Tag: oxbow

Flavien Prat Picks Up Derby Mount On Hot Rod Charlie

Jockey Flavien Prat will ride Hot Rod Charlie in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs, reports the Daily Racing Form. The 3-year-old son of Oxbow won the Louisiana Derby last out under Joel Rosario, who may have other commitments on the first Saturday in May, including Concert Tour for trainer Bob Baffert.

Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie got acquainted with Prat during a five-furlong work at Santa Anita on Saturday. The pair stopped the clock in 1:01 1/5, 27th of 66 at the distance.

On Monday, O'Neill told DRF: “Both Joel and Flavien are world-class jocks. Flavien was able to commit to Charlie. We're excited moving forward.”

O'Neill has Kentucky Derby wins with I'll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016) on his resume, while Prat was awarded the victory via disqualification on Country House in 2019.

Hot Rod Charlie ran second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last year off a maiden victory, then ran third in the G3 Bob Lewis in his first start as a 3-year-old. He won the Louisiana Derby by two lengths over Midnight Bourbon, O Besos, and Proxy.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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‘Knock On Wood, We’re Heading The Right Way’: Prat Aboard As Hot Rod Charlie Breezes For O’Neill

HOT ROD IN SHARP WORK FOR KENTUCKY DERBY

Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie worked five furlongs Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., in company with stablemate Hammering Lemon, after which Doug O'Neill had high praise for the son of Oxbow as he prepares for the Kentucky Derby on May 1.

“He worked really, really well,” said O'Neill, in pursuit of his third win in the Run for the Roses, having won it in 2012 with I'll Have Another and 2016 with Nyquist.

“I think the clockers gave him 1:01 and two, breezing (the actual time was 1:01.20, breezing),” said O'Neill, who had Flavien Prat aboard. “Breezing” is a rare designation given to horses by clockers in Southern California, who typically designate workouts as being done “handily.”

“Charlie had company with a horse named Hammering Lemon (clocked in 1:01.60) who broke off in front of him. They both finished up good but Charlie was the better of the two.

“Knock on wood we're heading the right way.”

Bob Baffert, seeking his seventh win the Kentucky Derby, plans to work Runhappy Santa Anita Derby runner-up Medina Spirit “next weekend.”

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Hot Rod Charlie Vaults To Four In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

Hot Rod Charlie's frontrunning victory in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 20 was enough to elevate the son of Oxbow in this week's National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.

Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie finished second in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile and began his sophomore campaign with a third-place run in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Jan. 30. In the wake of his victory in the Louisiana Derby – the colt's first graded stakes triumph – Hot Rod Charlie earned 261 points to move into the fourth spot on the poll.

Unbeaten juvenile champion Essential Quality maintained his top position in the rankings, notching 30 first-place votes and 381 points ahead of his expected run in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes on April 3. Concert Tour, winner of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, moved up to second with 7 first-place votes and 328 points with Greatest Honour, the expected favorite for Saturday's Grade 1 Florida Derby, ranking third with 2 first-place votes and 313 points.

Medina Spirit sits fifth behind Hot Rod Charlie with 177 points while Life Is Good (138 points) dropped to sixth after it was announced he was off the Triple Crown trail due to injury. Risk Taking (97 points) is seventh followed by Midnight Bourbon (85), Helium (71), and Spielberg (49).

There was little movement in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with Grade 1 winner Charlatan continuing to lead the way with 24 first-place votes and 364 points. Two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (12 first-place votes, 337 points) remains second followed by champion filly Swiss Skydiver (2 first-place votes, 274 points) and Knicks Go (1 first-place vote, 271 points).

Grade 1 winner Colonel Liam moves up into the fifth position with 211 points in the aftermath of his victory in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes this past weekend. Mystic Guide (1 first-place vote, 161 points) ranks sixth ahead of his slated start in the Dubai World Cup followed by
Idol (147 points), Maxfield (81), Shedaresthedevil (53), and champion female sprinter Gamine (48).

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll concludes following the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through November 6.

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California Invader Hot Rod Charlie Scores Front-End Victory In Louisiana Derby

Second at 94-1 odds in last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and third in his 3-year-old debut in the G3 Robert Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita, Hot Rod Charlie scored a front-running two-length victory under Joel Rosario on Saturday in the $1-million, G2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans, La.

Sent away as the 5-2 second choice in the wagering behind the Brad Cox-trained 6-5 favorite Mandaloun, Hot Rod Charlie battled with Midnight Bourbon and Joe Talamo throughout the 1 3/16 miles, and put that rival away in the final sixteenth of a mile to win in 1:55.06 on a fast main track, a new track record at the infrequently run distance. He paid $7.80 to win.

Fractions of the race were :23.10, :47.04, 1:11.25 and 1:36.38.

Midnight Bourbon held second, with 28-1 longshot O Besos rallying up the rail late to finish a head back in third, with 3-1 third choice Proxy another 1 3/4 lengths back in fourth. Mandaloun finished sixth of the eight 3-year-olds. The Risen Star winner tried to reach contention with the top pair going into the far turn but was not able to sustain his rally.

Leandro Mora, assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill, was the trainer of record for the Louisiana Derby as O'Neill was serving a 10-day medication suspension for a lidocaine positive in California from March 8-17 when entries for the race were taken.

The son of the Awesome Again stallion, Oxbow, Hot Rod Charlie earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, with the second through fourth finishers getting 40, 20 and 10 points, respectively.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

Hot Rod Charlie is owned by the partnership of Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing and William Strauss.

 

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