Denk on Horses Derby contender profiles
Profile: Twinspired
Twinspired finishing second in the Bluegrass Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)
Twinspired is a good example of how ground loss can affect a horse’s final time and finishing position.
In three consecutive races at Turfway Park this year, Twinspired was caught five or six wide on the turns. He was good enough to win the WEBN Stakes, but wide trips contributed to his fourth-place finish in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes and third-place effort in Grade 3 Vinery Spiral Stakes, in which he was beaten six lengths by Animal Kingdom.
Twinspired then moved up in class to the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, which should have been a much tougher assignment. Sent off at 24.30-to-1, Twinspired got a perfect inside trip behind a slow pace. He lost by a nose to Brilliant Speed after running the final three furlongs in a good 35.96 seconds.
Twinspired is by Harlan’s Holiday, but physically he seems to have inherited a lot from his broodmare sire El Prado (Ire). He is a gray, big and long, and the bloodlines reflect a horse that can run well on synthetic tracks and turf.
Twinspired only has raced on dirt once, finishing a bad eighth in a minor stakes race at Remington Park. It was the worst effort of his career.
Twinspired is a sustained runner, and he should be plenty fit, having competed in seven consecutive two-turn races. He will, however, need to reverse his dirt form to have any impact on the Kentucky Derby.
An award winning newspaper journalist from Chicago’s south side, Pete Denk moved to Lexington, Kentucky, in 2005. He wrote for Thoroughbred Times for five years, as a staff reporter and later as sales editor. Denk headed up the Times’ auction coverage for three years. Still based in horse country, he now works as a freelance journalist and consultant. More by 