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Road To The Kentucky Derby: Pappacap, Epicenter Go Head-To-Head In Saturday’s Lecomte

Rustlewood Farm's Pappacap, the current points leader on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with 12, headlines a field of nine 3-year-olds for the $200,000 Lecomte Stakes (G3), one of 14 races to be run on Saturday's “Road to the Derby” Day at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Run over 1 1/16 miles, the Lecomte offers ten Kentucky Derby points to the winner, with the rest of the top four earning 4-2-1.

Six stakes have been carded by racing secretary Scott Jones and his crew for Saturday, including the Lecomte's sister race, the $150,000 Silverbulletday. The top four in that 3-year-old filly event will earn Kentucky Oaks qualifying points (10-4-2-1).

A sprint winner on debut on May 14 at Gulfstream, the Florida-bred Pappacap has raced in four graded stakes in California since, winning the Best Pal (G2) at Del Mar and most recently finishing as the runner-up behind Corniche in both the American Pharoah (G2) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

“I never questioned where I wanted to go after the Breeders' Cup,” trainer Mark Casse said of his upcoming run in the Lecomte. “I feel really comfortable at Fair Grounds. We had a lot of success over that track with (Lecomte and Risen Star winner) War of Will and (Kentucky Oaks runner-up) Wonder Gadot. I think it's a great atmosphere and I have a lot of confidence in David Carroll (assistant on the grounds). I think the track there suits him. He's a horse that wants to settle a little bit and not have to hustle a whole lot. He gets over the ground really well there.”

Joe Bravo, who has ridden the son of Gun Runner in all four of his graded stakes starts, will be back aboard on Saturday. Pappacap will leave from post three as Mike Diliberto's 8-5 morning line favorite.

“I'm a loyal kind of guy,” Casse said. “I think Joe has ridden him well and he knows the horse. He helped us out a lot early in the horse's development. In a conversation with the Russells (owners) after the Breeders' Cup we decided that we were going to stick with Joe moving forward.”

Casse has won two of the last three editions of the Lecomte – with War of Will in 2019 and Enforceable in 2020. Like both of those runners, the plan is to run Pappacap through the Fair Grounds' series of upcoming Kentucky Derby points races.

“He's doing well,” Casse said. “I'd rather run him and get him into a race pattern. If you do have a setback this time of year and you miss a little time, you're not behind the eight-ball. As long as he's happy and healthy, our plan is to have him run through the series of 3-year-old races at Fair Grounds and get him as much experience as we can. I think that's a plus.”

The close second choice at 9-5, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter eyes his third consecutive win for trainer Steve Asmussen. After breaking his maiden on the lead, the son of Not This Time dominated the Gun Runner last time out, sitting just off the pace before taking over off the turn and drawing away by 6 ½ lengths.

“He's exciting,” Asmussen said. “The (one-turn) mile from the outside draw when he broke his maiden (at Churchill Downs), the racetrack played for how he ran that day. The Gun Runner and two turns, restrained a little bit early, the way he ran through the wire and galloped out was everything we were hoping for.”

With Joel Rosario aboard, Epicenter will break from post five. Asmussen has won the Lecomte three times, including last year's edition with Midnight Bourbon, who will run in the Louisiana Stakes (G3) earlier in the card.

Columbine Stable's Trafalgar enters the Lecomte off a narrow Fair Grounds allowance victory in his two-turn debut on Dec. 2. After building a comfortable margin in the deep stretch, the son of Lord Nelson had to dig deep to score his second consecutive win for trainer Al Stall, Jr.

“He clearly waited on horses from the 3/16ths to the 1/6ths,” Stall said. “Here comes a Brad Cox horse (Naval Aviator) with a full head of steam, and I'm thinking, well there's goes a 3-5 shot down the drain, but he just reengaged when he saw him and had to run hard the last part. I like the fact that he went from lollygagging around straight to fighting.”

Trafalgar's sire is a multiple graded stakes winning sprinter, so despite the allowance win, the distance question has yet to be emphatically answered.

