Sports

Verrazano out as No. 1 in Derby Dozen

Verrazano has topped the Derby Dozen every week until this one, ever since he ran off the TV screen to win a mile allowance race on Feb. 2 at Gulfstream Park by 16 1/4 lengths in 1:34 4/5, an eye-popping sequel to his first-out maiden score by 7 3/4 lengths on Jan. 1.

The suspicion was that the handsome son of More Than Ready might be a giant among pygmies — a superstar standout in an otherwise run-of-the-mill bunch, who could be talented enough to snap the streak, dating back to Apollo in 1882, of no horse winning the Kentucky Derby without racing as a 2-year-old.

A bit of the bloom came off the rose when Verrazano beat a so-so field by just three lengths in the Tampa Bay Derby. But after all, that was his first time going two turns, his first time against stakes horses, and he was running over a quirky surface in a prep that no favorite had won since 2005.

So why the demotion after Verrazano notched his biggest win yet in Saturday’s Wood Memorial? In a game performance, he turned back a determined bid from previously unbeaten Vyjack, then held off the late run of another classy colt, Normandy Invasion, to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:50.27 for the 1 ¹/‚ˆ miles.

It wasn’t the slow final time, a product of the dawdling pace (:24.89, :49.62, 1:13.74), or the narrow margin of victory. But this crop of 3-year-olds looks deeper now than it did back in early February, while Verrazano appears vulnerable going 1 ¹/‚„ miles.

There are reasons why 130 Derby winners in a row have raced at 2. First, there is usually some physical setback that keeps a horse from starting until he is 3. Perhaps they are slow to develop, or suffer a hairline fracture or chip, or have tender feet or shins.

That can come back to haunt them. There is also the fact that, for a 3-year-old to go from an unraced maiden on Jan. 1 to a Derby contender four months later, he has to squeeze a lot of hard racing into a short time. Without the 2-year-old foundation, that can take its toll.

Take Bodemeister, for example. Last year, after making his first start on Jan. 16, he came close to breaking the Apollo jinx, setting a fast pace in the Derby only to be caught in deep stretch. After a similar effort in the Preakness, he never raced again.

Verrazano will also have to overcome the Wood Memorial jinx: From 2009-2011, Wood winners I Want Revenge, Eskendereya and Toby’s Corner were all injured before they could run in the Derby. In 2011, after finishing third in the Wood, Uncle Mo still would have been favored in the Derby, but he came down sick and had to be scratched. Last year’s winner, Gemologist, finished 16th in the Derby and came back the worse for wear. One race later, he was retired.

Like Verrazano, Eskendereya, Uncle Mo and Gemoligist were trained by Todd Pletcher.

* Asked immediately after the Wood if he would opt to ride Verrazano or Orb in the Derby, John Velazquez replied: “I had three years back-to-back with the favorite leading to the Derby (Quality Road, Eskendereya, Uncle Mo) and [none] of the three horses made it. So I hope the people give me the opportunity to watch the horses work, and then we’ll make a decision later on. I’d be very stupid if I made a decision right now.”

Hopefully, Johnny V. wasn’t hurt badly enough in yesterday’s spill at Aqueduct — he was taken to the hospital complaining of shoulder pain — to keep him from making that decision.

But he’s not the only one facing a very tough choice. Will Javier Castellano choose Louisiana Derby winner Revolutionary or Wood runner-up Normandy Invasion as his Derby mount?

“That’s the kind of horse we would like to take to the Kentucky Derby,” Castellano said of Revolutionary. “He passed the test today. I really like him. I am looking forward big time.”

If that sounds like Castellano already made up his mind, there was this quote after the Wood: “One more jump, and I could have won the race. His gallop out was amazing. I had trouble pulling him up. That’s a great feeling when you’re looking at the big picture and the Kentucky Derby.”

You can’t ride them both, Javy!