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GENERAL QUARTERS
DERBY CONTENDER PROFILE
Thomas McCarthy is a 78 year old former school
principal. His biggest dream is to find the winners circle in the
Kentucky Derby. At his old age he figured it was too late, but he
will have a shot with General Quarters. McCarthy claimed the son of
Sky Mesa for just $20k from Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey. If he is able
to win the Kentucky Derby it would be a Cinderella story almost
comparable to that of the famed Seabiscuit. He may or may not win,
but he sure as hell has a shot.
General Quarters broke his maiden under the twin spires of Churchill
Downs going 4 ½ furlongs. He earned a tiny BSF of 54 for that win,
finishing in :52 3/5 seconds under Elvis Trujillo. While the win
might not look like much, it proved that he was capable of winning,
and that he likes the Churchill Downs surface.
The son of Sky Mesa raced in allowance company at Keeneland and
Churchill Downs for the rest of fall. His BSF peaked at 81 for these
races, and his best finish was second. McCarthy then decided to send
the colt to Tampa Bay Downs and try the Inaugural Stakes. General
Quarters showed he had tons of hidden talent in this race. He closed
very fast seven wide in the six furlong event and finished second
beaten a single length. His next race also resulted in a second
place finish in stakes company even though he grabbed the lead in
the stretch.
At this point, it looked like General Quarters was on a verge of
being a real contender. McCarthy opted to take the blinkers off and
place the colt in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes where he would be
one of the longshots. It would be his first time racing at a route
distance, and he was kept much closer to the pace by jockey James
Lopez. After stalking in second for most of the way, he forged to a
3 ½ length win and a massive 102 BSF! General Quarters had finally
splashed onto the Kentucky Derby scene, and in a big way.
Many in the horse racing world considered General Quarters win in
the Sam F. Davis to be something of a fluke. They thought he
wouldn’t be able to reproduce such a performance, and probably felt
good when he ran fifth next out in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby.
General Quarters was the victim of a very poor trip in that race and
was steadied several times. He came out of the race with a couple of
cuts. Everyone quickly wrote him off, but McCarthy knew his colt
better; onward to the Grade 1 Bluegrass Stakes. It would be do or
die for the old trainer and his colt there.
The Bluegrass was a particularly deep field, and General Quarters
would go off as one of the longest shots in the race at 14-1. Some
of the best horses in that race included Florida Derby third place
finisher Theregoesjojo, and Lanes End winner Hold Me Back. Eibar Coa
broke General Quarters where he knew he would do his best running
and stayed wide so he could avoid any trouble as he was unable to do
in the Tampa Bay Derby. It worked perfectly; General Quarters was
leading by 2 lengths in the stretch and was able to hold off the
powerful closing move of the favored Hold Me Back to win by a
length.
General Quarters will be headed to the Kentucky Derby with two huge
wins under his belt; the Sam F. Davis Stakes and the Bluegrass
Stakes. He is a big powerful colt and should like the distance of
the Kentucky Derby. The white hot Julien Leparoux will be riding
General Quarters on the first Saturday in May. McCarthy may have had
to wait until he was 78 to get to his first Kentucky Derby, but he
has a shot to win!
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