The Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series will continue Saturday at Oaklawn Park with the $1 million Rebel (Grade 2) where 10 horses in the 1 1/16-mile event are currently eligible to gain a maximum of 85 points toward qualifying to the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1) on the first Saturday in May.
A total of 11 horses passed the entry box at Oaklawn on Monday for the Rebel including undefeated colt Newgrange, who was made the 9-5 morning line favorite. The son of Violence, owned by SF Racing (Gavin Murphy), Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf, et al.), Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin), Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables (Barbara Banke), Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital (Gregg Slager), Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable (Ben Goldberg) and Siena Farm (Anthony Manganaro), is ineligible to garner points in the Rebel because his trainer Bob Baffert is suspended by Churchill Downs Incorporated.
The Rebel will go as Race 11 of 12 with a post time of 6:22 p.m. (all times Eastern). Racing at Oaklawn will be featured on America's Day at the Races on Fox Sports 2 from 1-7 p.m.
In his last start, Newgrange gamely dug deep in the late stages of the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G2) to hold off fast-charging rival Barber Road. The duo are set to have a rematch in the Rebel. Trained by John Ortiz, Barber Road finished fourth on debut at Colonial Downs but, after adding blinkers, has not crossed the wire worse than second in his next five starts. The gray son of Race Day will be ridden by Reylu Gutierrez from post No. 9 at morning line odds of 9-2.
“I'm not really too concerned,” said Ortiz, who trains Barber Road for former Walmart executive William Simon. “I'm worried about my horse running his best race. We've competed against the top horses in here already. We're just going along for the ride. The speed is on the inside. I think Reylu, he'll have the right plan. It's all in his hands.”
Newgrange and Barber Road were the one-two finishers of the Southwest but the three horses that finished directly behind them are also entered in the Rebel: Ben Diesel (post 6, 6-1); Kavod (post 1, 12-1); and Dash Attack (post 11, 8-1).
One of the newcomers in the field is maiden winner Ethereal Road for owner Aaron Sones and four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Ethereal Road, who will break under Luis Contreras from post 10 at odds of 12-1, garnered his first win in memorable fashion after he trailed by 16 lengths in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight contest. Into the far turn, the son of Quality Road began a swift charge around rivals and finished in front by four lengths.
“It takes them three-eighths of a mile to get that momentum going again,” Lukas said about Ethereal Road, who stands at 16.3 hands and weighs approximately 1,300 pounds. “But when they get going, if they've got the ability, again, I emphasize that – they've got to have the ability – when they get going, they pass horses if they've got the ability. What he did on the turn, if you just took the video and ran it up the half-mile and said, 'Oh, here, let's watch this' – from the half-mile (pole) to the wire, that was spectacular. Every jump he passed a horse.”
Lukas won the Rebel in 1989 with Manatash Ridge and 2013 with Will Take Charge.
A variable that horses may have to deal with Saturday is the weather. The National Weather Service forecast reported that a quarter to a half-inch of ice is possible through Thursday night in Hot Springs, Ark. Conditions are slated to improve Friday with mostly sunny skies and highs near 45 degrees.
The projected 11-horse Rebel field from the rail out:
- Kavod, Francisco Arrieta to ride, 117 pounds, 12-1 on the morning line;
- Newgrange, John Velazquez, 122, 9-5;
- Cairama, Geovanni Franco, 117, 15-1;
- Un Ojo, Ramon Vazquez, 117, 12-1;
- Texas Red Hot, Ricardo Santana Jr., 117, 12-1;
- Stellar Tap, Cristian Torres, 117, 10-1;
- Ben Diesel, Jon Court, 117, 6-1;
- Chasing Time, Tyler Gaffalione, 122, 8-1;
- Barber Road, Reylu Gutierrez, 117, 9-2;
- Ethereal Road, Luis Contreras, 117, 12-1; and
- Dash Attack, David Cohen, 122, 8-1.
The post Newgrange, Barber Road Ready For Rematch In Saturday’s Rebel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