“He's by Lord Nelson, but if you come to the barn and look at him, you wouldn't think that he's going to be a sprinter,” Stall said. “He looks like A. P. Indy and Pulpit. That's the main reason I bought him in Florida ($310,000 April Ocala 2-year-old in training). He looks like that family. We always felt that he would be a horse that could stretch.”

With Fair Grounds' leading rider Colby Hernandez back aboard, Trafalgar will break from post four at 5-1 in the morning line. Stall has been very happy with the colt's progression so far.

“In the first race at Saratoga, he was drawn on the inside, missed the break and hooked a bear (Classic Causeway),” Stall said. “Second time out (at Churchill), he was in the middle of the racetrack the whole time. He didn't learn a whole lot, it set up for him and he rolled on home. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if he tucked in and kind of let the race unfold in front of him on Saturday. It will be better for him if he has a target. He had a really good five-eighths work with some dirt in his face and a target and a three-quarters in 12 and change gallop out (on Jan. 9), and he came out of this weekend's work great.”

Disqualified after crossing the line first in his career debut at Churchill, the greenness of Gold Square's Cyberknife got him beat in Louisville six weeks later, this time on the square. Stretched out around two turns for the first time on Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds, he took a clear advantage in the stretch, but nearly coughed it up late.

“He's obviously raced erratically in all three starts down the lane,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I thought he was very impressive here last time up until the last little bit. It's all mental with him. It's nothing we can really fix with him in the mornings. He's a colt that has always been a little tough to handle. He's not straightforward. He's the kind of horse who requires a good hand. He's very immature. I think the talent is there, but he's got to take a step forward mentally, and I think he will. He just needs to race and get some miles underneath him in the afternoons. I think he's going to be a player in the 3-year-old division.”

With blinkers back on for the first time since the debut, the son of Gun Runner will be reunited with jockey Florent Geroux. He breaks from post six at 6-1 in the morning line.

Undefeated from three starts, including consecutive restricted stakes wins, Valene Farms' Unified Report will face his toughest task to date on Saturday. He will break from post two with Corey Lanerie aboard (15-1 ML).

“He has trained very well and he deserves the opportunity,” trainer Dallas Stewart said. “Obviously he's been running against Louisiana-breds, but I think he's a nice horse and we are going to find out how nice he is.”

The remainder of the field with post position, jockey/trainer and morning line odds is as follows: Mark and Nancy Stanley's Surfer Dude (post one, Reylu Gutierrez/Dallas Stewart, 15-1 ML), third last out in the Gun Runner; Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Blue Kentucky (post seven, Jareth Loveberry/Wayne Catalano, 20-1 ML), who will test two turns for the first time in career start number seven off a runner-up effort in the Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds; Peter Cantrell's Call Me Midnight (post eight, James Graham/Keith Desormeaux, 20-1 ML), seventh last out in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs; and Courtlandt Farms' Presidential (post nine, Brian Hernandez, Jr./Steve Asmussen, 20-1 ML), the runaway winner of a maiden special weight route in his second career start last out at Indiana Grand.

The post Road To The Kentucky Derby: Pappacap, Epicenter Go Head-To-Head In Saturday’s Lecomte appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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TDN Derby Top 12 for Jan. 4

We're inside the 125-day mark for the May 7 GI Kentucky Derby. The initial Top 12 rankings are largely based on 2-year-old form, but a speculative element is baked into the equation with an eye toward projecting how these still-developing contenders will blossom over the next four months.

1) PAPPACAP (c, Gun Runner–Pappascat, by Scat Daddy)
O/B-Rustlewood Farm, Inc. (FL). T-Mark E. Casse. Lifetime Record: GSW & MGISP, 5-2-2-0, $576,000. Last Start: 2nd GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by TAA. Next Start: GIII Lecomte S., FG, Jan. 22. KY Derby Points: 12

Pappacap's past performance block might not suggest an obvious number-one ranking. After all, this is a colt who hasn't won a race since Aug. 7. But when you scrutinize the way this hard-trying Gun Runner homebred for Rustlewood Farm has gone about his business, the intangibles stack in his favor.

