Posted on 2/15/2008 6:49:58 PM

Horse Betting Action - 12 Weeks

By Brian Mulligan

Don’t look now but we only have about 12 weeks before they play ‘my ole Kentucky home’ as the horses make it on to the track before the Kentucky Derby.

These traditional races keep horse bettors young and it’s never too early to take a look at some early projections for the Derby.

Majestic Warrior is a runner owned by George Steinbrenner and if he makes to the Derby, he’ll be a player. Trained by the ultra patient Bill Mott, the Warrior had the obligatory race as a 2-year-old and he was up to the task in his Saratoga debut winning by over 3.

Backers could say he didn’t beat anybody in his second win against only 3 in the Hopeful and then he came back to earth a bit when stopping in champ’s War Pass’s Champagne.

There is reason to believe he’ll have no problem getting the classic distance by super sire A.P. Indy and he is out of multiple Graded winner and millionaire Dream Supreme, who had blazing speed but was never really asked to go beyond a mile.

The key to Majestic Warrior’s development will be if he continues to mature. Since his trainer doesn’t put soft or unconditioned runners on the track, horseplayers can bet their bottom dollar that if this guy is in the mix, he’s in it to win the whole thing.

Another Mott entrant that has already proven he can go a route of ground is Court Vision. By Gulch out of the Storm Bird dam Weekend Storm, the colt’s only loss came in the sprint debut when off slow before closing like a freight train. He has since put three route wins together, the last in the $200K Remsen Stakes in New York and he did it in a way that suggests that horse bettors should pay attention to him all spring.

Weekend Storm never ran but she has produced some runners. Several in the tree banked 6 figures and the full brother to Court Vision, Garcia Marquez, was a legend in Hong Kong who could carry his speed all day long on grass on way to earning over $800,000.

Owned by exclusive stable WinStar Farm, the sky is the limit for Court Vision and would expect Mott to take a Kentucky route with this guy.

Just so cagey horse bettors know that it’s not just about Mott, they should be very well aware of El Gato Malo.

By El Corredor, who was never asked to go beyond a mile but won the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on way to and over $700,000 bankroll, El Gato Malo is out of One Bad Cat, who is a double winner herself and she foaled Jamies First Punch, a multiple Graded stakes winner who earned over $350K and who won at 9 furlongs for fun.

El Gato Malo has been visually impressive winning his first three starts and the way he has won them, by lengthening his lead from the 8th pole to the finish, suggests that he will run all day long and will not back away from a gunfight.

Trained by Craig Dollase, who was the youngest trainer ever to win a Breeders’ Cup race, Gato will surely be given every shot to excel all spring.

And just to show that Dollase is no one-hit wonder, he has a list of Graded winners on his wall and he learned from one of the best horseman on the West Coast, his pops Wally.

Astute horse bettors have to follow these three in the next several weeks and also look for clues and steady work patterns from all others.

Open your eyes; Derby Fever is nearly upon us.

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