Horse Betting: Spotlight on Ever So Lucky at Hutcheson Stakes

by Bodog Racebook Staff | Feb 9 2012

There's just one nominal Derby prep race this weekend – the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park. Out of a field of six, the horse to watch in this seven-furlong race is Ever So Lucky. Although the 3-year-old colt has only been in two other races, he's impressed all the right people and if all goes well – his seasonal debut on Saturday afternoon may be his ticket into the Triple Crown.

Ever So Lucky is currently sitting at 25/1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby.

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Liaison falls back

Before we look ahead to the Hutcheson Stakes, let's have a quick look back at what transpired in the Kentucky Derby prep races last weekend:

Liaison was favored at the Robert B. Lewis Stakes and is at 20/1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby, but finished eighth last weekend. He was interfered with, then tossed jockey Rafael Bejarano, and finished eighth. I'll Have Another, the 43/1 longshot, finished first.

Over at Aqueduct, Alpha cashed at 1/5 to win the Wither Stakes (G3) by 3 1/4 lengths; and Battle Hardened took the Sam F. Davis Stakes with 4/1 odds. Battle Hardened is at 30/1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby, while Alpha is among the favorites at 11/1.

Ever So Lucky looking to impress again

Ever So Lucky is still fairly new on the scene but he made quite an impression last fall by putting in a couple of good performances at Churchill Downs. He won his maiden race on November 11th by 3 1/4 lengths; then 15 days later he placed second at the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2).

Come May 5th, Churchill Downs may indeed prove to be lucky for Ever So Lucky. The challenge at hand, however, is to get this Derby hopeful up to speed for this weekend's Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream. In his last workout, Ever So Lucky ran five furlongs in 59.20 seconds – alone – and with plenty of energy leftover to burn, apparently.

"The horse wasn't even blowing after the work," Sheppard said. "When he worked the previous time, he worked in company. Julien (Leparoux) had to ride him a little bit to catch up. The horse got something out of it, and I wanted something similar. This time for some reason I decided to work him alone."

As far as the competition goes, jockey John Velazquez will see to it that Thunder Moccasin puts in a good run. The Todd Pletcher trained horse won his debut race on December 24th at Gulfstream by a margin of 2 1/2 lengths.

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