Pappacap was fast enough to win at first asking May 14 (pressured intensely by another dueler while the two opened up eight lengths), and he has been an alert breaker in all five of his starts. He's also shown a high level of comfort stalking in a covered-up position; has displayed poise beyond his peers in making multiple in-race moves; and, even in losing efforts, Pappacap noticeably digs in when he senses rivals closing on him. His runner-up try at 15-1 in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile fused many of those attributes: Pappacap led briefly the first few jumps, fought a rating hold through the first turn, settled onto the backstretch, then edged up to be jointly second 3 1/2 furlongs out. Asked for his best approaching the quarter pole, Pappacap was “on hold” in tight quarters for about six strides before shooting a narrow gap and earnestly responding to rousing, but the lone-speed fave was beyond his catching at 1 1/16 miles.

He'll try the New Orleans route to Louisville, and if he wins the GIII Lecomte S., Pappacap will be the third winner of that stakes in the past four years for trainer Mark Casse (who took the '19 and '20 editions but had no entrant last year).

2) SMILE HAPPY (c, Runhappy–Pleasant Smile, by Pleasant Tap) 'TDN Rising Star' O-Lucky Seven Stable. B-Moreau Bloodstock Int'l Inc. & White Bloodstock LLC (KY). T-Kenneth G. McPeek. Sales History: $175,000 wlg '19 KEENOV; $185,000 ylg '20 FTKSEL. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $284,810. Last Start: 1st GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Next Start: Possible for GIII Southwest S., OP, Jan. 29. KY Derby Points: 10

Physically imposing 'TDN Rising Star' Smile Happy produced the most visually arresting two-turn debut of any juvenile last season when he accelerated in hand three-eighths out in his Oct. 29 Keeneland unveiling, winning at will by 5 1/2 easy lengths. Perhaps the relatively low Beyer Speed Figure of 70 for that effort allowed this son of Runhappy ($175,000 KEENOV; $185,000 FTKSEL) to go off at generously overlaid 9-2 odds (third choice) in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. in start number two. But the 90 Beyer-earning, 3 1/2-length shellacking Smile Happy administered stamped him among the top of the crop. Although he's lightly raced, this colt has an edge over other contenders in terms of “swagger factor.” A midpack fifth on the first turn at Churchill, Smile Happy got switched out to the four path on the far bend just off the flank of the primed-to-pounce favorite, then loped into his best stride 2 1/2 furlongs out to gain a menacing position fourth off the fence turning for home. Smile Happy's response was both instant and impressive when set down for the drive in upper stretch, and there was a definite transfer of torque into another gear at the eighth pole that no one in that fairly talented field could match. After a Florida freshening and a Jan. 1 return to the Gulfstream work tab–a three-eighths breeze in :38.46 (12/17)–this colt is aiming for an Arkansas prep campaign.

3) CORNICHE (c, Quality Road–Wasted Tears, by Najran)
'TDN Rising Star' O-Speedway Stables LLC. B-Bart Evans & Stonehaven Steadings (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $385,000 RNA ylg '20 KEESEP; $1,500,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 3-3-0-0, $1,262,000. Last Start: 1st GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by TAA. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: N/A

'TDN Rising Star' Corniche has never been headed in three front-running scores from as many starts, and the way this stylish son of Quality Road (who topped last year's OBS April sale) broke fluidly from the outermost post and was always in control through brisk splits in the Juvenile almost assuredly cemented his chances of being crowned 2-year-old champ. But since the advent of the Breeders' Cup, winners of the Juvenile have accounted for only two Derby scores from 37 runnings (Nyquist in 2016 and Street Sense in 2007)–a daunting historical trend to overcome. As a counter to that stat, Corniche's pure-speed running style meshes well with the tactical profile of the previous six Derby winners, all of whom were either wire-to-wire winners or no worse than second at internal calls.

