Trainer Steve Asmussen has had nine starters in the Kentucky Derby throughout his illustrious career. The closest he came
was in 2007, when Curlin ran third despite a very tough trip in his fourth career start. Curlin had won his first three races by a
combined margin of twenty eight lengths. He broke his maiden at Gulfstream and then demolished the field at Oaklawn in both
the Grade 3 Rebel and the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby prior to being sent off at 5-1 in the Run for the Roses.
This February, Asmussen had a Derby candidate in Tapizar, who is sidelined as a result of an injury he suffered in the Grade 2
Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita. At the time, a little known colt named Nehro had raced once, and the result was a fourth place
finish in his debut on December 12 at the Fair Grounds. He returned thirty days later, where he would make his three year old
debut at Oaklawn. You needed a telescope to find him, finishing tenth, beaten twenty two lengths. It would have been no surprise
if Nehro?s connections decided to drop him into a claimer in his next start. They opted instead to give him one more try at the
same level. In a dramatic turn of events February 21 at Oaklawn, Nehro rallied from far off the pace, with an explosive wide
sweeping move to the lead on the far turn. He continued to extend his margin in the stretch, on his way to a 4 ½ length victory.
Even after Nehro?s impressive win, there was not a whisper that there could be a potential Derby candidate in Arkansas.
This all changed thirty three days later, when Asmussen entered Nehro in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. A recent maiden winner
being thrown to the wolves into stakes company against more accomplished rivals, is rarely done. There is very little chance of
success. Nehro proved everyone wrong, when he ran second, beaten a neck to Pants On Fire at odds of 36-1, despite having
some trouble on the turn and racing in tight quarters in the stretch. Despite the purse of the Louisiana Derby being $1 million
dollars, the money his owners received for his second place finish, fell short of what Nehro needed to earn a start in the Kentucky
Derby.
He would stay at Oaklawn to run in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. Nehro proved he was for real, with a strong closing run in the
middle of the track. What impressed me most was his versatility. Nehro had showed he could run well closing from far off the
pace or stalking the front runners. Jockey Corey Nakatani, was aboard Nehro for the first time in the Arkansas Derby. He allowed
him to drop back towards the rear of the pack, and into a nice comfortable stride. Nehro raced along the inside, and with a subtle
but impressive turn of foot, Nakatani asked him for run on the far turn and into striking position. He made up five lengths cutting
the corner before tipping out at the top of the lane. Nakatani took a light hold of him to give Nehro a breather, before steering him
even wider for the stretch run. The winner Archarcharch had gotten the jump on Nehro, who was slowly cutting into his margin
with every stride. Unfortunately, Archarcharch had just enough to hold him off in the shadow of the wire. If you observed the
head on after the finish, you will notice that Nakatani continued to urge him on. Nehro galloping out well clear of the field before
being eased up. This suggested that he had plenty left in the tank. With enough earnings now to run in the Kentucky Derby,
Nehro will be asked to travel an additional 1/8th of a mile. When many of the other horses are gasping for air in mid stretch, he
should have no problem sustaining his run to the wire.
For many years, a strong distance pedigree was emphasized in pin pointing the legitimate Kentucky Derby contenders. Leon
Rasmussen was the authority on calculating dosage and a horse?s pedigree going back several generations, to determine if
the breeding was there to stay the Derby distance successfully. There was not a student of the game who would not read
Rasmussen?s column leading up to the Derby. The results in recent years, have shown that pedigree is not nearly as important
as performance on the race track and how Derby bound horses are training over the quirky Churchill Downs course. Look how
popular Daily Racing Forms columnist Mike Welsh?s daily workout reports have become.
In the case of Nehro, I feel his pedigree is a welcome addition to the attributes he has shown on the racetrack. His sire Mineshaft
was a multiple Grade 1 winner over a distance of ground. He won at the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Woodward stakes,
both run at 1 ¼ miles. Mineshaft has had several stakes winners who improved the further they traveled. Nehros mother The
Administrator, produced Saint Marden, winner of all four races in route events, as well as the classy Sweet Lips, who won 5 of
6 races going long, with earnings of $565,000, several in stakes races. The Administrator herself is a half to Zalipour, who won
six of seven races, over a distance of ground against quality opposition.
In a very unique year, in which many of the Kentucky Derby prep races have produced results that are very uninspiring, there are
many more throw outs then legitimate contenders. Nehro has shown me enough in a variety of ways to consider him a worthy
recipient of winning the first leg of the Triple Crown. He is peaking at the right time for a trainer and jockey, who have proven time
and again that there is not a coveted prize they cannot win with the right horse at the right time. Ahmed Zayat owner of Nehro,
also had the very talented 3 year old Pioneer of the Nile, who ran second in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. I have great respect for
him and his family. Mr. Zayat has contributed a lot to the game and it would be only fitting if he were to win the Kentucky Derby.
I have two concerns about Nehro. He made his debut in mid December, and will be making his fifth start in less than four months,
which is a lot of racing in a short period of time. There is an expression that you cannot squeeze the lemon dry. I am hoping there
is enough juice left for another strong effort. Then there is the question whether or not he will handle the possibility of a wet track
on Saturday. Nehro did not handle it all that well earlier in the week.