So what's wrong with Harlan's Holiday?

The knockers and critics, of which there will be many, will surely find something. He was bred in Ohio. His time in the Blue Grass was, on the surface, miserable. A horse born on a Thursday when the moon is full hasn't won the Derby since Aristides.

Whatever.

Harlan's Holiday may not have a ton of charisma, a flashy pedigree and he may not win his races in breathtaking fashion. He's more of a grinder. That's not good enough to satisfy racing's never ending craving for the next superstar, the next potential Triple Crown winner. That's not Harlan's Holiday, but no apologies are required.

"Harlan's Holiday is an extremely solid animal and he's on an upward curve," said John Ward Jr., the trainer of Blue Grass runner-up Booklet. "It looks like he should be an overwhelming favorite for the Kentucky Derby."

Harlan's Holiday is what he is, a very good, very solid horse. That may or may not be good enough on May 4 at Churchill Downs, but, make no mistake about it, this very good, very consistent horse is very much the one to beat in the Kentucky Derby. In a year where everyone else seems to have a flaw or two or three, he doesn't have any holes.

Can he go the distance? Check.

None of the American-based Kentucky Derby candidates have ever traveled a mile and a quarter, so the distance question is always a little bit tricky, but every shred of evidence says that Harlan's Holiday will eat up 10 furlongs. He's one of those the further they go the better they are horses. The same can't be said for many of his expected Derby rivals. Can Came Home go a mile and a quarter? Or Johannesburg? Or Buddha? That remains to be seen.

Does he have the class? Check.

He's won two Grade I races already this year, the Florida Derby and the Blue Grass. Who did he beat? The best horses in the East Coast, including a game, tough horse in Booklet. No one is going to say he's not good enough to win this year's Kentucky Derby. That is, if they have a clue.

Is he seasoned enough? Check.

In a year where that question is going to dog many Kentucky Derby contenders (e.g. Buddha, Medaglia D'oro, Sunday Break), Harlan's Holiday is a tough, seasoned customer. He's had 10 career starts and has run four times this year. There's no race like the Kentucky Derby and you have to be battle tested to get through it unscathed.

Does he have the right running style? Check.

This is another year where a bunch of front-runners and speed types with distance limitations remain in the Kentucky Derby picture. It looks like it's going to be another Derby where they run too fast early and someone wins it with a late move. Harlan's Holiday isn't a stone closer, but he is a tactical horse that jockey Edgar Prado can position in the second flight in the Derby.

"The advantage we have with this horse is his tactical speed," trainer Ken McPeek said. "If they go slow early, we'll be right up there. If it's a fast pace, he's the type of horse you can take back. That will make him very, very dangerous Derby Day."

Is he a winner? Check.

Harlan's Holiday has never run worse than second and has won six of 10 lifetime starts. That sort of consistency and will to win is not always easy to find. McPeek said it first surfaced when Harlan's Holiday was beating up on Ohio breds at places like Thistledown and River Downs.

"There are a lot of horses in the history of the Derby who started out in humble circumstances," he said. "Real Quiet is one. That fact that he is an Ohio bred has been an advantage. He learned to win early in his career and has thrived on that since."

The Blue Grass was typical Harlan's Holiday. He was thoroughly professional. Prado, fearing the infamous Keeneland speed and rail bias, asked his horse a little earlier than normal and Harlan's Holiday did his job. He moved toward Booklet on the turn and then brushed him aside as he drew clear in the stretch to win by 4 * lengths.

The final time wasn't good. Make no mistakes about it. But the Keeneland track was still drying out after an earlier rainy spell and it was far from fast Saturday.

This may not be the next Spectacular Bid or even the next Silver Charm. But he won't have to be, not in this year when no one has been mistaken for racing's next super horse.

Don't knock this horse. There's no reason to.