Up the backstretch: Turf horse took to Golden Gate's artificial track

Horseracing Betting Lines

02/21/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A 3-year-old colt that had never won a race except on the grass came away Saturday with a key victory on a synthetic surface. The change in surfaces for Daddy Nose Best proved to be beneficial for him to win the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields.

Owned by Bob Zollars and trained by Steve Asmussen, Daddy Nose Best was making just his third start on a main track and his first on a synthetic surface. His two career wins before Saturday were both on turf courses.

Daddy Nose Best was again ridden by Julien Leparoux in the El Camino Real a partnership that produced two wins, a second and a third in six starts on grass.

Asmussen didn't make the trip to Golden Gate Fields, giving the assignment to assistant trainer Darren Fleming,

"We came here because of the added distance and his experience on turf which carries over to synthetic," Fleming said. "Winning (the El Camino Real Derby) last year with Silver Medallion helped our decision. He's been getting better with time, and he's trained with a different mindset since his last race. He's been showing us he wanted more ground, so we've had to wait for the races to catch up to him."

The 1 1/8 miles of the El Camino Real was just the right distance for the colt, which was able to stick his nose on the wire inches ahead of 5-2 second pick Lucky Chappy.

"I didn't know if I won or not," said Leparoux, who came in special for the race. "It was too close to call. It was nice to see the horse fight back."

Daddy Nose Best was no stranger to stakes races. He was third last year in the Summer Stakes at Woodbine and sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs. After winning a turf allowance in late November at Churchill Downs, he was fifth in the Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita on New Year's Eve.

The colt's next start is still undecided as apparently Zollars, Asmussen and Fleming will put their heads together and come up with a plan.

"He came out of the race really good," Fleming said Sunday. "It was a great race. Steve and Bob will get together and discuss his next race."

An added benefit to winning the graded race is the $120,000 that Daddy Nose Best gains if his connections are thinking of running in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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