Illionois, land of cowards

With the plethora of exciting races this weekend, I'm going to have to start my analysis early.

Illinois Derby

Here we have the race that Derby hopefuls enter if they don't actually want to face any real competition prior to the first Saturday in May. Crowned, of course, by the king of fraidy-horses, Denis of Cork (Harlan's Holiday-Unbridled Girl, by Unbridled). He's still unbeaten and has raced several more times than last week's phenom Big Brown. His last was an impressive win in the Southwest Stakes in February. More recent winning performances by second placed Sierra Sunset and third placed Liberty Bull have flattered him. His stealthy evasion of all horses who could give him pause all but ensures his good performance here.

Atoned (Repent-Adrift, by Icecapade) was second by a neck last out to the quickly improving Big Truck in the Tampa Bay Derby. Before that he was second by a neck again. Both times fading after having gripped the lead briefly. Not what I want to see in a potential Derby runner.

Z Humor (Distorted Humor-Offtheoldblock, by A.P. Indy; a.k.a. the other Z-horse) was fourth in his recent test in the Fountain of Youth and just doesn't seem to be performing up to the style he projected in 2007. Golden Spikes (Seeking the Gold-A. P. Interest, by A. P. Indy) was 5th in the Fountain of Youth, and second before that to Cool Coal Man in a 1 mile and 1/8 allowance. Unfortunately, I'm not a Cool Coal Man fan, so that record completely fails to impress me.

Instill (Proud Citizen-Eboney, by Sports View) was 10th behind the flying filly Absolutely Cindy in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes. Before that he was 4th in the Smarty Jones. This is a case of "what have you done for me lately?" The answer: Not much. Recapturetheglory (Cherokee Run-Cold Awakening, by Dehere) was 3rd most recently in an allowance race. Ummm....why is he here? Real Appeal (Successful Appeal-Formal Process, by Diabolo) is the new kid in town. He won last out in a minor stakes going 1 mile. He's also put in a bullet work since then.

1. Denis of Cork
2. Atoned
3. Real Appeal

In other news

- This is too much fun. Combining all the enjoyment of a basketball bracket during March Madness with a sport I actually care about.