OPPORTUNITIES GALORE

ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY

Say it ain't so!
Life Is Good, the all-time future wager favourite, falls victim to the Derby curse

Life Is Good in Saturday workout that ended badly (Zoe Metz photo)

The curse of early Derby favourites continues. Future wagers of $137,000 bet on Life Is Good to win the Kentucky Derby are now worthless.

The son of Into Mischief suffered a hind-end injury during a bullet workout at Santa Anita Saturday which means the colt is now off the Derby trail undergoing evaluation and treatment at a Kentucky medical centre, said his trainer, Bob Baffert. Thankfully, though, the injury doesn’t appear to be career-ending, Baffert said.

The $62,000 bet on this colt in the last future-wager pool, resulting in odds of 2-1, made him the most favoured horse in the 28-year history of that future pool to win the Kentucky Derby. But, as The Insider pointed out two weeks ago under the heading “Uh-oh,” history has not been kind to bettors with that much early faith in potential Derby winners.

Of the three previous most-bet horses in the March future pool, none have won the Derby. That included Mohaymen in 2016 at 7-2, Uncle Mo in 2011 at 3-1 and Pyro in 2008 at 4-1.

The absence of Life Is Good suddenly gives hope to future players holding tickets on 39-1 Medina Spirit who finished second to Life Is Good in two races and to 19-1 Concert Tour who won the Rebel and San Vicente stakes.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby is rarely smooth; it is filled with potholes and diversions. My two choices the last couple years, Catholic Boy and Thousand Words, never got to run.

ONE MORE FUTURE POOL THIS WEEKEND: With Life Is Good out of the running, Essential Quality has been installed as the new favourite at 3-1 in the final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool. With such an overwhelming favourite out of the pool, do you see better value in other long shots? Place your bets, win and exactors, from Friday through Sunday.

OBITUARY

End of an era
Brother of legendary ASD rider Bobby Stewart dies at 74

Bobby Stewart died in 1985, Garylle (extreme right) in 2016 and Wayne (middle) last week

An era of sorts has come to an end at Assiniboia Downs as the third of three Minnesota brothers who worked at the Downs in the 1960s--and whose families have remained connected to the Downs--has died. Wayne Stewart, brother of the jockey who captured the most leading-rider titles, Bobby Stewart, died of sepsis in Hallock, Minnesota last week at the age of 74.

Wayne served as Bobby’s agent in the early 1960s as Bobby chalked up six riding titles between 1960 and 1976. Wayne also groomed his father Glen’s horses while his oldest brother, Garylle, trained.

And if Garylle’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he owned horses with his Manitoba trainer friend, Murray Duncan, while practising law in Fargo, ND. Remember? They thrilled us with the likes of Go Go Lolo, a mare known for her furious off-the-pace rallies, Pleasant Closing, the perennial challenger of Horse of the Year Balooga Bull and Plentiful who won the 2017 Manitoba Derby.

Bobby died young. A confrontation with law enforcement in 1985 resulted in his death at the age of 40. Garylle died at 76 on Manitoba Derby Day in 2016. Wayne, meanwhile, was active in the farming community and raised Belgian horses that were ridden in parades.

With the three Stewart brothers gone, the torch is now in the hands of Garylle’s daughter, Audrey, and her husband, Brian Farol who live in Fargo. Audrey hoisted Plentiful’s Manitoba Derby trophy skyward after the race in a tribute to her late father.

“The loss of Wayne will be a tough one,” she told The Insider. “He was our family historian with a steel-trap memory and his stories and friendship will be missed.”