Reincarnate, the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million betPARX Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing, has a nickname.
“We call him Moby Dick,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said by phone from California, referring to the giant whale from the classic Herman Melville novel. “He is a big, strong white horse … he has the same coloring as Moby Dick.”
Baffert hopes that Reincarnate is no fish tale in the Pennsylvania Derby. Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, the son of Good Magic hasn't raced since winning the Los Alamitos Derby in front-running fashion July 8.
Baffert said he has no concerns with the long layoff. He likes the way the colt has worked this summer at Del Mar and, most recently, at Santa Anita Park.
His final pre-Pennsylvania Derby work was Saturday at Santa Anita when he went 6 furlongs in 1:12.40.
Reincarnate, who will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, has three wins, three seconds and two thirds in nine career starts. He has one win and three seconds in four starts this year. Reincarnate's two prior starts before the Los Alamitos race were Grade 1s – 13th in the May 6 Kentucky Derby and third in the April 11 Arkansas Derby.
“I have always been very high on the horse,” Baffert said. “We have always liked him. He is the kind of horse that will run up near the lead and be forwardly placed.”
One thing that Reincarnate and Hernandez will have to overcome is the post position. They drew No. 11 in the 11-horse field.
“It will be a little bit tough being way out there,” Baffert said. “Hopefully, he doesn't get hung out too wide. You can't do anything about the post position. If you train long enough, you are going to draw bad post positions. I have drawn bad and won and I have drawn really well and got beat.”
Reincarnate arrived from California Tuesday. Jimmy Barnes, Baffert's longtime assistant, accompanied the colt and will handle saddling Saturday.
On the opposite end of the tote board, trainer Saffie Joseph is hoping for another surprise when he saddles West Coast Cowboy in the Pennsylvania Derby.
West Coast Cowboy is 12-1 on the morning line. When Math Wizard pulled off his upset in 2019, he was a whopping 31-1 when he went to the starting gate for the 1 1/8-mile race.
As Joseph prepares West Coast Cowboy, a son of 2017 champion 3-year-old male West Coast, for this year's Derby, his mind, naturally, drifts back to Sept. 21, 2019.
“Most definitely,” Joseph said by phone from Kentucky, where he's attending the Keeneland September yearling sale. “That was my first graded stakes race win – ever – and it was a Grade 1. It was a good race. We beat a Preakness winner (War of Will) and we beat Improbable (who won the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga in 2020). That race definitely brought a lot of joy and it's one of the highs of my career. It will last forever.”
West Coast Cowboy is owned by Gentry Farms and will be ridden Saturday by Tyler Conner. Conner first rode the chestnut when he finished second in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby behind Red Route One.
West Coast Cowboy has two wins in seven starts. He also ran in the Grade 3 Fountain of Youth (third) Feb. 4 and the Grade 1 Florida Derby (seventh) April 1, both at Gulfstream Park.
“He is a big, strong horse that seems to be improving,” Joseph said “He is not at the top level yet, but he seems to get better and better every time he runs. Sometimes you just have to take chances. Sometimes it works out, but most of the time it doesn't. You can't be afraid to run them in the race.”
Joseph's trip to Parx for the 2019 Pennsylvania Derby certainly proved that theory.
“For sure,” he said. “It's rare when you have a special moment like that. It never goes away.”
The post Pennsylvania Derby: Baffert Relishing Favorite’s Role With ‘Moby Dick,’ Joseph Hoping For Another Surprise With West Coast Cowboy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
