Just like the holiday lights that went up in my neighborhood a week and a half before Halloween, it seems as though the Derby hype has gotten under way, thus far this year in the form of American Lion. Almost all of the coverage of Hollywood Prevue has been focused almost exclusively on the winner, American Lion, while noticeably overlooking the second the place finisher Get My Fix. Was I watching the same race?

Sure, American Lion handled the class jump, but did he really tame his foes? All of the articles do a good job of mentioning that he was a bit green/unfocused and that there’s time (before the Derby!) to get those issues ironed out, but isn’t it a little early to put all your eggs in one basket? I thought Get My Fix ran a much better race.

Get My Fix didn’t look green at all biding his time at the back of the back and then closing aggressively at the end. Why not ask Joe Talamo what he thought of the effort? I did! Although I doubt he’ll answer me… but if he does I’ll let you know!

But back to my point, I don’t mind the beginning of some Derby coverage at this time of the year. In fact, I think this is the first year where I’ve really started to pay attention to the Juvies with an eye towards next year. Along the same lines Davidowitz has a good DRF+ post on his end of the year observations about the current crop of 2yos. But if you read the news coverage of the Hollywood Prevue without watching race, you might get the impression that American Lion’s effort was more impressive than it really was… or at least than it seemed to me. Solid? Yes. Promising? Sure. Best in the race? Not in my opinion.

It could also be that American Lion is by Tiznow and Get My Fix is by Posse, even I know that means that Get My Fix is less likely to get the classic distance, or depending on how you look at it, be a “failed router” (aka sprinter/miler). And let’s not overlook American Lion’s maiden race at Keeneland, which was impressive, but how have the rest of them come out of that race? Oh, and Eoin Harty does seem to do well with a Tiznow from Winstar. But does the coverage have read like a Winstar press release?

In the end American Lion could turn out be the better horse, only time will tell. And only time will tell if Get My Fix can stretch out or not. If he doesn’t it wouldn’t be so horrible to have another Kodiak Kowboy to look forward to! Regardless of whether he’s “distance challenged” or not, and regardless of whether he ends up on the Derby trail, I’m looking forward to Get My Fix’s next out. If nothing else he’ll certainly be a better value than American Lion!