Dialed In Stamps Himself as a Legitimate Derby Contender
Dialed In won the $1,000,000 G1 Florida Derby as the second betting favorite with a bold and furious rally past long shot Shackleford to take the race by a neck in a time of 150.07 for the 1-1/8 distance, effectively proving himself as a top 2011 Kentucky Derby candidate.
Shackleford went off at 68-1 odds, by far the longest shot in the field, but he hung tough in deep stretch. Dialed In, however, showed his class and heart and reeled him in to prevail narrowly.
The winner had previously won the G3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park before disappointing with a close second place finish in an allowance race, but he rebounded nicely in the Florida Derby. The field he bested were no slouches either, having won a combined six graded races.
Guided by Julian Leparoux, he defeated the favorite Soldat, who won the G2 Fountain of Youth, as well as To Honor and Serve who is a two time G2 winner at Aqueduct, having taken the Remsen as well as the Nashua. G3 Gotham winner Stay Thirsty couldn’t keep up either, and the dazzling seven- length winner of the G2 Hutchenson, Flashpoint just couldn’t maintain his speed the full 9 furlongs of the Florida Derby.
One of the main weaknesses of Dialed In is that he will enter the Kentucky Derby starting gate with only four races under his belt. He really had to battle for the win in the Florida Derby and given his lack of seasoning, it was probably a good thing.
The only concern is that the time of 1:50.07 was not a spectacular time. The last Florida Derby winner to take the Kentucky Derby was Big Brown in 2008, who crossed the wire in 148.16, and prior to that, Barbaro took the Florida Derby in 2006, and he won the race in a time of 149.01.
Moreover, Dialed In came home his final eighth of a mile in about 13 and 1/5 second, which is solid, but not spectacular. Usually you want to see a horse come home in under 13 seconds for that ninth furlong when going into the 1-¼ mile Kentucky Derby.
Dialed In has the right style for the Kentucky Derby, coming from well back in the pack as he did at Gulfstream Park. This will ensure that he does not fall victim to a speed duel which is so often the case in the Derby. He will likely be ridden by Julian Leparoux, who is a capable jockey and has ridden him in all four of his career starts.
Dialed In was a $475,000 yearling purchase, and is trained by Nick Zito who has won the Kentucky Derby twice.
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