Forbidden Kingdom did not collect $200 but he did pass 'Go' on Thursday, completing a workout toward the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on April 9 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
The son of 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah worked six furlongs in 1:14 flat yesterday and was proclaimed back on course for the race that, when the recent disqualification of Medina Spirit is factored in, has produced 19 Kentucky Derby winners, the most recent being 2018 Triple Crown king Justify.
The West Coast's top contender for the May 7 Run for the Roses, Forbidden Kingdom had missed a scheduled work March 18 for the Santa Anita Derby due to an elevated temperature, but Richard Mandella could barely contain his enthusiasm after Thursday's breeze under former jockey Nestor Capitaine, calling the 60-year-old exercise rider “one of the greatest the world has ever seen.”
While Santa Anita's clockers gave Forbidden Kingdom a time of 1:14, the Hall of Fame trainer said: “He worked five-eighths in 1:01 and galloped out three-quarters in 1:13 and change, hardly pulled up. It was very good. He went great.
“This was the first work (since capturing his initial two-turn effort in the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe Stakes on March 5),” Mandella added. “He went the first eighth in 13 (seconds) and finished in 24 sittin' easy, so it couldn't be better.”
A chestnut colt owned by MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm LLC, Forbidden Kingdom earned 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points winning the San Felipe, and is in prime pouncing position to give Mandella his first win in the Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles in this, its 85th edition.
(Note: The race was run at 1 1/16 miles from 1935 through 1937 and at 1 ¼ miles in 1947).
The $750,000 purse awards $450,000 to the winner and also offers him 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, 40 to the runner-up, 20 to the third-place finisher and 10 to the fourth.
The post Forbidden Kingdom Back On Track For Santa Anita Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
