The Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series is set to kickoff Saturday in New Orleans, La., with a competitive field of 10 horses that were entered in the $400,000 Risen Star presented by Lamarque Ford (Grade 2) at Fair Grounds.
Horses with promise have emerged each week in point-bearing prep races since this year's Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve commenced on Sept. 18. The 3-year-old picture should come into a sharper focus over seven of the next eight weekends as the race distances get longer and the point values get larger.
Saturday's Risen Star – which has 85 points up for grabs: 50 for first, 20 for second, 10 for third and 5 for fourth – launches the 16-race Championship Series as 3-year-old Thoroughbreds continue their quest to secure a berth in the starting gate for the 148th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) on Saturday, May 7, at Churchill Downs.
In the 20 Prep Season races run since last September, 17 different horses have won. The three dual winners – champion 2-year-old Corniche, Messier and Newgrange – have not been able to accrue points because their trainer Bob Baffert is suspended by Churchill Downs Incorporated from competing in the 2022 Kentucky Derby.
Here are the Kentucky Derby Top 20 point earners heading into the Championship Series:
1. Classic Causeway (16 points, winner of Sam F. Davis, runner-up in Kentucky Jockey Club and third in Breeders' Futurity);
2. Pappacap (14, runner-up in Breeders' Cup Juvenile and American Pharoah, third in Lecomte);
3. Epicenter (14, winner of Gun Runner, runner-up in Lecomte);
4. White Abarrio (12, winner of Holy Bull, third in Kentucky Jockey Club);
5. Mo Donegal (12, winner of Remsen, third in Holy Bull);
6. Rattle N Roll (10, winner of Breeders' Futurity);
7. Jack Christopher (10, winner of Champagne);
8. Make It Big (10, winner of Springboard Mile);
9. Smile Happy (10, winner of Kentucky Jockey Club);
10. Slow Down Andy (10, winner of Los Alamitos Futurity);
11. Major General (10, winner of Iroquois);
12. Dash Attack (10, winner of Smarty Jones);
13. Early Voting (10, winner of Withers);
14. Call Me Midnight (10, winner of Lecomte);
15. Courvoisier (10, winner of Jerome);
16. Barber Road (8, runner-up in Smarty Jones and Southwest);
17. Commandperformance (6, runner-up in Champagne, third in Breeders' Cup Juvenile);
18. Mackinnon (5, runner-up in El Camino Real Derby, fourth in Sham);
19. Giant Game (4, third in Breeders' Cup Juvenile ); and
20. Simplification (4, third in Holy Bull). Non-restricted stakes earnings and career earnings serve as tie-breakers.
Since the point series was adopted in 2013, it has taken an average of 21 points to make the field of 20 for the Kentucky Derby.
RISEN STAR PREVIEW – Saturday's $400,000 Risen Star (Grade 2) at Fair Grounds features the 3-year-old debut of three-time Kentucky Derby Future Wager individual favorite Smile Happy against well-meant prospects Zandon, Slow Down Andy, Epicenter and Pappacap.
Smile Happy, who closed as the 8-1 individual choice in the KDFW Pools 1-3, is the 7-2 favorite in the 10-horse Risen Star that will be run at 1 1/8 miles and offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points of 50-20-10-5 to the top four finishers. Ridden by Corey Lanerie and trained by Kenny McPeek, the son of Runhappy easily won the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) by 3 ¼ lengths in November.
“I think this is a good first step for Smile Happy,” McPeek said. “He's doing super. He's done everything right. He's a very low maintenance horse who makes our job easy. He eats good. He loves to train.”
Zandon, ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Chad Brown, lost the 1 1/8-mile Remsen (GII) in December at Aqueduct by a nose to Mo Donegal.
“We just felt like that surface and the longer stretch would suit his style better than the short stretch at Gulfstream that is usually speed favoring,” Brown said. “He's got to get over the shipping, but the horse couldn't be training any better. This guy has only run twice, so a little different situation than some of the others I had on the (Kentucky Derby) trail that had more races under their belt. He's a very exciting prospect and I don't see any reason why he won't get up to a mile and a quarter.”
California-invader Slow Down Andy, in the hands of two-time Kentucky Derby winners trainer Doug O'Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez, beat Messier in December's Los Alamitos Futurity (G2).
“With a clean break, he'll show good tactical speed and he's got tremendous stamina,” O'Neill said.
Epicenter, piloted by Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario and trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, easily won the Gun Runner at Fair Grounds in December and returned to finish an unlucky head back of closing 28-1 winner Call Me Midnight in the Jan. 22 Lecomte (G3) after dictating a swift pace throughout. His past performances suggest he could be on the lead again Saturday.
Pappacap, trained by Mark Casse who tabbed Tyler Gaffalione to ride, was runner-up to champion juvenile Corniche in the American Pharoah (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) last fall and finished third beaten three-quarters of a length in the Lecomte while racing along the inside rail most of the way.
The Risen Star field from the rail out (with jockeys, trainers and morning line odds): Pappacap (Gaffalione, Casse, 4-1); Russian Tank (Jose Vega, Gennadi Dorochenko, 50-1); Trafalgar (Colby Hernandez, Al Stall Jr., 10-1); Tawny Port (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 12-1); Epicenter (Rosario, Asmussen, 4-1); Pioneer of Medina (Luis Saez, Todd Pletcher, 10-1); Zandon (Ortiz, Brown, 9-2); Smile Happy (Lanerie, McPeek, 7-2); Bodock (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Brad Cox, 10-0); and Slow Down Andy (Gutierrez, O'Neill, 9-2).
All but Russian Tank are nominated to the Triple Crown. Trafalgar will race with blinkers for the first time.
Risen Star PPs: http://www.brisnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/RisenStar22.pdf
Rachel Alexandra PPs: http://www.brisnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/RachelAlexandra22.pdf
KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB KEY RACE? – Three horses that finished behind Smile Happy in last November's Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs won a Road to the Kentucky Derby stakes race in their subsequent start. Runner-up Classic Causeway was a 3 ¾-length winner of last weekend's Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. Third-place finisher White Abarrio was a 4 ½-length winner of the Feb. 5 Holy Bull (G3). Seventh-place finisher Call Me Midnight was the upset 28-1 winner of the Jan. 22 Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds.
Four other KJC starters, meanwhile, haven't fared as well. Fourth-place finisher Ben Diesel was seventh in the Jan. 1 Smarty Jones and rebounded to finish third in that track's Jan. 29 Southwest (G3). Fifth-place finisher Vivar was 10th of 12 in the Southwest. Eighth-place finisher Red Knobs returned to turf and finished eighth in the Feb. 5 Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Last of 11 in the KJC, Ready Pursuit finished seventh in a first-level allowance over the Tapeta at Turfway Park on Jan. 7.
Smile Happy, Howling Time (fifth), Guntown (ninth) and Texas Red Hot (10th) are training toward their 3-year-old debuts.
RECENT RISEN STAR WINNERS SHINE – Recent winners of the Risen Star have proven their victories were not a fluke.
Gun Runner, the 2016 Risen Star winner, would go on to win that year's Louisiana Derby (G2), Matt Winn (G3) and Clark (G1) before earning Horse of the Year honors at age 4 with victories in the Razorback (G3), Stephen Foster (G1), Whitney (G1), Woodward (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in 2017. He concluded his career in January 2018 with a 2 ½-length score in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) to finish with a career record of 12-3-2 and $15,988,500 in 19 starts.
Girvin, the 2017 winner, would later defeat McCracken and Practical Joke in that summer's Haskell (G1) at Monmouth Park.
Bravazo, who scored a 21-1 upset in the 2018 Risen Star, came within a half-length of eventual Triple Crown winner Justify in the slop at that year's Preakness (G1) at Pimlico and also finished a neck back of Leofric in the 2018 Clark (G1) at Churchill Downs.
War of Will, the 2019 winner, prevailed in the Preakness (G1) after an adventurous trip in the Kentucky Derby, and would later win the Maker's Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland by a nose in 2020.
The 2020 renewal was run in split divisions. Mr. Monomoy, the half-brother to champion Monomoy Girl, never raced again after his Risen Star first division victory. Modernist, the second division winner, won the Excelsior (G3) at Aqueduct at age 4.
Last year's Risen Star winner was Mandaloun, who crossed the wire second in the Kentucky Derby. He's won his last three races: the Pegasus and Haskell (G1) – via disqualification – at Monmouth and this year's Louisiana (G3) at Fair Grounds.
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