The cleverly-named Danza burst into Triple Crown contention by bossing around a quality field in the Arkansas Derby April 12. It was only his fourth career start and his very first around two turns, leaving MyFantasyStable.com players to wonder if he’s a one-hit wonder or if he has lasting star power.
The Todd Pletcher-trained colt couldn’t have had an easier trip in the Oaklawn Park fixture. He sat fourth while along the inside for much of the race and did not have to deviate course when the real running began. Jockey Joe Bravo hustled Danza up the rail turning for home and he drew off down the lane leaving Ride on Curlin, pace-setter Bayern and the graded winner Tapiture to fight it out for the minor awards.
Despite the ease of Danza’s journey, his race earned a very good speed figure from both the Beyer folks and the Ragozin Sheets makers, who incorporate ground loss into their numbers. Danza’s 102 Beyer and 6 on The Sheets (lower the better on those) puts him right there with the remaining Derby contenders and any further improvement makes him a very serious player.
In addition, we just don’t know how good this horse is. He ran well in his stakes debut last summer, closing stoutly to gain third in the Saratoga Special going 6 1/2 furlongs before a knee issue sent him to the sidelines. His first race of this season was a closing fourth-place effort in a 7 furlong sprint over a notoriously speed favoring Gulfstream Park strip on March 1.
Danza’s pedigree provides some clues to his potential at Classic distances. His sire, Street Boss was at his best around one turn and on synthetic surfaces, winning a pair of Grade 1 sprints in California during the polytrack era (tha’s now coming to a close). Street Boss hasn’t set the world on fire as a sire but Danza is his second Grade 1 winner from his first two crops. His first, Capo Bastone, won last year’s 7 furlong King’s Bishop S. (G1) after flirting with the Classics in the spring. However, the rest of Danza’s pedigree has some Classic influences. His paternal grandsire, Street Cry, won the 10-furlong Dubai World Cup and has sired the likes of 2007 Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense and the incomparable Zenyatta (Breeders’ Cup Classic, etc. etc.). Danza’s second dam is by Tank’s Prospect, winner of the 1985 Preakness Stakes and his half-bother brother, Midnight Harbor, won the 12-furlong Tokyo City H. (G3) earlier this year.
A certain former Defense Secretary is famous for pontificating on ‘knowns’ and ‘unknows’ stating in part: “We also know there are known unknowns…”. He could very well be talking about Danza. We know we have a promising Grade 1 winner before us, but just how good he really is remains, well, uknown.
Matt O'Neil Consulting 