You can't talk about this dual Grade I victor's Derby chances without bringing up the subject of trainer Bob Baffert's banishment from Churchill Downs and the inability of his entrants to earn Derby qualifying points. But at this very early stage of the season, the Top 12 rankings will focus more on the contenders themselves while issues involving Baffert's status play out.

4) CLASSIC CAUSEWAY (c, Giant's Causeway–Private World, by Thunder Gulch) O/B-Kentucky West Racing LLC & Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust (KY). T-Brian A. Lynch. Lifetime Record: GISP, 3-1-1-1, $181,100. Last Start: 2nd GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Next Start: Possible for GIII Holy Bull S., GP, Feb. 5. KY Derby Points: 6

You don't see too many 90-Beyer, 6 1/2-length wire jobs from 13-1 firsters at the Spa. But the burden of favoritism while hung out wide from post 13 at Keeneland next time out contributed to a forgivable regression to third when this colt ambitiously forged to the front in the short-stretch GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S.

Trainer Brian Lynch then focused on trying to get this Giant's Causeway homebred to relax during his training. The strategy worked for the most part in the Kentucky Jockey Club S., when Classic Causeway broke running from post one, then conceded the lead to a trio of pacemakers after attaining good inside position. Jockey Joel Rosario repositioned this colt to the three path entering the final turn, and Classic Causeway was on the move with eventual winner Smile Happy when the contenders stacked up four across the track at the head of the lane. Classic Causeway couldn't match strides with a much-the-best winner that day, but the runner-up effort left an impression of room for positive progression into 2022. Classic Causeway will be pointed to the Gulfstream preps while based at Palm Meadows.

5) EMMANUEL (c, More Than Ready–Hard Cloth, by Hard Spun) 'TDN Rising Star' O-WinStar Farm LLC & Siena Farm LLC. B-Helen K. Groves Revocable Trust (KY). T-Todd A. Pletcher.
Sales History: $350,000 ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $31,800. Last Start: 1st Gulfstream MSW. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: 0

Emmanuel forced the issue from the one hole going a one-turn mile in his Dec. 11 debut, and the way this brawny son of More Than Ready effortlessly accelerated away at the half-mile pole after posting legit splits suggests the $350,000 KEESEP colt is going to be problematic for any Derby aspirant who dares to engage him on the front end over a Gulfstream surface he so obviously relishes. Favored at 7-5 and crowned a 'TDN Rising Star' in the process of that MSW smackdown, he earned a 78 Beyer that could have been higher had he not been geared down late.

“We've had a lot of More Than Readys over the years, and this is a bigger, scopier colt than a lot of them,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He kind of reminds me of a Verrazano type–a big, physical, strong imposing colt.”

6) GIANT GAME (Giant's Causeway–Game For More, More Than Ready) O-West Point Thoroughbreds & Albaugh Family Stables LLC. B-H. Allen Poindexter (KY). T-Dale L. Romans. Sales History: $500,000 ylg '20 FTKSEL. Lifetime Record: GISP, 3-1-0-2, $242,400. Last Start: 3rd GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by TAA. Next Start: Aiming for a to-be-determined Florida stakes. KY Derby Points: 4

Giant Game took over three-eighths out to win career start number two, a slow-paced, first-wire-finish route at Keeneland, and that Oct. 9 MSW has subsequently yielded three next-out winners and two well-bet runners-up. His entry into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile four weeks later was a big ask, yet it resulted in a very credible third at 21-1 odds. This $500,000 FTKSEL colt was cued to quicken out of the gate, and jockey Joe Talamo picked a ground-saving spot behind the slightly rank Pappacap. Tipped out to the three path, Giant Game loomed 3 1/2 lengths off favored frontrunner Corniche, then quickened cadence on his own accord while needing only light encouragement to briefly seize second turning for home, widest of the front five. He dug in as well as he could and never packed it in, but while Corniche expanded his winning margin, Pappacap clearly outkicked Giant Game for the place.

After a bit of a break, this well-balanced, athletic colt has recently posted two Gulfstream half-mile breezes in prep for a to-be-determined Florida stakes start.

