Andrew and Rania Warren's Scoobie Quando, a debut winner in the $125,000 Turfway Preview Stakes, will attempt to add his name to the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard as the headliner in an over-subscribed field of 14 3-year-olds that entered Saturday night's 41st running of the $150,000 John Battaglia Memorial (Listed).
The John Battaglia Memorial will go as Race 8 of 9 with a post time of 9:25 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 5:55 p.m.
Run at 1 1/16 miles, the John Battaglia Memorial is the final race in the Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Season. The top 5 finishers will be awarded qualifying points on a 20-8-6-4-2 scale for a spot in the starting gate for the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve on Saturday, May 6. Turfway's Saturday program also features the $150,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.
Trained by Ben Colebrook, Scoobie Quando debuted on Jan. 7 in the Turfway Preview where he gamely dug in to defeat Retained by a neck under jockey Luan Machado. In his last start, Scoobie Quando finished second best to Wadsworth in a first-level allowance event at Turfway.
“Timing wise, the Turfway Preview worked out well for us to run him first out,” Colebrook said. “He's always trained like a good horse in the mornings and been the best of the company I worked him in. I'm not one to let a horse draw off on their company so I think in the (Turfway Preview) he ran to how he worked but wasn't going to let the runner-up by him. He's light on experience so we opted to run him in the allowance race where Luan (Machado) said once he sort of got to the outside he was able to make a better run but was just second best that day.”
Machado will be back aboard Scoobie Quando in the John Battaglia Memorial and break from post No. 4.
Chief among his rivals in the John Battaglia Memorial is SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan's $100,000 El Camino Real Derby runner-up Gilmore. Now under the care of Brendan Walsh, Gilmore was previously conditioned by Bob Baffert in California. The gray son of Twirling Candy was the 9-5 post time favorite in the El Camino Real Derby where he finished 1 ½ lengths behind Chase the Chaos. Previously, Gilmore was bet down to odds of 1-5 in a maiden special weight contest at Los Alamitos where he easily defeated eight rivals by four lengths. Gilmore will be ridden in the John Battaglia Memorial by Joe Ramos from post 3.
Other top prospects that entered the John Battaglia Memorial include: Gary and Mary West's undefeated Aristocracy; OXO Equine's local allowance winner Bromley; Tami Bobo and Lugamo Racing Stable's $150,000 Laurel Futurity winner Congruent and M Racing Group's Gulfstream Park allowance winner Eyes On the King
Here is the complete field for the John Battaglia Memorial from the rail out (with jockey and trainer): Good Heart (Jane Elliott, Walsh); Aristocracy (Fernando De La Cruz, Brad Cox); Gilmore (Ramos, Brendan Walsh); Scoobie Quando (Machado, Colebrook); Accident (Orlando Mojica, Tommy Short); American Speed (Chris Landeros, Brad Cox); Eyes On the King (Brian Hernandez Jr., Mark Casse); Miranda Rights (Rafael Hernandez, Mark Casse); Freezing Point (Gerard Melancon, Joe Lejzerowicz); Bromley (Gerardo Corrales, Paulo Lobo); Moon Landing (Walter Rodriguez, Kevin Attard); Congruent (Sonny Leon, Antonio Sano). Also Eligibles: Ironsides (Declan Cannon, Victoria Oliver); Clear the Air (Jack Gilligan, Will Walden).
Fans can watch and wager on the John Battaglia Memorial on www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated and the Kentucky Derby.
The post ‘Light On Experience’ Scoobie Quando Headlines Full Field Chasing Derby Points In John Battaglia appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
