Steve Haskin shares his thoughts on Danza's shocking performance in the Arkansas Derby. Danza shocked the crowd when he took command in the upper stretch at odds of 41-1 and rolled to a 4 3/4-length victory, beating out favorites Bayern and Tapiture.
The lightly raced son of Street Boss , ridden by Joe Bravo, previously made his 2014 debut after a six-month layoff at Gulfstream March 1, finishing third behind highly regarded stablemate Anchor Down.
After the race, Todd Pletcher said, "We were stepping out a bit. The horse always ran well and trained well. We felt we had one shot to put ourselves possibly in a position to get to Churchill. We were quietly expecting a good race, but, without a doubt, that exceeded everyone's hopes and expectations."
Danza has 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby and is in sixth place on the leaderboard following his run in the Arkansas Derby.
[audio url="http://www.bloodhorse.com/content/audio/BHOneForRoses_Danza_04212014.mp3" title="One For the Roses: Danza"]