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Zanjero and the 2007
Kentucky Derby
 Things you need to know about Zanjero when betting on the 2007 Kentucky Derby:
Early odds had Zanjero at 14 to 1 (or +1400) at BetUS.com
His breeding might suggest that he'd do his best running at sprint distances, but the son of 1994 Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Cherokee Run didn't win until he was sent around two turns in his third lifetime start. The late-running colt ran out of ground in two Saratoga sprints last summer, but he got the distance he apparently needed at Keeneland in October, closing from eighth to win by a neck. Zanjero followed that up with an entry-level allowance triumph at Churchill Downs, where his sire scored his Sprint victory. Zanjero completed his juvenile campaign with a distant second behind Nobiz Like Showbiz in the Grade II Remsen. The Kentucky-bred colt hasn't won in three starts this year, but he has turned in three solid efforts. Breaking from the No. 10 post for the Grade III Risen Star stakes, Zanjero raced four- and five-wide to take a narrow lead in the stretch, only to falter late to finish third. In the Grade II Louisiana Derby, he dropped far back during the early going and closed to finish third behind highly regarded Circular Quay.
In his final Derby prep, Zanjero tracked Teuflesberg's dawdling pace in the Blue Grass, saving ground throughout the race to finish a solid third, a nose and a head behind Dominican and Street Sense, respectively. Zanjero, who brought a healthy winning bid of $700,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, has shown himself to be a one-dimensional deep closer whose chances for victory heavily depend on pace and trip.
Owner profile
Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC is the stable name of Joan Winchell and her son Ron Winchell. Joan is the widow of Verne Winchell, the founder of Winchell’s donut shops and former chairman of Denny’s restaurants who died in 2004.
Along with Ron, a real estate developer in Las Vegas, Joan Winchell has carried on her late husband’s thoroughbred breeding and racing operation at Corinthia Farm, formerly Oakwind Farm, in Lexington, Ky.
The Winchells campaigned Summerly, who won the 2005 Kentucky Oaks, and Tapit, the 2003 Wood Memorial winner who finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby.
Trainer profile
Steve Asmussen has built a national powerhouse stable with divisions in Kentucky, Illinois, Texas and New York.
In 2004, Asmussen saddled 555 winners to destroy Hall of Famer Jack Van Berg's 1976 record of 496 winners after sending out 452 winners in 2003. Although he has continued to win in bunches, Asmussen has concentrated on upgrading the quality of his stable the past few years.
The 41-year-old conditioner, who is looking to saddle his first Derby winner, trained Storm Treasure and Private Vow, who finished 11th and 15th, respectively, in last year's Kentucky Derby. In 2005, Asmussen saddled Summerly for a victory in the Kentucky Oaks.
He began riding horses at age 16 and rode in New Mexico, California and New York for three years before growing too heavy to continue. The natural progression, coming from a family immersed in thoroughbred racing, was to become a trainer in 1986.
Valid Expectations, the winner of the Grade 3 Derby Trial at Churchill in 1996, was Asmussen's first big horse, and scores of other stakes winners have followed, including Dreams Galore, the Grade 1 winner of the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont in 1999, and Lady Tak, the winner of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes in 2004.
Bloodlines
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Sire |
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Dam |
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Cherokee Run |
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Checkered Flag |
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