road to the kentucky derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

COVID-19: Jockey Mike Smith Back On Track In Time For Los Alamitos Futurity

Sidelined since Nov. 29 due to a positive test for COVID-19, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is ready to make his return this weekend at Los Alamitos, reports bloodhorse.com. Smith said he experienced only mild symptoms of the virus, and tested negative on Dec. 15.

The first start of Smith's return to the saddle will come aboard 2-year-old Petruchio in Saturday's Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity. Trained by Richard Mandella, the gelded son of Into Mischief partnered with Smith to break his maiden last out on Oct. 31. The likely second choice in the betting drew post position two in the six-horse field vying for points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

“From what I hear about him, they thought a lot about him early on, but he was a bit of a renegade. He was ornery. They had to geld him, I believe,” Smith told bloodhorse.com. “After doing so, he put all his ducks in a row and ran a bang-up race. That was pretty impressive. He won within himself and has come back and worked really well on the dirt.”

Derby Prep: Red Flag Stretches Out In Los Alamitos Futurity

Red Flag, an impressive winner of the Grade 3 Bob Hope in his stakes debut Nov. 15 at Del Mar, will try two turns for the first time in the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity this Saturday.

A Grade 2 held over 1 1/16 miles, the Futurity will be run for the seventh time at Los Alamitos after having its first 33 renewals at Hollywood Park (1981-2013).

Post time Saturday is 12 Noon. The Futurity is the fourth of 10 races and has a scheduled post time of 1:28 p.m.

Won in the past by stars such as Snow Chief, A.P. Indy, Best Pal, Real Quiet, Point Given, Lookin At Lucky and Shared Belief, the Futurity is part of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby'' series. The winner Saturday will receive 10 points towards securing a spot in the starting gate next May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Owned by Jerry and Tina Moss and trained by John Shirreffs, Red Flag, who was supplemented to the Futurity for $7,500, has won two of three starts and banked $94,100.

A son of Tamarkuz and the Stormy Atlantic mare Surrender, Red Flag finished fifth in his career debut Sept. 6 at Del Mar, then scored a narrow victory when switched to turf Oct. 10 at Santa Anita, defeating next out graduate Gator Shining and five others.

Returned to dirt in the Hope, Red Flag was prominent from the outset while in the clear, then powered home in the final quarter of a mile to win by 7 ¼ lengths as a 10-1 outsider in the field of six.

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella will be represented by Petruchio, who is owned by Claiborne Farm, Ramona and Perry Bass II and Adele Dilschneider.

A gelded son of Into Mischief – who won the 2007 Futurity at Hollywood Park for Mandella – and the Distorted Humor mare Satirical, Petruchio earned his first win in his fourth start, defeating maidens as the 11-10 favorite going one mile on turf Oct. 31 at Del Mar.

No worse than third in his career, Petruchio has earned $58,400.

Hall of Famer trainer Bob Baffert entered Spielberg as he seeks his seventh consecutive Futurity win at Los Alamitos. Baffert has won the previous six with Dortmund (2014), Mor Spirit (2015), Mastery (2016), McKinzie (2017), Improbable (2018) and Thousand Words (2019). All told, Baffert has won the Futurity 12 times.

Owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm LLC and Robert Masterson, Spielberg, a Union Rags colt out of the Smart Strike mare Miss Squeal, was the beaten favorite in the Hope, finishing a distant fourth at 3-5 odds.

On the board in two G1 races – second behind Dr. Schivel in the Del Mar Futurity and third in the American Pharoah won by Get Her Number – Spielberg is 1-for-5 with earnings of $137,200.

Besides Red Flag, Weston is the only other graded stakes winner in the field.

Co-owned by Chris Drakos and trainer Ryan Hanson, Weston captured the Grade 2 Best Pal earlier this year. The Hit It a Bomb gelding out of the Dixie Union mare Elke has won twice in four races and earned $152,000.

Before finishing fifth in the Hope, Weston was a first out winner June 21 and was third in the Del Mar Futurity a month after his Best Pal victory.

Second against fellow California breds in the Golden State Juvenile Nov. 7, Positivity will stretch out for trainer Paddy Gallagher in his second start since being purchased privately by Annie, Justyn and Charles Winner.

A son of Paynter and the City Zip mare Sam's Sunny City, Positivity is 2-for-3 with earnings of $115,500. His two wins – including a stakes score in the Graduation Aug. 2 at Del Mar – came for former trainer Luis Mendez.

Trained by Doug O'Neill for a partnership that includes ERJ Racing LLC, The Great One is a three-start maiden with earnings of $7,340. In his most recent start Nov. 29, the Nyquist colt out of the El Corredor mare Little Ms Protocol was fourth after setting the pace in a one mile race on the Del Mar turf.

From inside out, the field for the Los Alamitos Futurity: Red Flag, Victor Espinoza rides, 120 pounds; Petruchio, Mike Smith, 120; The Great One, Abel Cedillo, 120; Weston, Tyler Baze, 120; Positivity, Drayden Van Dyke, 120 and Spielberg, Flavien Prat, 120.

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‘One Step At A Time’: Derby Hopeful Keepmeinmind Heads To Oaklawn, Will Aim For Southwest Stakes

Keepmeinmind, among the country's leading 2-year-olds, is scheduled to arrive at Oaklawn between Christmas Day and New Year's Day to begin preparations for a 2021 campaign, the colt's trainer, Robertino Diodoro, said Saturday morning.

Diodoro said Keepmeinmind has been in light training at WinStar Farm in Kentucky since breaking his maiden in the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs. The trainer said he hasn't mapped out an early 2021 race schedule for Keepmeinmind, but he likely isn't a candidate for the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 22, a one-mile opening-day event that is Oaklawn's first of four Kentucky Derby points races.

