Kentucky Derby 2013 horses: Falling Sky
There aren’t a lot of horses in this year’s Kentucky Derby that prefer to control the pace right from the starting gate, with the exception of Sam F. Davis winner Falling Sky.
Falling Sky
2013 Sam F. Davis Stakes
Sire: Lion Heart
Dam: Sea Dragoness
Damsire: Sea Hero
Jockey: Luis Saez
Trainer: John Terranova
Owner: Newtown Anner Stud, James Covello & Joseph Bulger
Record: 6-3-0-1
Earnings: $249,800
Notable Races: 4th, G1-Arkansas Derby; 3rd, G2-Tampa Bay Derby; 1st, G3-Sam F. Davis
Positives: Falling Sky was third to Verrazano and Java’s War in the Tampa Bay Derby with both of those horses coming back to win Grade 1 events in their next start.
His owners plopped down $425,000 to buy this colt at his OBS 2013 January Sale after he had won two of his first three starts as a juvenile, so the connections are awfully high on his abilities. Falling Sky has run consistently during his career and perhaps, perhaps, he could steal the Derby on the front end if a strong pace fails to develop. That’s a difficult way to win any Kentucky Derby, and with a pack of stalkers following his every move down the backstretch, it won’t be easy. But Falling Sky’s best shot to win is to grab the lead, slow things down, and hope he can hold off the throng of challengers at the top of the lane.
Negatives: He finished a well-beaten fourth in the Arkansas Derby and appears to be heading into the Derby in a bit of the wrong direction. The best race of his career, his win in the Sam F. Davis, involved him controlling the pace the entire way around the track, something that will prove difficult to duplicate in the Kentucky Derby. Additionally, while Falling Sky finished third to a couple of very good horses in the Tampa Bay Derby, he was nowhere close to challenging the top two for win honors that day. He needs to show significant improvement in the Kentucky Derby to have a legit chance to spring the upset.
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