Oh Paddy O’!

I have news for you folks, the colt who came within a whisker of finishing second in the Kentucky Derby is not a dirt horse. That same horse, who finished second in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes is also not a synthetic horse. His name is Paddy O’Prado and he is a grass horse, and oh baby, what a grass horse he may be. After the Blue Grass, Kentucky Derby, and a 6th place finish in the Preakness in his last three starts, trainer Dale Romans had his star back on his preferred surface and it resulted in an explosive performance. Showing a turn of foot reserved for superstars of our sport, Paddy O’Prado stalked the moderate pace set by Two Notch Road and quickened to join the leading pack in what seemed like a matter of strides. From there, the American colt, with the Irish name, easily loped away from his competition to an authoritative score in yesterday‘s Colonial Turf Cup. Coasting home under rider Kent Desormeaux, he finished clear by three lengths stopping the timer in a strong 1:54.20 for 1 3/16 miles as the 3-to-2 choice. The win was Paddy’s second straight visually impressive score on the lawn as he also decimated the field in the Palm Beach Stakes in March. In that victory, he became a graded stakes winner despite entering as a maiden. While the win in the Colonial Turf Cup was only his second win in nine starts, it is clear that Paddy O’Prado has developed into a real talent. A talent that becomes magnified on the lawn for the great looking gray colt. The son of El Prado, out of the Prized mare, Fun House, will now be pointed for the Virginia Derby and then the Secretariat Stakes in August. So turf will now be the focus for Paddy, and an ultimate destination of the Breeders’ Cup Turf in November is in the cards. American three year-olds do not have a great history in the Breeders’ Cup, but this may be a colt up to the task. It is a rare three-year-old turf horse that looks like he will be able to compete with his older contemporaries at this point in the season, but Paddy O’Prado gives me every indication that he is becoming that type of horse. Obviously, he has a long way to go to be considered as the top turf horse in the nation of any age, but his performances on grass recently rank up there with great turf horses like Mac Diarmida, Manila and Kitten’s Joy at the same time in their career. Those three were all horses who I admired early in their turf careers who were good enough to go on and become champion turf horses at the young age of three. Can Paddy O’Prado follow in their footsteps? I’ll be watching.