“Probably too short for him, especially with the mile here,” Diodoro said. “It's a short lane and stuff.”

Oaklawn's mile races begin and end at the sixteenth pole in the stretch. Diodoro said Keepmeinmind will be considered for the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 15 at Oaklawn. The late-running son of Laoban has raced four times this year (all routes), finishing second in the $400,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) Oct. 3 at Keeneland and third in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland before his breakthrough victory as the 2-1 favorite. His last three starts have been at 1 1/16 miles.

Diodoro said Keepmeinmind is jogging at WinStar in advance of shipping to Oaklawn. Keepmeinmind has already banked 18 points to rank second on the early Kentucky Derby leaderboard, and the goal, Diodoro said, is a return to Churchill Downs this spring for the first leg of the Triple Crown. The colt also ran second at Churchill Downs in his Sept. 2 career debut.

“Just one step at a time,” Diodoro said. “It's easier said than done, keeping these horses happy and healthy. It's the same with all horses, but, obviously, our long-term plan is, hopefully, live the dream of being at Churchill in May. But that's a ways out. I won't say anything. Let the horse tell us. We're not going to force anything. He came back really good out of his race and is doing well at WinStar, so we'll just play it by ear.”

David Cohen, Oaklawn's leading jockey in 2019, has ridden Keepmeinmind three times, including his victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Silver Prospector won the 2019 Kentucky Jockey Club before finishing fourth in the Smarty Jones – his 3-year-old debut – and capturing the Southwest.

Diodoro said Dreamer's Disease, who finished sixth in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is scheduled to arrive at Oaklawn in early January. Dreamer's Disease, also by Laoban, closed his 2-year-old campaign with a seventh-place finish as the heavy favorite in the $250,000 New York Stallion Series Stakes Dec. 6 at Aqueduct after stumbling badly at the start.

Diodoro, who has never had a Triple Crown starter, already has horses training at Oaklawn.

The post ‘One Step At A Time’: Derby Hopeful Keepmeinmind Heads To Oaklawn, Will Aim For Southwest Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Equibase Analysis: Outadore Looks Tough To Beat In Springboard Mile

Friday's $200,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes is a traditional December showcase for 2-year-olds who are just starting out on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, as this race awards a total of 17 points, including 10 to the winner.

Eleven colts and geldings are entered in this race, led by a pair of horses who last competed on Future Stars Friday as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships last month. Outadore is one of the two, having finished third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf following a victory in the Juvenile Turf Sprint in September. The other is Cowan, runner-up in the G2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, following a runner-up effort in the Indian Summer Stakes one month earlier.

Game Day Play enters the race off a win in the Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington Park at the end of October and tries two turns for the first time. Number One Dude won the Don C. McNeill Stakes at a mile last month versus Oklahoma-breds and faces open (not restricted) company for the first time. Gushing Oil was sent to the post as the prohibitive favorite in the Clever Trevor but only managed seventh.

Red and Wild missed by a head in the Clever Trevor before stretching out to this mile distance and winning so he appears to be ready to compete. Vim and Vigor was beaten just a half-length by Red N Wild when finishing third in that one mile race and may also be competitive in this situation.

Recent maiden winners Flash of Mischief and Senor Buscador are facing much tougher competition here and are of unknown quality. Saffa's Day earned his maiden win first time out in October in a sprint before a sixth place effort in the Nyquist Stakes. Similarly, Joe Frazier won smartly in his debut sprinting in October but when asked to stretch out to two turns last month faded to third after leading early and was beaten by six lengths.

Outadore was fairly impressive winning the first two starts of his career, including the Juvenile Turf Sprint in a field of 10 in September. Earning a 91 Equibase Speed Figure for that win, Outadore stretched out to a mile on grass for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and ran very well as he lead early and was beaten just a neck for the runner-up spot; the winner drew off by three lengths. That effort was a career-best and field high 109 figure. Although all three of his career races to date have been on turf, I see no reason Outadore won't run as well on dirt as a son of Outwork, who is by exceptional sire Uncle Mo. On the dam's side of his pedigree, two of the dam's other foals have run very well in dirt routes, including Piedi Bianchi, who has earned over half a million dollars. With blinkers off to help him relax and a very strong five furlong workout on dirt coming into this race, plus the ability to be sitting in second or third position early off likely early leader Saffa's Day, Outadore has a big shot to win the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes and put his name in the hat as an early Derby contender.

Cowan will likely have to deal with more traffic than Outadore as he routinely comes from much further back in the pack, but other than that he has a strong probability to compete effectively. In the Juvenile Turf Stakes won by Outadore in September, Cowan rallied nicely but too late when third in new blinkers, then next out rallied fast once again, this time for second in the Indian Summer Stakes. Staying around one turn for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last month, Cowan put in a big late rally which fell just three-quarters of a length short of victory at 11-1 odds. That effort earned Cowan a strong 97 figure which may be good enough to win if Outadore does not repeat or improve off his last race. Jockey Stewart Elliot rides for the first time but has been aboard many of trainer Steve Asmussen's winners at Remington Park in the last year and will likely give Cowan a great trip on his way to an in-the-money finish at the least.

Number One Dude is a perfect three-for-three in his career, including his only try at this mile trip. That win came at Remington Park last month in the Don C. McNeill Stakes. Although that race was restricted to horses bred in Oklahoma, Number One Dude improved 16 points to an 89 figure and with a similar improvement may be capable of running as fast as the two top contenders in this year's Springboard Mile so finishing off a trio of top contenders.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Flash of Mischief (78), Game Day Plan (81), Gushing Oil (83), Joe Frazier (84), Red N Wild (80), Saffa's Day (89), Senor Buscador (77) and Vim and Vigor (79).

Win Contenders, in preference order:
Outadore
Cowan
Number One Dude

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