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‘Spirit’-less PA Derby Weekend’s Main Event

The decision to withdraw GI Kentucky Derby first-past-the-post Medina Spirit (Protonico) from Saturday's $1-million GI Pennsylvania Derby is certainly a disappointing development, but eight of the nine remaining entrants already have at least one stakes win to their credit, six of those at the graded-stakes level, with a couple of new shooters that have earned their chance to contest a race of this magnitude.

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) is a deserving favorite based on his body of work, one that could look dramatically more sparkling with a few different bounces of the ball. The wire-to-wire winner of the GII Louisiana Derby in March, the half-brother to champion Mitole (Eskendereya) made a run from slightly off the pace and may have hung late when third across the line in the Derby, beaten a length for all of it. Ridden for speed in the GI Belmont S., Hot Rod Charlie cut out an otherwise suicidal early pace and held well deep into the final eighth of a mile, only to be outfinished by Essential Quality (Tapit). His heart was on full display yet again in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. July 17, but he drifted in with a furlong to race, causing Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) to stumble, and was placed last. Connections passed on the GI TVG.com Pacific Classic at home and a trip back this way for the GI Runhappy Travers S. in favor of this spot, won by the Doug O'Neill (Leandro Mora)-trained Handsome Mike (Scat Daddy) in 2012.

“Selfishly, I want it for the whole team, but also for him as an individual,” said O'Neill. “It would be a pretty awesome result for Charlie to get a Grade I win, that's for sure.”

Midnight Bourbon will jump as the second favorite and is likely to be bet well down from his morning line. Able to control a moderate pace in wiring the GIII Lecomte S. over the winter, the strapping bay was runner-up in the Louisiana Derby and ran with credit to be sixth in the Derby after being farther back than connections had hoped. Second to Rombauer (Twirling Candy) in the GI Preakness S. after racing more prominently, he showed tremendous athleticism to pop right up from the incident at Monmouth and gave Essential Quality all he could handle in the Travers last time, going down to a neck defeat while earning a career-best 107 Beyer.

“Hopefully, Saturday is his turn,” said David Fiske, racing manager to Winchell Thoroughbreds. “It's been a peculiar year. Most years, the field for the Kentucky Derby evaporates the day after the Derby. This year we've had Essential Quality, Midnight Bourbon, Hot Rod Charlie, Medina Spirit–even though he scratched–he's still going. There are a lot of them out there and they're all quality colts.”

Fulsome (Into Mischief) pinch-hits here for Derby second and 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) and capped a three-race winning streak with a convincing victory in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill May 29. A money-burning third to the progressive Mr. Wireless (Dialed In) in the GIII Indiana Derby July 7, he bounced back in this track's GIII Smarty Jones S. Aug. 24, but will have to run significantly faster to factor here.

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) bested next-out 'Rising Star' Caddo River (Hard Spun), future MGSW Greatest Honour (Tapit), GSW Bourbonic (Bernardini) and GISP Miles D (Curlin) to graduate at Belmont Oct. 11 and went missing for 10 months before returning to take a first-level Saratoga allowance by 5 1/4 lengths Aug. 14, for which he earned a 101 Beyer. Trainer Bill Mott is a two-time winner of the race, including To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) a decade ago.

Americanrevolution (Constitution) won the state-bred restricted New York Derby at Finger Lakes by 7 1/4 lengths July 19 and added a five-length success in the Aug. 27 Albany S. for Todd Pletcher, whose lone win in this race came courtesy of Harlan's Holiday in 2002.

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Trio Of ‘Heavyweights’ Among 10-Strong Lineup For Saturday’s Pennsylvania Derby

Three of the top contenders in Saturday's $1 million, Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing will be able to keep an eye on each other.

Hot Rod Charlie, Midnight Bourbon and Medina Spirit will line up side-by-side-by-side when the gates open for the 1 1/8 mile race, the centerpiece of the 13-race card.

Road Runner Racing, William Strauss, Boat Racing and Gainesway Stables' Hot Rod Charlie was assigned post position seven at the Monday afternoon draw, which attracted 10 3-year-olds. Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon is right next door in post position eight and Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit drew the nine.

Those are the top three choices on the Pennsylvania Derby morning line. Medina Spirit, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, is the 2-1 morning line favorite and is coming off a win in the $100,000 Shared Belief at Del Mar on Aug. 29. Earlier this year, the son of Protonico won the Kentucky Derby and was third in the Preakness.

“They have all the heavyweights right next to each other,” Baffert said. “Once they draw, we don't worry about it. The break is important no matter what post they have.”

Hot Rod Charlie, the 5-2 second choice on the morning line, crossed the finish line first in the Grade I, $1 million Haskell at Monmouth in his last start on July 17, but was disqualified and placed last after Midnight Bourbon clipped heels with him.

“It's a lucky number. I like seven,” Hot Rod Charlie's trainer Doug O'Neill said about his post. “With a mile and an eighth race on a mile track like that, there is probably not real bad post. No matter where we are, everyone just wants to get in those doors and get a good, clean break.”

