Trainer: Richard E. Schosberg
Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
Owner: Albert Fried Jr.
Breeder: Albert Fried Jr.
A New York-bred son of Giant's Causeway, Giant Moon has reeled off 4 consecutive victories. After breaking his maiden, he won 2 State-bred stakes, the Sleepy Hollow and the Damon Runyon. Stepping up into open company yielded similar results for the Albert Fried Jr. homebred. Though he finished last in the Gotham (gr. III) March 8 at Aqueduct, his connections felt the sloppy track was to blame. In the Wood Memorial (gr. I), he ran evenly to be fourth, which put him out of the Derby picture. Schossberg instead decided to set his sites on the Preakness (gr. I). Read more here.
| Date | Race Name | Distance | Finish | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/05/08 | Wood Memorial (gr. I) | 9f | 4 | $37,500 |
| 03/08/08 | Gotham (gr. III) | 8.5f | 9 | $1,250 |
| 01/05/08 | Count Fleet Stakes | 1M 70Y | 1 | $48,270 |
| 12/09/07 | Damon Runyon | 8.5f | 1 | $50,000 |
| 10/20/07 | Sleepy Hollow Stakes | 8f | 1 | $60,000 |
| 09/12/07 | MSW | 5f | 1 | $27,600 |
| Record: 6 Starts, 4-0-0 | Total Earnings: $223,535 | ||||
| Race Records provided by equineline.com | ||||
Fresh off being named the 2007 champion juvenile male by the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Preakness Stakes (gr. I) hopeful Giant Moon will be looking to get back to his winning ways in the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Early indications are that none of the horses that finished behind Big Brown in his impressive 4 3/4-length victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) will move on to the May 17 Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Well, we're down to our final two major preps, the Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) and Arkansas Derby (gr. II), with the Coolmore Lexington (gr. II) and Holy Bull (gr. III) thrown in for good measure. The question right now is: what did we learn from last Saturday's preps?
Charles Fipke's homebred Tale of Ekati may have turned in a sub-par effort in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II), but he sparkled at Aqueduct when he ran down War Pass in the final strides of the $750,000 Wood Memorial (gr. I) April 5.
Robert LaPenta's War Pass has drawn post position number five in the $750,000 Wood Memorial (gr. I), an April 5 prep for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) that has drawn a field of 10 3-year-old contenders.
Trainer Todd Pletcher sent out two of his charges for works March 30 on the fast training track at Belmont Park. Both Stonerside Stable's Texas Wildcatter and Peachtree Stable's Spurrier are nominated to the April 5 Wood Memorial (gr. I) for 3-year-olds at nine furlongs on Aqueduct's main track.
The 3-year-old picture in New York was about as foggy as the weather conditions at Aqueduct March 8, but Visionaire helped clear things up a bit with a late burst to capture the $250,000 Gotham Stakes (gr. III) by a nose over Texas Wildcatter.
Trainer Richard Schosberg, who has been preparing his New York-bred Giant Moon for the March 8 Gotham Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct, is anxious to see if the colt will continue to show an affinity for long distances as he looks toward the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
With exercise rider Cesar Correa in the saddle, Giant Moon, a son of Giant's Causeway, worked in company with New York-bred maiden Mighty Morris. The workmates finished on even terms. Giant Moon's final time on the fast track was the third-fastest of 27 at the distance.
Trainer Richard Schosberg's Derby dreams didn't come to fruition with Maria's Mon, the champion 2-year-old male of 1995, after an injury kept the colt on the sidelines for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I). Thirteen years later, however, Schosberg can start dreaming again with the undefeated Giant Moon.
Giant Moon kept his undefeated record intact by winning the $81,525 Count Fleet Stakes by a neck over Spanky Fischbein at Aqueduct Jan. 5.
Favorite Giant Moon kept his unbeaten streak intact as he dug in to hold off a fast-closing Spanky Fischbein to post a 1 3/4-length tally in the $75,000 Damon Runyon Stakes, for two-year-olds, at Aqueduct on Dec. 8, virtually clinching divisional honors as champion New York-bred two-year-old colt of 2007.
| Giant Moon | Giant's Causeway | Storm Cat |
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