Drosselmeyer: Not the best horse last Saturday

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/07/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drosselmeyer won the 142nd Belmont Stakes but the most promising colt that ran at Belmont Park was not even entered in a stakes race.

The fourth race on the card gave horseplayers a glimpse of future greatness as Trappe Shot rolled to a four-length victory over Tahitian Warrior in his first trip over seven furlongs.

I've been touting this three-year-old for months now and this last performance was flat-out incredible. Not only did he get the distance in 1:22 flat, he ran three-fifths of a second faster than five-time stakes winner D'Funnybone, who won the Woody Stephens Stakes two races later in 1:22 3/5.

Furthermore, Bribon, last year's Met Mile champion, took the six-furlong True North Handicap (the eighth race on the card) in 1:09 3/5, just one tick faster than Trappe Shot, who had to run another furlong.

The win was Trappe Shot's third straight this year and his first in open company. After finishing fifth in his debut last July, the son of Tapit returned to the races in late February in a maiden special weight race for Florida breds at Gulfstream Park. He won that six-furlong event by 10 1/4- lengths in 1:09 2/5.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin moved him up a half-furlong to 6 1/2 for his next race, also against state-breds. The chestnut colt came out running once again blowing out an entry-level allowance field by 12 3/4-lengths in 1:16 1/5.

Trappe Shot was expected to make his stakes debut in the Withers at Aqueduct on April 24, but a slight injury held him back. McLaughlin decided not to rush his three-year-old star and waited more than a month to race him once again. That day finally came this past Saturday moving upward against older horses for the very first time.

Trapped on the rail for most of the first five furlongs, his natural speed allowed him to keep up with the fast pace. Then jockey Alan Garcia moved him into the three-path at the top of the stretch sitting in the third spot.

Second choice Tahitian Warrior took over the lead from pacesetter Ricoriatoa, but in a matter of seconds, Trappe Shot ran right by him en route to another easy victory. In three races this year, Garcia has yet to even take out the whip!

McLaughlin has already indicated where he'll send his prized colt next. It's off to Monmouth Park in the Long Branch Stakes on July 10. That will be a very important race around two turns at 1 1/16-miles. If he handles the distance, look for him to move forward in either the Jim Dandy or Haskell, with the Travers Stakes being the primary goal.

If Trappe Shot doesn't pass the distance test, expect him to revert back to sprinting with the Amsterdam and King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga the primary objectives.

There should be no reason two turns will have any adverse effects on this future star. His father Tapit has already sired Careless Jewel, who won last year's 1 1/4-mile Alabama Stakes. Tapit's dam, Tap Your Heels, is a half- sister to both Rubiano and Hong Kong Jade. Rubiano sired Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, while Hong Kong Jade produced Hong Kong Squall, the dam of Summer Bird, winner of last year's Belmont and Travers Stakes as well as the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Trappe Shot's female family is also loaded with stayers. His second dam, Impish, produced Lay Down, who finished first in the 10-furlong Excelsior Handicap back in 1990. His damsire, Private Account, winner of the 1 1/4-mile Gulfstream Park Handicap 10 years earlier, sired future champions Personal Ensign and Inside Information.

Private Account's half-sister Dance Number produced Rhythm, who won the 1990 Travers, and Rhythm's full-sister. Get Lucky. is the dam of Supercharger, who produced this year's Kentucky Derby winner, Super Saver.

SECOND SLOWEST BELMONT IN 40 YEARS

Someone had to win the Belmont Stakes. It turned out to be Drosselmeyer, who prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Fly Down with First Dude finishing third. The 13-1 shot came into the third leg of the Triple Crown on a three race losing streak, including a six-length loss to the aforementioned Fly Down in the Dwyer Stakes.

With a change of jockeys from Kent Desormeaux to Mike Smith, Drosselmeyer was able to turn the tables on his rival producing a $144.50 exacta. It was Smith's first ever Belmont victory, giving him his own personal Triple Crown with previous wins in the Kentucky Derby aboard Giacomo in 2005 and the Preakness on Prairie Bayou all the way back in 1993. Drosselmeyer's win also gave WinStar Farm its second Triple Crown win this year, as the owners also had Super Saver in the Kentucky Derby.

Still, the race was a pathetic display as the final time for the 1 1/2-mile event was a pedestrian 2:31 2/5. Not since Thunder Gulch won the 1995 Belmont Stakes has there been a slower time in the Test of Champions. The next most listless race came in 1970 when High Echelon prevailed over a sloppy track in 2:34, and the slowest final time before that was all the way back in 1944!

The dawdling early pace (24, 49, 1:14 1/5) allowed First Dude to hang on for third, edging out Game On Dude, who faltered through the stretch to finish fourth. The $2 superfecta returned a solid $10,658 compared to $766 for the $2 trifecta.

Ice Box finished a dismal ninth as the 8-5 favorite, but he never had a chance due to the deliberate early fractions.

To show what kind of year it has been, six different horses finished first and second in all three Triple Crown races marking just the second time that has happened since 1962.

Eighteen years ago, Lil E. Tee and Casual Lies ran one-two in the Kentucky Derby. Pine Bluff and Alydeed crossed the wire in that order in the Preakness, and A.P. Indy and My Memoirs repeated it in the Belmont.

This year Super Saver and Ice Box completed the Derby exacta, while Lookin At Lucky and First Dude ran first and second in the middle leg, and Drosselmeyer and Fly Down finished it off in the Belmont.

Let's hope Trappe Shot becomes the next superstar of the sport because the rest of this three-year-old division is extremely weak.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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