Virginia Derby Odds - Can Sailor’s Cap Bag 5 Million Grand Slam
Posted on 7/18/2008 3:40:01 PM
By Pete Mitchell
Sailor’s Cap became a major player on the thoroughbred turf scene when he drew off to a convincing 6 ¾-length win in the Grade 3 Colonial Turf Cup last month. That win made him eligible for the $5M Grand Slam of Grass bonus, which will go to the owner of any horse that can win the Colonial Turf Cup, Grade 2 Virginia Derby, Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in the same year.
The Colonial Turf Cup was run at a distance of 1 3/16 miles. Tomorrow’s Virginia Derby, also at Colonial Downs, as well as the Secretariat Stakes at Arlington, will be run at 1 ¼ miles. The Breeders’ Cup Turf, to be held this year at Santa Anita, will be run at the testing distance of 1 ½ miles. For a three-year-old to capture all four of these events would be an accomplishment of epic proportions. With one down and three still to go, the connections of Sailor’s Cap aren’t getting too excited about a sweep…to coin a terrible sports cliché, they’re just taking it one race at a time.
Sailor’s Cap became a force when he learned to settle early and make a strong late run. He’ll be ridden again on Saturday by Alan Garcia, who has done good work for the Toner barn over the past several months. Saturday’s race is no gimmee, however, as the talented Gio Ponti will line up just to the inside of Sailor’s Cap. The Christophe Clement trainee is fresh off a convincing win in the Grade 3 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont on June 6th. He should improve off that 3YO debut effort.
Sailor’s Cap is the morning-line favorite in The Virginia Derby at 8-5. If he wins tomorrow, he’ll likely go favored in the Secretariat Stakes three weeks later, as he’ll be facing fellow three-year-olds. However, the water gets a lot deeper in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, as the top older turf runners worldwide will be on hand.
BetOnline.com is offering a proposition bet on the prospects of Sailor’s Cap winning all four races and the $5M bonus that goes with it. Check it out online in the Props/Futures section of our Sportsbook. It will be listed under Horse Props. While you’re in the Props/Futures area, you should also check out our Horse Matchups. We feature individual horse match-ups daily from tracks around the country. Enjoy!
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