRF Derby Watch that said Lookin At Lucky will go at Santa Anita, this horse is listed as likely for the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Ken McPeek apparently decided to clear out of California and go looking for a spot where he can maybe get some victories leading up to the Derby. Probably wouldn't have happened in So. Cal, where Noble's Promise has already lost multiple times to the top pick.

#4 Dublin- Yes, I know that Conveyance won the Southwest this weekend with a front-running run, but this horse's running style seems more in tune with the Derby than Conveyance, in my opinion. Given an extra sixteenth of a mile, I think Dublin goes on by to win the Southwest on Saturday. I am really going to watch to see the improvement in this horse. D. Wayne Lukas knows how to be ready for the First Saturday In May and this horse has already overcome quite a bit, including epiglottis surgery. In fact, if the Derby were today, Dublin might be my selection.

#5 Rule- A week removed from his conclusive win in the Sam Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, he remains a factor in the Pix. Normally, I would tend to discount a horse that has traveled the road he has to get to this point, but four straight wins is nothing to sneeze at. Derby Watch doesn't list him as heading to the Tampa Bay Derby, though, they have him either in the Florida Derby or the Wood Memorial. Maybe Todd Pletcher wants to really test him before they get to Kentucky.

#6 Conveyance- Won the Southwest with a gate-to-wire score, but Discreetly Mine did the same thing in the Risen Star at Fair Grounds. Will there be a lot of speed in the Derby this year? Will it be a very contested pace? Will any of those front-runners last a mile and a quarter? If I were to answer these questions, I would go with yes, yes, and no. Conveyance gets this spot because no one else really stepped up to claim it this week.

Tune in tomorrow for more from They Are Off. For right now, I am Gone...GOODBYE!