7) JACK CHRISTOPHER (c, Munnings–Rushin No Blushin, by Half Ours) 'TDN Rising Star' O-Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud & Peter M. Brant. B-Castleton Lyons & Kilboy Estate (KY). T-Chad C. Brown. Sales History: $145,000 RNA ylg '20 FTKSEL; $135,000 ylg '20 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: GISW, 2-2-0-0, $330,000. Last Start: 1st GI Champagne S. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: 10

'TDN Rising Star' Jack Christopher had been the 9-5 favorite on the morning line for the Juvenile when he was forced to scratch the day before that championship race with what trainer Chad Brown described at the time as a “callous on his shin that [Breeders' Cup veterinarians] were uncomfortable with.” A subsequent bone scan revealed a stress fracture, and in mid-November this Munnings colt had a screw surgically inserted to help it heal.

Expectations had been high going into the Juvenile based on an 8 1/2-length blowout debut when favored on the Travers undercard (92 Beyer), and in the one-turn-mile GI Champagne S., Jack Christopher relentlessly engaged the pacemaker on the far turn to earn a 102 Beyer under strong urging. When Jack Christopher's big white blaze eventually graces the work tab in Florida, he'll be the most closely scrutinized sophomore comebacker in the country.

8) COSTA TERRA (c, Gun Runner–Teardrop, by Tapit)
O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY). T-Steven M. Asmussen. Lifetime Record: SP, 3-1-0-1, $57,900. Last Start: 5th GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: 0

Costa Terra is flying under the radar coming off a subpar fifth when last seen in the Breeders' Futurity S. in October. But this homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds caught the eye with enough gusto in his first two races at Ellis Park to merit consideration as a plucky fighter who has the pedigree (by Gun Runner out of a Tapit mare) to adapt to longer distances.

Costa Terra's July 1 debut in the slop was remarkable for the huge gap he closed in a five-furlong sprint, in which he looked surely beaten from the quarter pole until the final jump. He was third next, beaten half a length, despite a momentum stall on the turn and running up on heels late in the Ellis Juvenile S. before galloping out like he wanted more.

Stretched around two turns at Keeneland, Costa Terra's running line suggests he was a no-impact threat from well back. But he likely got a decent learning experience out of his four-wide journey into the first turn from post 11 before making mild progress on the far bend. He then got a two-month freshening and now has built up a work log of five steady breezes at Fair Grounds.

9) NEWGRANGE (c, Violence–Bella Chianti, by Empire Maker)
O-Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Starlight Racing, Stonestreet Stables, LLC, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan, Robert E. Masterson & Jay A. Schoenfarber. B-Jack Mandato & Black Rock Thoroughbreds (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $125,000 yrl '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $102,000. Last Star: 1st GIII Sham S. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: N/A

With a 2 3/4-length win in Saturday's GIII Sham S., this Baffert trainee is two-for-two without having yet been unleashed to his full potential. This $125,000 KEESEP colt by Violence controlled an even-tempoed mile en route to an 88 Beyer (eight points better than his winning six-furlong debut). But the major visual takeaway was how effortlessly Newgrange opened up on his favored stablemate, Rockefeller (Medaglia d'Oro), three-eighths from home while Rockefeller was ridden with greater urgency. “There was one speed, the other Bob Baffert horse, and I'm pretty sure he didn't want them in a head-and-head,” jockey John Velazquez said. “He told me to put my horse on the lead. Once my horse got to the lead he waited. I took a little hold of him [and] by the time we got to the backside I kind of let him do his own thing. I let him get in a comfortable rhythm. After that it was pretty easy. He's so green…I had to give him a little reminder to keep his mind on running. And his gallop-out was pretty good, so it still seems like he's learning.”

