Bourbon Bash will be pointed to the $1-million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 25 at Oaklawn Park, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. The Rebel is Oaklawn's third Kentucky Derby points race.
Bourbon Bash, in his 3-year-old debut, finished second, beaten two lengths by the promising Gun Pilot, in a one-mile, entry-level allowance race Feb. 4 at Oaklawn. Bourbon Bash, who led in the stretch, was making his first start around two turns since finishing 12th behind eventual Eclipse Award winner Forte in the $600,000 Breeders' Futurity Stakes (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 8 at Keeneland. Gun Pilot has won 2 of 3 career starts for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
“That's a very, very good horse that won the race, of Steve's, so we were not that disappointed hooking into him,” Lukas said. “We tried him at the eighth pole. The thing with Bourbon Bash is he's real feminine and he hasn't matured yet. If the next two months to three months, he'll get a little stronger – just physically, he's OK mentally – he's got enough tactical speed that we can put him in a race where he belongs. He doesn't need the seasoning. He needs the strength.”
Other early Rebel probables include Verifying and Giant Mischief for trainer Brad Cox and Red Route One for Asmussen. Cox said he could have additional Rebel starters.
Verifying concluded his 2-year-old campaign with a sixth-place finish behind Forte in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Nov. 4 at Keeneland. Verifying resurfaced in a one-mile entry-level allowance race Jan. 14 at Oaklawn and rolled to a 5 ¼-length victory over Gun Pilot. Verifying ran the distance over a fast track in a meet-best 1:37.23.
Giant Mischief, who will be making his 3-year-old debut in the Rebel, is 2 for 3 overall. The son of Into Mischief ran second in his stakes debut, the =Remington Park Springboard Mile Dec. 17 at Remington Park, after a poor start.
Red Route One closed from far back to finish second behind unbeaten Arabian Knight in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28. The Southwest was Oaklawn's second Kentucky Derby points race.
Nominations to the Rebel closed Friday. The Rebel will offer 100 points (50-20-15-10-5, respectively) to the top five eligible finishers toward the Kentucky Derby.
Following Arabian Knight's Southwest victory, his Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, said: “We'll definitely have something here for the Rebel.”
The Southern California-based Baffert has won the Rebel a record eight times. Cox (four) and Baffert (three) have combined to win seven of Oaklawn's last 10 Kentucky Derby points races. Oaklawn's fourth and final Kentucky Derby points race is the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 1.
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