After Orseno had resigned himself to being on the Derby sidelines, Thunder Blitz suddenly made an impression on his trainer in a first-level allowance race at Gulfstream Park on March 14. Although the gray colt finished second behind subsequent Illinois Derby winner Distilled, the manner in which he closed from off the pace demonstrated a maturity that Orseno hadn't seen before. Orseno said he isn't as cocky as he was when he correctly predicted that Red Bullet would upset Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus in last year's Preakness, but he expects Thunder Blitz to surprise a lot of people. He has all the equipment to be a top handicap horse next year,'' said Ward.
Point Given is a different animal.