USA / Christina Olivares / 14 April 2012 /

TVG's Christina Olivares brings you her take on the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday (23:18 BST)....

On the NTRA Teleconference this week, Dr. Kendall Hansen eluded to some sort of excitement and fanfare beyond Hansen's mere participation in this Saturday's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. "Stay tuned," he said. "We have a little something fun planned." What could it be? Probably not dying the mane and tail - I think they've put that idea on the back burner after it was staunchly denied by NYRA in advance of the Gotham Stakes.

On that subject, I received a tweet this week from @ewaynelasher71 saying:

"Rumor has it that three models will walk to paddock next to Hansen and tail will be painted blue????"

Models? Wow....I knew Hansen had an entourage but didn't know it included models?! Since the tweet, I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with what may be up their sleeves. Here are a few ideas......

1.Shave some sort of logo/ design in Hansen's coat
2.Paint his hooves with a colored hoof paint
3.Braid/ curl/ crimp his mane and tail
4.New colored bridle, saddle and polo wraps
5.I did not ....in my wildest imagination....come up with models......

Blue tail, models, paint, curls or whatever else Hansen shows up with the one thing I do know is that he is a serious racehorse. And admittedly, it took the Gotham performance for me to really accept that. It is so rare to find a horse that can be as versatile and as dominant on multiple surfaces.

His two synthetic wins have come with margins of 12 and 13 lengths. And although he was only a head in front of Union Rags, the top three finishers in the juvenile were five lengths clear of the rest of the field. The fact of the matter is that the only horse to beat Hansen is now (unfortunately) off the Derby trail.

I hope Hansen rates in the Bluegrass. He may not have to depending on the pace scenario but his performance in the Gotham was so impressive because we got a chance to see how versatile he is.

Hansen is quickly becoming more than a one trick pony.....the equine equivalent of a one hit wonder (mmmm bop!). There is plenty of speed in the Bluegrass but they all seem to be pretty sensible......Heavy Breathing, Midnight Crooner, Howe Great, Hero of Order and Scatman all have speed but none of them seems to be one dimensional types that can't rate. The first turn will be interesting, I don't think anyone will send, it will just be a matter of who naturally has the most speed.

Prospective is a horse that I am very interested in. He was actually my pick on TVG in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. I was so impressed with his tenacity and the raw ability that he showed in his races at Woodbine as a two-year-old. Coming in to the BC with a dirt pedigree - a son of Malibu Moon out of an Awesome Again mare - I hoped he would be my price of the weekend.

Unfortunately that ended up being the worst race of his career BUT he has blossomed as a three-year-old. His win in the Tampa Bay Derby wasn't flashy but we need only to refer to Street Sense and Super Saver to remember that the winner of the Derby can come from that race. I respect Hansen but think Prospective will be the price to play on Saturday. He may not be as flashy, decorated or surrounded by an entourage but he has what it takes to win this race.

.............

Check out this week's edition of 'Blinkers Off'. John Sadler and Ray Paulick join Matt Carothers - Races covered include the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, Arkanas Derby, and Apple Blossom Handicap.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: