Tag: greatest honour

This Side Up: Still Amending the Derby Agenda

We should have known better. The moment we deceived ourselves that we had a crossroads of perfect symmetry, with four standout colts converging inexorably on the first Saturday in May, one promptly limped off the trail and then last weekend another was beaten at odds-on. Nobody, then, will be making any assumptions when the other two complete their GI Kentucky Derby preparations, Concert Tour (Street Sense) in the GI Arkansas Derby next week and Essential Quality (Tapit) as the geographical and narrative pivot of three rehearsals staged coast to coast Saturday.

That said, the juvenile champion gets a home game, round a circuit where he has already won two Grade Is. It will be on the margins of East and West, then, that we seem more likely to see a breakout after the manner of Known Agenda (Curlin) last week. Not that anyone in the Greatest Honour (Tapit) camp is too downbeat after he had to settle for third behind that old rival in the GI Florida Derby. I was heartened by the fidelity of colleague T.D. Thornton to Greatest Honour, who retained the No. 1 spot in his Derby Top 12 this week. Because these adolescent horses seldom crown a curve of relentless improvement under the Twin Spires: very often, they will need to have soaked up some adversity on the way, to have absorbed a tough lesson or two before regrouping. Greatest Honour has been on the punchbag all winter and was entitled to drop a glove this once, especially with such a messy trip. We know that his trainer will always have been working back from one date, and one date only.

With that date now looming so large, however, there's a kind of exquisite tension for all these horsemen, trying to achieve an equilibrium between their own restraint, and the fitness and seasoning of their charges. Remember that's exactly what they do every day, with horses at every level. It's just that the whole process is so much more visible here, because of the extremity of the test and the depth of the associated lore.

Many of us profess a sentimental attachment to the old school, with an emphasis on grounding, but modern trainers make their own rules. Obviously last year's race was an outlier, its postponement as ruinous to other horses as it was helpful to the raw Authentic (Into Mischief). But in 2018 we had a Triple Crown winner unraced before February 18; and the following year the first past the post had started off in midwinter under a $16,000 tag, and his works might have been as usefully clocked with a sundial as a stopwatch.

Medina Spirit has only been beaten by Life Is Good | Benoit

Bob Baffert's mastery of the definitive challenge of his calling now puts him within reach of a seventh Derby, and an outright record, even after losing the services of Life Is Good (Into Mischief). In that colt's lamentable absence from the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, we have a twist in the astonishing tale of Medina Spirit (Protonico), the $1,000 short yearling who somehow found his way into the most lavishly stocked barn in the land. But nothing should surprise us with the genius of his trainer. Remember that Medina Spirit, having been pinhooked to a giddy $35,000, was actually twice as expensive as Real Quiet (Quiet American)!

He would be unbeaten but for Life Is Good and he's been working the house down since a minor throat procedure. Baffert plus Medina Spirit is like Goliath teaming up with David, but this race does offer romantics the option of Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}), bred by Hall of Famer Ron McAnally.

Undefeated Rock Your World switches to dirt | Benoit

You imagine John Sadler has not been short of humorous counsel on the backside, especially as the veteran McAnally, who nowadays supervises just with a handful of animals, managed a graded stakes placing for Rock Your World's older sister She's Our Charm during the winter. McAnally trained both the parents, namely Candy Ride (Arg) and dual Grade I-placed juvenile Charm the Maker (Empire Maker); and actually McAnally and wife Deborah bred the first three dams. But Sadler is certainly rewriting Derby rules with this colt, switching from turf after teaching him about dirt with some pretty heavy duty drills.

The last four runnings have been divided between Baffert and John Shirreffs, who intriguingly perseveres with Parnelli (Quality Road) as though he has more ability than we've been seeing of late. Recent works suggest that the blinkers are helping, much as they did Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) when Parnelli ran the GII Louisiana Derby winner to a neck in the fall.

Interesting to see a Californian shipper taking on Essential Quality, in Rombauer (Twirling Candy), though the most feasible GII Toyota Blue Grass S. wildcard is surely Known Agenda's raw but devastating barnmate Untreated (Nyquist). In the GII Wood Memorial (presented by Resorts World Casino), meanwhile, a similarly late play from Prevalance (Medaglia d'Oro) will help Godolphin decide whether he's progressing fast enough to join their champion in Louisville. If not, then they will hope that at least Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) can go forward on behalf of their big stallion, who joins Tapit and Curlin in craving the Derby as a seal on all their other success.

A playful Weyburn last month at Belmont | Susie Raisher

Pioneerof the Nile beat those big hitters to that distinction before his premature loss, which would be felt all the more keenly if Weyburn were to emerge as a new Derby force from this race. I can definitely see that happening, the Chiefswood homebred being born for this second turn with first three dams by A.P. Indy, Sunday Silence and Nijinsky. The third dam, indeed, is Maplejinsky, dam of Sky Beauty (Blushing Groom {Fr})–so seeing the name Jerkens on the card gives us that warm glow, too. This is an April 21 foal, paradoxically just the kind of thing we like for the Derby, and I love the gutsy way this horse carried his speed through a demanding mile after a lay-off.

So forget that neat and orderly crossroads. On the day itself, we know it will be chaos out there; and the same applies to the four weeks in between. Some engines stalling, others suddenly roaring into life; lights turning red, lights turning green. And with horsemen like Jerkens, Shirreffs and Sadler trying to weave into the traffic, with all their skill and experience, for now it still feels like we don't even know which way round to hold the Derby map.

The post This Side Up: Still Amending the Derby Agenda appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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TDN Derby Top 12 for Mar. 30

We're on the cusp of the one-month mark to the GI Kentucky Derby, and this Saturday marks the most important weekend of nine-furlong preps on the Triple Crown calendar, with significant stakes at Santa Anita, Keeneland, and Aqueduct. Next week, the Top 12 expands to the Top 20 as the race for qualifying points intensifies and the actual field begins to take shape.

1) GREATEST HONOUR (c, Tapit–Tiffany's Honour, by Street Cry {Ire})
O/B-Courtlandt Farms (KY). T-Claude R. McGaughey III. Lifetime Record: MGSW & GISP, 7-3-1-3, $422,440.
Last Start: 3rd GI Curlin Florida Derby, GP, Mar. 27
Accomplishments: 1st GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., GP, Feb. 27, 1st GIII Holy Bull S., GP. Jan. 30
Next Start: GI Kentucky Derby, CD, May 1
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 80

Greatest Honour has not been dethroned from his top ranking despite a so-so third as the 4-5 fave in the GI Florida Derby because he's still the horse to beat over 10 furlongs with a more robust pace in front of him. Since he burst into the Top 12, I've been cautioning that it can be tactically dangerous to fall in love with a deep closer as your Derby horse because late runners are so often at the mercy of traffic. That exact scenario worked against this Tapit-sired Courtlandt Farms homebred on Saturday, when jockey Jose Ortiz tried to follow the rail trip of eventual winner Known Agenda (Curlin), but instead had his momentum halted three times when hemmed in on the backstretch and on the far turn. Greatest Honour got pelted with kickback and briefly had to pause at the heels of several rivals before tipping out for a belated rally that lacked true spark. Ortiz wisely didn't hammer on his horse when it was obvious Greatest Honour wasn't in it to win it down the lane, and we should expect to see the tightest version yet of this long-striding stayer by the time trainer Shug McGuaghey gets him to Louisville.

2) ESSENTIAL QUALITY (c, Tapit–Delightful Quality, by Elusive Quality)
O/B-Godolphin (KY). T-Brad Cox. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt & MGISW, 4-4-0-0, $1,785,144.
Last Start: 1st GIII Southwest S., OP, Feb. 27
Accomplishments: 'TDN Rising Star', 1st GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile, KEE, Nov. 6, 1st GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, KEE, Oct. 3
Next Start: GII Toyota Blue Grass S., KEE, Apr. 3
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 40

The undefeated juvenile champ closed as the 4-1 favorite Sunday in Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. This Tapit-sired 'TDN Rising Star' and Godolphin homebred is a high-energy stalker who has demonstrated an adept level of comfort both pressing the pace and rating from farther back. But he's yet to encounter a serious, multi-pronged, deep-stretch challenge in any of his victories, and thus far he's been superior enough that jockey Luis Saez has been able to park him outside and in the clear, giving up ground so as not to encounter traffic. That strategy might not work in a crowded 20-horse race like the Derby. But then again, elite-level horses make their own breaks, and in-race agility is very much on the side of this athletic gray. As of this writing, no other Top 12 horses are listed as probables for Saturday's GII Blue Grass S., and Essential Quality figures to go off as one of the heavier prep-race favorites we've seen this spring. He's already won twice at Keeneland going long (albeit over the short-stretch configuration that ends at the sixteenth pole). But we're now going on 30 years since the last winner of the Blue Grass–Strike the Gold in 1991–parlayed that win into a blanket of roses on the first Saturday in May. In that interim, however, three horses–Street Sense in 2007, Thunder Gulch in 1995 and Sea Hero in 1993–lost the Blue Grass in their final Derby tune-up then won in Louisville.

3) CONCERT TOUR (c, Street Sense–Purse Strings, by Tapit)
O/B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 3-3-0-0, $756,600.
Last Start: 1st GII Rebel S., OP, Mar. 13.
Accomplishments: 'TDN Rising Star', 1st GII San Vicente S., SA, Feb. 6
Next Start: GI Arkansas Derby, OP, Apr. 10
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 50

The pace scenario in the Arkansas Derby figures to be one of the more intriguing tactical matchups of the Triple Crown prep season. The last time the two likely favorites met, in the GII Rebel S., Concert Tour outbroke Caddo River and Caddo River gave up the rail and the lead to let him go, but then looked uncomfortable and rank and never engaged when asked for run on the far turn. Will the two 'TDN Rising Stars' hook up from the outset in a committed duel in the Arkansas Derby? Or will jockey Joel Rosario turn the tables and opt out of a kamikaze confrontation? Concert Tour looked pretty confident bounding along at a measured clip on the lead in the Rebel, but the style of his run didn't stamp him as a needs-the-lead type of horse. At 3-for-3 lifetime and with two of those wins in sprints, Concert Tour will still be light on experience over a distance of ground in the Arkansas Derby. But his Street Sense (out of a Tapit mare) breeding line should be stout enough to allay any concerns he'll hit a wall at nine furlongs. Favorites have crossed the finish wire first in the Arkansas Derby for five straight runnings, including split divisions in 2020 (when there was a subsequent drug positive DQ).

4) KNOWN AGENDA (c, Curlin–Byrama {GB}, by Byron {GB})
O/B-St Elias Stable (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales History: $135,000 RNA Ylg '19 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-3-1-1, $541,700.
Last Start: 1st GI Curlin Florida Derby, GP, Mar. 27
Next Start: GI Kentucky Derby, CD, May 1
Accomplishments: 3rd GII Remsen S., AQU, Dec. 5
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 102

Known Agenda has now bested No. 1-ranked Greatest Honour twice in head-to-head matchups and his Florida Derby win demonstrated marked progression and an increased level of midpack stalking comfort while racing in blinkers for the second time. He now has a stamina-centric base of three victories over nine furlongs, and trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday that this $135,000 RNA at FTSAUG “came back in great shape [with] good energy.” Known Agenda and Greatest Honour both opted for rail trips in the Florida Derby, but this colt is a touch quicker out of the gate and attained a more prominent placement, and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was able to deftly guide Known Agenda through tight passages that closed by the time Greatest Honour attempted to follow him. A three-wide move off the turn put Known Agenda in charge through the lane; he wandered out under left-handed stickwork yet responded ably when roused (although it should be noted that the only rival he had to truly run down was a 12-1 shot who had been softened up in the pace duel and was on his left lead through the stretch). “I've been pleased with the way he's been able to get a better position in the race and improve his position going along. We've always had a strong feeling that added distance was going to be to his liking,” said Pletcher.

5) HOT ROD CHARLIE (c, Oxbow–Indian Miss, by Indian Charlie)
O-Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing LLC & William Strauss; B-Edward A Cox (KY); T-Doug O'Neill. Sales history: $17,000 Ylg '19 FTKFEB; $110,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP, 7-2-1-2, $1,005,700.
Last Start: 1st GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, FG, Mar. 20
Accomplishments: 2nd GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, KEE, Nov. 6; 3rd GIII Robert B. Lewis S., SA, Jan. 30
Next Start: GI Kentucky Derby, CD, May 1
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 110

At some point in late April, jockey Joel Rosario–currently leading the continent in both earnings and graded stakes wins–is going to have to choose between two live Derby mounts, Concert Tour and Hot Rod Charlie. If Rosario opts off of this two-time Fasig-Tipton sales grad ($17,000 FTKFEB; $110,000 FTKOCT), jockey Flavien Prat could wind up with the ride. “This is the time of year where the jockeys are jockeying, literally, for their best chance to win the Derby,” Bill Strauss, a co-owner of Hot Rod Charlie, told the San Diego Union-Tribune over the weekend. He added that his partnership has been keeping contact with Prat, the runaway leader in wins and earnings at the current Santa Anita meet, and he noted that Prat rode this Oxbow colt back in September when Hot Rod Charlie was fifth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths, in a Del Mar grass MSW. “With those two, it's like, do you want [Babe] Ruth or [Joe] DiMaggio?” Strauss quipped. “You'd rather have the guy that's faced the same pitcher, though. Experience on the horse is invaluable.” So is proficiency in the Derby itself: Prat has ridden in three Derbies, placing third in 2017 aboard 40-1 Battle of Midway, and crossing the wire second but getting elevated to first via DQ on 65-1 Country House in 2019.

6) CADDO RIVER (c, Hard Spun–Pangburn, by Congrats)
O/B-Shortleaf Stable (KY). T-Brad Cox. Lifetime Record: SW, 5-2-2-0, $196,092.
Last Start: 5th GII Rebel S., OP, Mar. 13.
Accomplishments: 'TDN Rising Star', 1st Smarty Jones S., OP, Jan. 22
Next Start: GI Arkansas Derby, OP, Apr. 10
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 10

The Kentucky Derby is the ultimate goal for every Top 12 contender, but don't overlook the fact that the Arkansas Derby always figured to be high on the wish list of this colt's connections. This Hard Spun homebred races in the colors of Shortleaf Stable, the outfit run by Hot Springs native John Ed Anthony. Formerly racing as Loblolly Stable, Anthony has won the Arkansas Derby a record three times, with Temperence Hill in 1980, Demons Begone in 1987, and Pine Bluff in 1992 (the latter two were half-brothers). This 'TDN Rising Star' who just hit his third birthday Mar. 29 is a speed-centric threat, but after Caddo River handed the lead to Concert Tour in the Rebel S., he refused to settle and spent most of his energy fighting the rider down the backstretch before suffering a self-inflicted meltdown turning for home. That subpar performance has a “too bad to be true” aura to it though, and it's definitely not in line with the poised and professional appeal that Caddo River flashed earlier in the winter. This colt absolutely needs a qualifying points influx to make the traveling team to Louisville. Right now he's ranked 30th with 10.

7) MIDNIGHT BOURBON (c, Tiznow–Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon)
O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steve Asmussen. Sales History: $525,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP, 7-2-2-3, $461,420.
Last Start: 2nd GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, FG, Mar. 20.
Next Start: GI Kentucky Derby, CD, May 1
Accomplishments: 1st GIII Lecomte S., FG, Jan. 16, 2nd GIII Iroquois S., CD, Sept. 25, 3rd GII Risen Star S., FG, Feb. 13, 3rd GI Champagne S., BEL, Oct. 10
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 66

If you like Derby contenders with ample seasoning, Midnight Bourbon should appeal to your taste. This $525,000 KEESEP colt by Tiznow out of a Malibu Moon mare has made seven starts, all at a mile or longer. Five were in graded stakes, and he's never finished worse than third while racking up Beyers of 93, 96 and 96 in starts at age three. But Midnight Bourbon has yet to unleash that breakthrough effort he seems capable of. He earned his maiden at Ellis Park in a race that yielded only one next-out winner from nine starters, and his GIII Lecomte S. score was achieved under an ideal pace scenario when Midnight Bourbon unexpectedly found himself on the lead with no pressure. This colt is a hard trier capable of digging in when challenged, but Hot Rod Charlie pasted him pretty solidly when they hooked up for the final 2 1/2 furlongs of the Louisiana Derby. Midnight Bourbon looms as a second-tier threat at this point. But if chaos reigns in the Derby, we at least know that he's fit enough to handle a distance of ground and has experienced a few stretch fights that may have toughened him up.

8) PREVALENCE (c, Medaglia d'Oro—Enrichment, by Ghostzapper)
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan Walsh. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $52,800.
Last Start: 1st Allowance/Opt. Clm., GP, Mar. 11
Accomplishments: 'TDN Rising Star'
Next Start: GII Wood Memorial S., AQU, Apr. 3
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0

'TDN Rising Star' Prevalence wowed in his 89-Beyer maiden debut on the GI Pegasus World Cup undercard (other next-out starters collectively 1-for-8), then got a useful allowance tightener at 1-10 odds when coasting home when under light encouragement in a Mar. 11 one-turn mile at Gulfstream. Now this Godolphin homebred will hit the road in search of Derby qualifying points in Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct, where he'll be making both his two-turn and stakes debuts while foregoing Lasix for the first time. “He's a very nice, quiet, easy-going horse and I don't think the travel will affect him at all,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “We'll see how he handles the track. He hits me as a horse who can handle any kind of surface.”

9) MEDINA SPIRIT (c, Protonico–Mongolian Changa, by Briliant Speed)
O-Zedan Racing Stables. B-Gail Rice (FL). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $1,000 ylg '19 OBSWIN; $35,000 2yo '20 OBSOPN. Lifetime Record: GSW, 4-2-2-0, $165,200.
Last Start: 2nd GII San Felipe S., SA, Mar. 6
Next Start: GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, SA, Apr. 3
Accomplishments: 1st Robert B. Lewis S., SA, Jan. 30, 2nd GIII Sham S., SA, Jan. 2
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 14

At 2-for-4 with a stakes win to his name, Medina Spirit's overachieving SoCal form looked pretty good in and of itself for a horse who twice sold at public auction for relatively short money ($1,000 OBSWIN and $35,000 OBSOPN). Then came last week's revelation from trainer Bob Baffert that this Protonico colt was discovered to have a slightly entrapped epiglottis and has recently had surgery to correct it. “Pretty impressive he still ran that well,” Baffert told DRF.com. “We scoped him after [the GII San Felipe Mar. 6]. Gave him a few extra days for it to clear up.” Medina Spirit has since twice worked well, firing one training bullet. His GIII Lewis S. wire job was notable for the way he took heat on the lead through swift splits, then never let another horse by him in a three-way fight that had him a neck in front at the wire. That performance took on added significance when third-place finisher Hot Rod Charlie wired the Louisiana Derby with a 99 Beyer next time out. Medina Spirit's only two losses were seconds behind now-sidelined stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who had been ranked as high as No. 2 on the Derby Top 12 through mid-March.

10) REBEL'S ROMANCE (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}–Minidress {GB}, by Street Cry {Ire})
O/B-Godolphin (IRE). T-Charles Appleby. Lifetime Record: GSW-UAE, 5-4-0-0, $549,879.
Last Starts: 1st G2 UAE Derby, MEY, Mar. 27
Next Start: Uncommitted
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 100

Rebel's Romance (Ire), a Godolphin homebred by Dubawi (Ire), has a Kentucky Derby berth if his connections opt to ship the UAE Derby winner (currently fourth in qualifying points with 100). This is a big gelding known as a slow breaker, and he at first looked out of touch at the back of the pack while careening six paths off the fence through the first turn at Meydan. Rebel's Romance settled on the backstretch run, then methodically began picking off half the pack with an outside swoop. Always making headway, he responded to rousing down the long home straight to win easily by open lengths. “He is still very much a work in progress and he looked much better tonight than he did in Saudi Arabia,” said trainer Charlie Appleby. “I think the biggest attribute to him today is that he was going to stay. We were always confident he was going to stay. Stepping up in trip was going to be his forte.”

11) HELIUM (c, 3, Ironicus–Thundering Emilia, by Thunder Gulch)
O-D J Stable LLC; B-Teneri Farm Inc &
Bernardo Alvarez Calderon (KY); T-Mark Casse. Sales History: $55,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-3-0-0, $287,763.
Last Start: 1st GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, TAM,
Mar. 6. Next Start: GI Kentucky Derby, CD, May 1
Accomplishments: 1st Display S., WO, Oct. 18
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 50

Stabled at Palm Meadows in Florida and training up to the Kentucky Derby, the 15-1 winner of the GII Tampa Bay Derby had his first breeze since that victory on Saturday, going a half mile in :49.25 (17/58). This $55,000 FTKOCT (and subsequently privately purchased) first-crop Ironicus colt owns a 3-for-3 record while displaying a versatile running style, winning on the lead, while stalking, and from closing farther off the pace. At Tampa, Helium was four wide on both turns, got first run at the tiring pacemaker, then gamely held off a fresh closer late in the lane. While Helium will go eight weeks between starts, the third- fifth- and sixth-place horses who ran behind him in the Tampa Derby ran back on Saturday in stakes at Turfway and Gulfstream; two ran sixth, the other was eighth. Only one horse has ever parlayed wins in the Tampa/Kentucky Derbies—Street Sense in 2007. But Helium's maternal grandsire, Thunder Gulch, was the 1995 Derby winner, and Helium's odds in this year's Run for the Roses probably won't be too far off grandpa's juicy 24-1 price.

12) RISK TAKING (c, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Run a Risk, by Distorted Humor)
O-Klaravich Stables Inc; B-G Watts Humphrey Jr (KY);
T-Chad Brown. Sales History: $240,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 4-2-0-0, $182,530.
Last Start: 1st GIII Withers S., AQU, Feb. 6
Next Start: GII Wood Memorial S., AQU, Apr. 3
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 10

The 2-for-4 Risk Taking was committed to the Wood Memorial soon after he won the GIII Withers S. when trainer Chad Brown articulated a desire to keep this $240,000 KEESEP bay racing over a track and distance at which the colt has demonstrated ability. But over the past 10 days or so, the list of probables for the Wood has morphed from a relatively shallow stakes to a fairly deep lineup that now includes No. 8-ranked Prevalence, a pair of Aqueduct stakes victors, the beaten fave in the Tampa Bay Derby, and maybe a West Coast invader. After Risk Taking won the Withers with a sweet stalking trip, Brown said “everyone that's touched the horse has commented about how classy he was, the ability that he has, and how he will get better with time and distance.” On Saturday, we'll find out.

On the Bubble (in alphabetical order):

Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}): Winner of the GIII Davis S. but beaten fave in the Tampa Bay Derby rerouted from Arkansas Derby to Wood Memorial on Saturday at Aqueduct.

Defunded (Dialed In): Impressive MSW sprint layoff winner for Baffert could resurface in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby.

Hush of a Storm (Creative Cause) This New York-bred winner of the Battaglia S. scratched out of the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks in favor of Saturday's Blue Grass S. at Keeneland.

Like the King (Palace Malice): Big, rangy colt with affinity for turf and Tapeta survived foul claim to win the Jeff Ruby Steaks.

Soup and Sandwich (Into Mischief): Fought the pace battle and gallantly stuck around late in the lane despite being on his left lead through the stretch of the Florida Derby. Trainer Mark Casse also reported this gray got “a little worked up” shipping over from Palm Meadows. “He'll run a lot better out of his stall at Churchill Downs.”

The post TDN Derby Top 12 for Mar. 30 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Pletcher: Known Agenda Has ‘Good Energy’ Morning After Florida Derby Victory

St. Elias Stable homebred Known Agenda, showing “good energy” Sunday morning, will remain in South Florida for the time being before heading out for his next step along the Triple Crown trail.

Known Agenda earned his spot in the May 1 Kentucky Derby (G1) with a sharp 2 ¾-length triumph in Saturday's $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa, Gulfstream Park's signature race that has produced a remarkable 60 Triple Crown race winners in its history.

Pletcher, who extended his own record with a sixth Florida Derby victory, five of them coming in the last eight years, was pleased with how Known Agenda emerged from his first career stakes victory.

“Excellent. He came back in great shape, good energy. I'm very happy with him,” Pletcher said. “He'll stay here for a little while. We'll just kind of monitor the weather everywhere and play it by ear whether he has one work at Churchill [Downs] or two works.”

Known Agenda, by two-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Curlin, was the beneficiary of a perfect ride from Irad Ortiz Jr. They were able to settle in along the rail and save ground before tipping out approaching the stretch, catch leader Soup and Sandwich and draw clear on the main track at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., oval.

“He's made a lot of progress in his last two starts. I think the addition of blinkers has been part of it, and part of it is he's getting more experienced and more comfortable in those scenarios when he's behind horses and inside of horses and taking some dirt,” Pletcher said.

“I've been pleased with the way he's been able to get a better position in the race and improve his position going along. We've always had a strong feeling that added distance was going to be to his liking,” he added. “To have three wins at a mile and an eighth now is great, and we feel great about him stretching out even further.”

Also pointing to the Kentucky out of the Florida Derby are runner-up Soup and Sandwich and Greatest Honour, the Holy Bull (G3) and Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) winner trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey who finished third as the 4-5 favorite. Nova Rags and Collaborate, respectively fourth and fifth, will be pointed in other directions.

The Florida Derby put an exclamation point on a winter where Pletcher won his 17th Championship Meet training title – another track record – and second in a row after having his unprecedented 15-year run atop the standings ended in 2018-19.

Pletcher won 12 stakes, seven graded, including two of the three Grade 1 races on the winter calendar, the other coming with Colonel Liam in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. He was also tops with more than $3.5 million in purse earnings.

Among other stakes wins for Pletcher were Largent in the Fort Lauderdale (G2), Fearless in the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2), Always Shopping in the La Prevoyante (G3), Zaajel in the Forward Gal (G3), Con Lima in the Herecomesthebride (G3) and multiple Grade 1 winner Basin in Saturday's Sir Shackleton.

“We've been blessed. A lot of people put a lot of hours and effort into it and we've got a great group of owners and horses and staff making it happen,” Pletcher said. “Gulfstream has been a fun place for us and it's always great when you're able to win a meet but even more special when you're able to win races like the Florida Derby and Pegasus Turf. It's been a great meet.”

Approaching 5,100 career wins, the 53-year-old Pletcher has reached many of his career milestones at Gulfstream. They include his first career start (Jan. 13, 1996) and win (Jan. 26. 1996); 3,000th (Feb. 11, 2002) and 4,000th (March 18, 2016) career victories; and a record six Florida Derby (G1) triumphs.

Holder of a record seven Eclipse Awards as champion trainer and North America's career leader with more than $402 million in purse earnings, Pletcher is a first-time finalist for induction into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame this summer. Among his biggest victories are two in the Kentucky Derby, including 2017 Florida Derby winner Always Dreaming, three in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and 11 in the Breeders' Cup.

“It's a special honor to be nominated. We'll wait and see if we're voted in, but it sort of gives you pause to reflect a little bit. It's hard to believe it's been 25 years so quickly,” Pletcher said. “We've been very fortunate to get a lot of great opportunities and a lot of support from owners and staff, so many people contribute to something like that. It's certainly not an individual achievement as much as it is a team achievement. I'm very grateful to everyone that's contributed.”

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St. Elias Homebred Known Agenda Gives Pletcher His Sixth Florida Derby

St. Elias Stable's Known Agenda received a perfect trip from Irad Ortiz Jr. to win Saturday's $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa, providing the defending three-time Eclipse Award-winning rider with his record-breaking 138th victory of the 2020-2021 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Known Agenda ($12.80) also provided his trainer Todd Pletcher with his record sixth success in the Florida Derby while also earning a stall in the starting gate in this year's Kentucky Derby.

“It has so many great meanings but for me what is so special about this is to win it for St. Elias with a horse that they bred,” Pletcher said. “I know how much that means to them, that makes it a little more extra special for us.”

St. Elias is operated by Vincent and Teresa Viola.

The 70th running of the Curlin Florida Derby headlined a 14-race program with 10 stakes, six graded. The tradition-rich 1 1/8-mile event for 3-year-olds, which has produced the winners of 60 Triple Crown races, offered 170 qualifying points for the May 1 Kentucky Derby (G1) on a 100-40-20-10 basis.

Courtlandt Farms' Greatest Honour, the 4-5 favorite who had won the Jan. 30 Holy Bull (G3) and Feb. 27 Fountain of Youth (G2), finished third and Nova Rags fourth.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

Known Agenda, who had captured a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance by 11 lengths Feb. 26 at Gulfstream, settled in fifth while saving ground as Nova Rags set the pace, pressed by Soup and Sandwich, around the first turn and along the backstretch, producing fractions of 23.43 and 47.73 seconds for the first half mile. Nova Rags and Soup and Sandwich continued to lead the 11-horse field into the homestretch turn, where Ortiz found room to slip Known Agenda off the rail and made a three-wide move around Nova Rags and Soup and Sandwich. The son of Curlin kicked in powerfully through the stretch to score by 2 ¾ lengths.

“I was really pleased with the progress he was making up the backside because one of the things we were a little bit worried about was if he got stuck inside, he didn't seem to handle that in the Remsen [last fall] very well. A lot of horses are more confident when they're outside in the clear,” Pletcher said. “When he was making progress up the backside and picking off horses while he was inside and behind horses, I had a pretty good feeling at that point that he was running his race today and that it was a matter of – we're going to find out how good he is.”

Known Agenda received a ground-saving trip because Ortiz had no other viable options.

The Florida Derby winner is led into the winner's circle

“The instructions were to try and stay as close as I can without going too crazy and start working my way out and put the horse in the clear outside. I saw a couple horses outside of me and I had to take a hold to go around and I said it was too much, so I just followed the flow of the race,” said Ortiz after surpassing Luis Saez's old record of 137 set during the 2017-2018 Championship Meet. “I had to go to the rail, and it worked out great. When I took him out he started rolling.”

Soup and Sandwich, ridden by John Velazquez, raced greenly through the stretch but held on to finish second, three lengths ahead of Greatest Honour. Nova Rags faded to fourth. Collaborate, who stalked the early pace into the far turn, finished fifth. Bob Baffert-trained Spielberg was bumped at the start and was never a factor while finishing seventh.

Known Agenda ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.45 in his third start of the year to capture his first stakes. The homebred colt had finished fifth in the Feb. 6 Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs before winning impressively in his Feb. 26 romp while equipped with blinkers for the first time.

“We were looking for a couple of things in that last race. One, to see if blinkers made an improvement in his being a little more tactical and secondly, we wanted to see how he handled the Gulfstream surface. I thought we got very good answers to both of those questions,” Pletcher said. “The only thing was we were taking a fairly significant step back in class. It wasn't an overwhelming field, but the way he did it, to win by 11 anytime in a race like that, and [jockey] Irad [Ortiz Jr.] kind of wrapped up on him the last part, I thought it was not only an impressive race but a step in the right direction. It showed us that the blinkers helped and that he handled Gulfstream.”

Known Agenda's Florida Derby score was not the first time the Pletcher trainee was able to defeat Greatest Honour. He beat the McGaughey trainee by a head while graduating in a 1 1/8-mile maiden race at Aqueduct Nov. 8.

Greatest Honour, who raced inside of horses along the backstretch, found running room entering the stretch but was unable to make a serious challenge while closing to third under Jose Ortiz.

“I thought we were OK on the turn there and he just didn't kick on the way I thought he would,” Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I thought he ran fine. I think the winner ran a huge race.”

McGaughey said that Greatest Honour will be pointed toward a start in the Kentucky Derby, for which he has 80 qualifying points.

“As of right now, yeah. We just have to see how he is,” he said. “He belongs, as long as he's OK.”

Greatest Honour's jockey was far from discouraged by his mount's first defeat in four starts at Gulfstream.

“He broke a little slow like he always does. I tried to be aggressive but I wasn't fast enough to make it into a nice position, so I had to take him back and drop in. Actually, I had Known Agenda in front of me and I followed him the whole way,” Ortiz said. “At the three-eighths pole I kept following him. I felt like I was in contention at the quarter-pole, but the winner ran a nice race. He was the best horse today, but we'll turn the tables on them on Derby day, that's for sure.”

Trainer Mark Casse said Soup and Sandwich, who earned 40 qualifying points in his stakes debut, would be pointed toward the Kentucky Derby with the hopes that the son of Tapit has earned sufficient points to get into the field.

“I was very pleased, especially if he ever learns what he's doing. [Jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] said he had to fight with him a little. He stayed on his left lead all the way down the stretch. He's like that in the morning, too,” Casse said. “The thing that will help him is it was a little difficult to ship him down from Palm Meadows. It got him a little worked up. He'll run a lot better out of his stall at Churchill Downs.”

Pletcher had previously visited the Florida Derby winner's circle with Scat Daddy (2007), Constitution (2013), Materiality (2014), Always Dreaming (2017) and Audible (2018).

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