Midnight Bourbon is third on the morning line at 5-1. He is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. When last seen Midnight Bourbon finished second in the Grade I, $1 million Travers at Saratoga, beaten by a neck by Essential Quality, the leader of the 3-year-old division

Keepmeinmind, owned by Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm LLC, will be coming to Parx after running against Essential Quality twice at Saratoga. He was second to him in the Grade II, $600,000 Jim Dandy on July 31 and fourth in the Travers. Trained by Robertino Diodoro and ridden by Joel Rosario, Keepmeinmind will be looking for his second career win in his 12th start. He is 8-1 on the morning line.

Four horses are coming into the race with morning line odds of 12-1: Calumet Farm's Bourbonic, third in the Grade III, $500,000 West Virginia Derby in his last start, Juddmonte Farm's Fulsome, winner of the Grade III Smarty Jones at Parx on Aug. 24, Godolphin LLC's Speaker's Corner, an allowance winner at Saratoga in his first start of 2021 at Saratoga on Aug. 14 and Chiefswood Stables Limited's Weyburn, fourth in the Jim Dandy when last seen.

The other two horses in the field are WinStar Farms and China Horse Club Inc's Americanrevolution, winner of three straight races against New York-breds, including the $250,000 Albany Stakes on Saratoga on Aug. 27 and the locally based I Am Redeemed, owned by Lawrence A. Rebbecchi Jr. He has won three of four career starts at Parx.

Here is the Pennsylvania Derby field, in post-position order, with trainer, jockey and morning line odds: 1. Fulsome, Brad Cox, Florent Geroux, 12-1; 2. Keepmeinmind, Robertino Diodoro, Joel Rosario, 8-1; 3. Speaker's Corner, Bill Mott, Jose Ortiz, 12-1; 4. Weyburn, Jimmy Jerkens, Paco Lopez, 12-1; 5. I Am Redeemed, Penny Pearce, Abner Adorno, 20-1; 6. Bourbonic, Todd Pletcher, Kendrick Carmouche, 12-1; 7. Hot Rod Charlie, Doug O'Neill, Flavien Prat, 5-2; 8. Midnight Bourbon, Steve Asmussen, Ricardo Santana Jr., 5-1; 9. Medina Spirit, Bob Baffert, John Velazquez, 2-1; 10. Americanrevolution, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 15-1.

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Quality Road Colt Takes the Lead at Keeneland

The offspring of Quality Road continued to be much sought-after at the Keeneland September Sale, and the stallion's colt out of the tremendous producer Catch The Moon (Malibu Moon) became the sale's most-coveted offering, selling for $1.6 million. Lane's End's Bill Farish signed the winning ticket seated alongside West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley. Consigned by Eaton Sales for Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Bred & Raised as hip 300, the handsome dark bay is out of an unraced mare who has the distinction of accounting for four full graded stakes winners from as many to race. Catch the Moon's first foal was Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John), winner of the GIII Iroquois S. as a juvenile in 2015 shortly before the mare was acquired by Stonestreet for $240,000 in foal to Shanghai Bobby at Keeneland November. In the meantime, the mare's foal of 2014, Girvin (Tale of Ekati), earned Grade I laurels in the GI Haskell Invitational, while the in-utero purchase Pirate's Punch annexed the GIII Salvator Mile. Catch the Moon's most recent graded winner is Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), a $525,000 graduate of the 2019 September sale who won this year's GIII Lecomte S. and was runner-up in both the GI Preakness S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. just weeks after nearly going down in the Haskell.

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Hot Rod Charlie, Medina Spirit Among Early PA Derby Noms

GSW Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) heads the early nominations for the Sept 25 GI Pennsylvania Derby. The nine-furlong marquee race for 3-year-olds highlights a stacked card which features eight stakes races, including five at the graded level. The Pennsylvania Derby was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

“We're still a few works away, but we're real optimistic about Charlie's next stop, the Pennsylvania Derby,” said trainer Doug O'Neill. “The race looks to be coming up tough, which one would expect with a million dollars on the line.”

Winner of the GII Louisiana Derby earlier this spring, the colt finished third in the GI Kentucky Derby before placing second in the GI Belmont S. In his latest start, he crossed the wire first in the July 17 GI Haskell Invitational S. at Momouth, but was demoted to seventh after interfering with eventual winner Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), who is also among early nominees.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who has already registered a trio of Pennsylvania Derby wins with McKinzie (2018), West Coast (2017) and Bayern (2014), has a trio nominated for 2021. Medina Spirit (Protonico), winner of this year's GI Kentucky Derby, subsequently finished third in the GI Preakness S. He most recently returned to action with a win in Del Mar's Shared Belief S. Aug. 29. Other possibilities from the Baffert barn are MGSP Defunded (Dialed In) and SP Bobby Bo (Speightster).

“I like to see how they are doing and how they are training,” said Baffert. “Whoever is doing well, great. Then they will go. I'll let them tell me, how they're training. They are going to have to show me in the mornings. I have had a lot of luck there because I have brought really good horses up there.”

Also among early nominees: GI Runhappy Traver S. scorer Essential Quality (Tapit); GIII Dwyer S. winner First Captain (Curlin), third for trainer Shug McGaughey in his latest start in the Curlin S. at Saratoga; and Life Is Good (Into Mischief), runner-up in the Aug. 28 GI H. Allen Jerkens S.

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