10) MO DONEGAL (c, Uncle Mo–Callingmissbrown, by Pulpit)
O-Donegal Racing. B-Ashview Farm & Colts Neck Stables (KY). T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales History: $250,000 ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-2-0-1, $197,800. Last Start: 1st GII Remsen S. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: 10

Lost amid all the talk about the controversial non-DQ in the stretch run of the GII Remsen S. is the fact that Mo Donegal and Zandon (Upstart) engaged in a rousing fight from the eighth pole home that will hopefully result in a rematch of rivals. Both were stepping up off maiden wins and trying two turns for the first time, and they crossed the wire separated by only a nose with Mo Donegal in front while 9 3/4 lengths clear of the outclassed stragglers. This $250,000 KEESEP colt earned style points for how he skimmed across the heels of the four frontrunners to escape traffic at the top of the lane before grinding down Zandon while applying relentless outside pressure (described as an “attempt to intimidate” by the Equibase chart caller). The two bumped and brushed approaching the wire (final eighth in :12.33) and co-earned 89 Beyers in the only nine-furlong Derby prep for late-season 2-year-olds.

11) ZANDON (c, Upstart–Memories Prevail, by Creative Cause)
O-Jeff Drown. B-Brereton C. Jones (KY). T-Chad C. Brown. Sales History: $170,000 ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSP, 2-1-1-0, $99,500. Last Start: 2nd GII Remsen S. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: 4

As described above, this $170,000 KEESEP colt by Upstart turned in a big Remsen effort when second on the stretch-out from a six-furlong MSW score. He's a sizable good-looker with a nearly black coat, and he enjoyed a clean stalking trip behind a dawdling pace to get second run on two tiring long shots. After splitting horses with authority in upper stretch, this colt braced for the final-furlong confrontation with the eventual winner. And although the onrushing Mo Donegal had built better momentum, Zandon was not intimidated by being hemmed in tight at the fence, and in fact seemed emboldened by the confrontation. Mo Donegal won it by a nose, but Zandon got his head down in front just after the finish, galloping out slightly stronger and longer than his rival.

12) MAJOR GENERAL (c, Constitution–No Mo Lemons, by Uncle Mo) O-WinStar Farm LLC & Siena Farm LLC. B-Circular Road Breeders (KY). T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales History: $265,000 ylg '20 KEEJAN; $420,000 ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $232,525. Last Start: 1st GIII Iroquois S. Next Start: Uncommitted. KY Derby Points: 10

The two-for-two Major General won the very first qualifying points race for the '22 Derby, the Sept. 18 GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill, but soon after was shelved for what was announced in October as a 60-day break. The winning effort by this Constitution colt stood out considering he overcame a bobble at the break and some momentum loss through the first turn. Major General then uncoiled with a big move 3 1/2 furlongs out and bumped two times with the favorite in upper stretch. The roughhousing did not dissuade this colt, and he still had enough power left late to fend off an onrushing closer to win by a neck.

On the Bubble (in alphabetical order):

Epicenter (Not This Time): Sparred with the speed then drew off without facing a serious stretch challenge in the 87-Beyer Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds Dec. 26. Lecomte looms as next start for this Steve Asmussen trainee.

Rattle N Roll (Connect): McPeek-trained winner of the Breeders' Futurity S. at Keeneland missed the Breeders' Cup with a foot abscess. Galloping at Gulfstream, but yet to post a published work.

Slow Down Andy (Nyquist): Won five-entrant GII Los Alamitos Futurity while lugging in with head cocked to grandstand through stretch. Trainer Doug O'Neill considering blinkers for next start, which could come at Oaklawn in the Southwest S.

Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb): Grade II grass winner at Keeneland and runner-up in GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf was going to try a dirt transition for trainer McPeek in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. in late November, but a left front foot infection scuttled that start. Posted first published breeze since then on Jan. 1 at Gulfstream.
White Abarrio (Race Day): Stalked and kicked late to achieve third in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Now aiming for Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream, where this gray is two-for-two.

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Slow Down Andy Joins Five Others With 10 Kentucky Derby Qualifying Points

With his victory over 1-2 favorite Messier in Saturday's Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity at Los Alamitos racecourse in Cypress, Calif., Reddam Racing's Slow Down Andy earned 10 qualifying points for the May 7, 2022, Kentucky Derby. The Doug O'Neill-trained colt by Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist joins five others with 10 points each, two points behind the current leader, Mark Casse-trained Pappacap, runner-up behind Corniche in both the G1 American Pharoah Stakes and G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Corniche, like other horses trained by Bob Baffert, is ineligible for Derby points and the Derby itself, as long as he is in the stable of the Hall of Fame horseman, who has been excluded through June 2023 from participation at all tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc., including its flagship operation in Louisville, Ky., where the Derby is run.

