Ten for the Triple Crown

The test has been moved back a week, but the questions remain the same, the foremost being, of course, Could these be Derby horses? Indygo Mountain and Friesan Fire are set to meet Thursday at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, and while they won’t answer the question definitively – this isn’t a true-false quiz -- they should offer some useful hints.

Indygo Mountain won his last outing by more than six lengths at Churchill Downs, drawing clear with authority and ease. A $600,000 yearling who’s owned by Clarence Scharbauer of Midland and trained by Bret Calhoun, Indygo Mountain finished with such energy that he had his jockey, Jamie Theriot, talking Derby afterwards. Still, although he’s long on potential, Indygo Mountain remains very short on accomplishment, having won only a maiden race, and so Thursday’s outing should provide a more useful measure of his talent, especially since Friesan Fire is also in the field.

Trained by Larry Jones, Friesan Fire finished third in Belmont’s Futurity and then fourth in Aqueduct’s Nashua Stakes. So he has proven himself in stakes company. The two sons of A.P. Indy were to meet this past Thursday, but, of course, racing was cancelled in New Orleans because of winter weather.

With Indygo Mountain to race soon, stablemate Silver City will probably make his next start Jan. 10 in the LeComte Stakes, said Ken Carson, the general manager of Scharbauer’s Valor Farm in Pilot Point. Silver City won his last outing, too, at Churchill.

And Quality Road has come back from his impressive debut victory on Nov. 29 to work an easy half-mile in 49 seconds in New York. He’s certainly one of the most talented and intriguing prospects I’ve seen all year, combining intimidating size with uncommon grace. He’s a beautiful mover. Although he has raced only once -- and that at 6 1/2 furlongs – he could quickly develop into a top Triple Crown contender.
 
“He has no wasted action,” said his trainer, Jimmy Jerkens. “He’s a great big colt, but he’s light on his feet. . . . You hate to get ahead of yourself, but he acts like he’ll go on, and so we’re very excited about him.”

Jerkens said he has no specific plans for Quality Road’s next start.

And so here’s an updated list of Ten for the Triple Crown. Again, it’s a highly personal list, not a Top Ten so much as an Intriguing Ten, a list that excludes the Dubai brigade but includes some lightly raced horses who could become special, perhaps while displaying their talent on the soon-to-get-busy road to the Triple Crown:

1. Old Fashioned
2. Break Water Edison
3. Hello Broadway
4. Indygo Mountain
5. Quality Road
6. Pioneerof The Nile
7. Well Positioned
8. Giant Oak
9. Silver City
10. Imperial Council