Churchill Downs Inc. took the action against Baffert when it was revealed the 2021 Derby winner, Medina Spirit, failed a post-race drug test. No regulatory action has been taken against Medina Spirit or Baffert by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which has yet to schedule a hearing on the matter. Baffert and his attorneys contend the positive drug test for the corticosteroid betamethasone was the result of an ointment they said Baffert's veterinarian prescribed for a skin rash a month before the Kentucky Derby.

Medina Spirit's failed test was the fifth (and second for betamethasone) alleged violation compiled by Baffert over a 365-day period. His previous betamethasone positive test was for the champion filly Gamine after she finished third as the odds-on favorite in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks. She was disqualified and placed ninth.

The Baffert-trained duo of Messier finished second and Barossa finished third in the Los Alamitos Futurity but did not earn any points. Fourth-place finisher Durante, also from the O'Neill barn, finished fourth, earning one point.

The next qualifying points race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby is Friday's Springboard Mile at Remington Park, offering 10-4-2-1 points to the top four finishers.

Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks standings plus Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks race schedule

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Breeders’ Cup Notes: Clement, Asmussen Celebrate Their BC Wins

Corniche – Speedway Stables' Corniche, whose $1.5 million sale price looks every bit the bargain following his wire-to-wire victory in the G1 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on Friday, came out of the race no worse for the wear.

Trainer Bob Baffert reported: “All my horses came out of the race well (including Pinehurst and Barossa). I thought his (Corniche) race was very impressive. He's a really, really fast horse and this performance shows what a brilliant horse he is.”

Baffert joked, “He was marching around the track like he was American Pharaoh.”

As for any future plans, Baffert said, “He won't race again this year. We don't have any specific plans for him.”

Corniche, when officially voted the champion 2yo, will become the conditioner's sixth Eclipse Award-winning juvenile colt.

Pappacap/Grafton Street – Juvenile runner-up Pappacap and Juvenile Turf third-place finisher Grafton Street left California for Kentucky at 1 a.m. and will be given some time off in Florida before beginning preparations for their 3-year-old campaigns.

“They both came out of their races well,” assistant trainer Allen Hardy-Zukowski said. “We were very happy with how they ran.”

Echo Zulu – It was all smiles around the Steve Asmussen barn Saturday morning as they completed preparations for today's races and basked in the victory by L and N Racing LLC and Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Echo Zulu in the G1 NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The daughter of 2017 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Gun Runner, also trained by Asmussen, went to the lead early and never looked back, drawing off to win by 5 ¼ lengths.

“I think it's as simple as she's faster than they are,” Asmussen said. “And, I think that's what she's been all year. She continues to be just extremely satisfying. When you look at a four-race year, three Grade 1s and the style in which she's done it. All of her races are fast, her numbers are good. And, against the best company, that's as good as it gets. You catch the Alcibiades winner and the Pocahontas winner. They made it here. And, she was better on the day. We're very proud of that.

“It was a very comfortable race to watch, with what's on the line and you want everything to go well. It was immediately a pretty easy race to watch. It looked like she was handling it. She was traveling well. She looked like she was getting a little separation around the three-eighths pole. And, I think that that was the separation that Gun Runner developed into, where you would see early in a race they were doing enough, but somewhere in the middle, he was doing it easier than they were and you would see the separation.

“His time, his 4-year-old year, the races that he put up, and the times that he was throwing down are going to be hard to match for anybody ever. When you have Gun Runner and everything that he did for us and how anxious we all were to get to run his babies and then for her to be what she is, it's extremely gratifying and special.”

Asmussen said that Echo Zulu has earned a vacation after completing an undefeated 2-year-old campaign.

“She needs a bit of a break now. So that she can fill in, she needs to grow. She's not a big filly in stature, but as a Gun Runner, I mean, he was extremely talented, but he developed into the best in the world.”

Juju's Map – Trainer Brad Cox, who has another busy day with the two favorites – Knicks Go and Essential Quality – in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic and Shedaresthedevil in the G1 Distaff, reported that Juvenile Fillies runner-up Juju's Map came out of the race well.

“She's doing good,” Cox said. “She ran hard. She was just second best yesterday.”

Pizza Bianca – Bobby Flay's homebred filly Pizza Bianca headed back to the East Coast several hours after her dramatic victory in the G1 Juvenile Fillies Turf.

A spectacular ride by jockey Jose Ortiz, who replaced Joel Rosario, delivered to veteran trainer Christophe Clement his first victory in a Breeders' Cup race. Ortiz was last approaching the stretch, but managed to save ground on the inside and make his way through the field ahead.

Clement said he was very pleased with the performance, which capped a strong 2-year-old season by the only horse he currently has in training for Flay.

“She ran very well. She got a great ride,” he said. “A good filly. Three starts, two wins, and one second in a Grade 1 in Canada. For me the biggest accomplishment of the whole deal – of course, it's great to win the Breeders Cup – is that owner-breeder Bobby Flay chose us with a filly that is very well bred and we were able to do this. It is very meaningful for me.”

Though she is a Kentucky-bred based in the U.S., Pizza Bianca has a strong international grass pedigree. She is out of Flay's White Hot, a daughter of Galileo, and her sire, the Australian-bred Fastnet Rock is by Danehill. White Hot never made it to the races, but she has proven to be a valuable broodmare.

“It just shows it works.” Clement said. “I guess you just have to have an open mind because it works. He's done it.”

After Pizza Bianca finished second in the Natalma at Woodbine on Sept. 19, Clement was considering having her make her next start at Belmont Park in the Chelsey Flower. Following a work at Belmont Park in late October, Flay encouraged Clement to take her to the Breeders' Cup. If they pursued that option, it meant they would have to find a replacement for Rosario, who had ridden in her in both of her starts.

“We had the question mark with the jock, Rosario, the question mark about the ground being too firm,” Clement said. “I had no question about the filly being good enough because we knew that she was a good filly, but there was the question mark about the ground. She has been training very, very well. Great ride. It all worked it. It was wonderful.”

Pizza Bianca will return to competition in the spring, Clement said. He said New York's turf triple crown is a likely target.

“That would be the goal of the moment, but we have time to think about it,” he said.

Clement is one of the most accomplished trainers in America, and is especially tough on turf, but he was winless in 40 starts in the Breeders' Cup entering this year's event at Del Mar. He said Saturday morning that it was a satisfying win to have on his resume, but not one he had to have.

“I never woke up in the morning thinking I've got to win the Breeders' Cup to change my life. That's not the way I am,” he said. “I wake up in the morning thinking I've got to win my next race with my next runner. But I'm very happy that we've won the Breeders' Cup.”

Tiz the Bomb – Phoenix Thoroughbred's Tiz the Bomb, who rallied from 12th in a field of 13 to grab the runner-up spot behind Modern Games (IRE) in the G1 Juvenile Turf left Del Mar at 1 a.m. Saturday to return to Kentucky for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Arrest Me Red – Lael Stables' lightly raced Pioneerof the Nile colt Arrest Me Red will remain such, for now, as he was withdrawn from the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on Saturday morning. Ward's other two in the race, Golden Pal and Kimari, will run.

“We had a little foot issue and changed the horse's shoes,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “It kept getting better, but we erred on the side of caution.”

Ward won his third consecutive G2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and fifth Breeders' Cup race with Stonestreet Farms' Twilight Gleaming (IRE) on Friday.

“She was perfect this morning,” he said. “She jogged up perfect and is with (third-place finisher Kaufymaker and fifth-place finisher and post-time favorite Averly Jane) on a plane. She should be landing soon and in her stall at Keeneland in a couple hours.”

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