Roman Centurian | Horse Racing Free Tips

Santa Anita Derby Still Goes Through Baffert Barn

Even after the defection of unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief) due to an ankle chip, Saturday's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby will still go through Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's barn.

Medina Spirit (Protonico), just a $35,000 OBS July 2-year-old pick-up by Zedan Racing Stables last year, was a game-as-can-be narrow winner of the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. two starts back over 'TDN Rising Star' Roman Centurian (Empire Maker) and subsequent GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow).

Medina Spirit was also second-best behind his aforementioned sidelined stablemate twice, including eight lengths adrift most recently in the GII San Felipe S. Mar. 6.

Baffert, also represented by second-out, come-from-behind six-furlong maiden winner Defunded (Dialed In) Mar. 6, has won a record nine Runhappy Santa Anita Derbies.

Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) switches to dirt after opening his career with a pair of visually impressive victories on turf, including the one-mile Pasadena S. last time Feb. 27. Rock Your World, a $650,000 KEESEP yearling graduate, fired a five-furlong warning shot for John Sadler in :59 1/5 (1/82) at Santa Anita Mar. 28. The dark bay is out of the Empire Maker mare Charm the Maker, heroine of the Sharp Cat S. and placegetter in the GI Hollywood Starlet S. and GI Oak Leaf S.

'TDN Rising Star' Dream Shake (Twirling Candy), a flashy debut winner sprinting for Peter Eurton Feb. 7, was a distant third while making his two-turn debut in the San Felipe, 3 1/4 lengths ahead of fourth-place finisher Roman Centurian. The latter is expected to scratch and could resurface in either the GI Arkansas Derby or GIII Lexington S., according to a report in Daily Racing Form.

Law Professor (Constitution), eighth in the Dream Shake maiden, followed up with a promising graduation going a two-turn mile over this course Mar. 5.

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Concert Tour, Caddo River Head 3yo Worktab Saturday

Heading the likely cast of contenders in the Apr. 10 GI Arkansas Derby, undefeated Concert Tour (Street Sense) worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 under Juan Ochoa at Santa Anita Saturday morning.

“He went great; he looked fantastic,” said trainer Bob Baffert. “He couldn't have looked any better. He just cruised around there in a minute and change.”

Taking over as top dog in the Baffert barn following the injury of Life Is Good (Into Mischief), Concert Tour a perfect three-for-three this season, including wins in the GII San Vicente S. and GII Rebel S.

Also working ahead of the Arkansas Derby, Caddo River (Hard Spun) breezed a half-mile in :48 after Oaklawn's first surface renovation break under Fernando De La Cruz. Caddo River, working with stablemate Joe Frazier, who credited with the same time. Clockers had the Brad Cox-trained duo galloping out five panels in 1:00, six furlongs in 1:13 and 7/8ths in 1:27.60.

A homebred for John Ed Anthony, Caddo River was a record-setting 10 1/4-length winner of the Smarty Jones S. Jan. 22 before finishing fifth in the Rebel.

Also at Oaklawn, Rebel sixth Keepmeinmind (Laoban) breezed after the second renovation break under regular rider David Cohen. Keepmeinmind went five furlongs in 1:00 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.60, according to clockers. The colt is expected to make his next start in either the Arkansas Derby and GII Blue Grass Stakes Apr. 3 at Keeneland and a decision on the colt's next start is expected by Monday.

“If it's the Blue Grass, he's going to miss a little bit of serious training, shipping over there and stuff,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said. “I gave him a stiff work today. If we run him next weekend, he's not going to be doing a whole bunch from now until then. We'll jog him, little easy gallop. If he stays here for the Arkansas Derby, then we'll probably come back next weekend with a real easy half.”

Prepping for this season's Classics on the West Coast, a host of sophomore's posted their final major works ahead of next weekend's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Saturday's worktab included GII San Felipe S. third Dream Shake (Twirling Candy), who went five furlongs in :59.80 and Roman Centurian (Empire Maker), second in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. and fourth in the San Felipe, who negotiated the same distance in 1:00.40 for Simon Callaghan. San Felipe fifth-place finisher The Great One (Nyquist) worked six furlongs in 1:14.20 for Doug O'Neill. The Louisiana bred finished runner up in last season's GII Los Alamitos Futurity.

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Even With Top Colt Sidelined, Life On Triple Crown Trail Is Still Good For Baffert

Medina Spirit, twice runner-up to unbeaten stablemate Life Is Good, is scheduled to have his final major work Sunday for the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, a race trainer Bob Baffert has won a record nine times, starting with California-bred Cavonnier in 1996 and culminating to date with Roadster in 2019.

Even with the defection of early Kentucky Derby favorite Life Is Good due to a small chip in his left hind ankle, Baffert still has three other Triple Crown hopefuls, among them undefeated San Vicente Stakes and Rebel Stakes winner Concert Tour, who worked five furlongs Saturday morning in 1:00.80 under Juan Ochoa for the Arkansas Derby on April 10.

“He went great; he looked fantastic,” the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer said of the son of Street Sense owned and bred by Gary and Mary West.

“He couldn't have looked any better. He just cruised around there in a minute and change.”

Runhappy Santa Anita Derby candidates working Saturday included Dream Shake for Peter Eurton, five furlongs in 59.80, Roman Centurian, five furlongs in 1:00.40 for Simon Callaghan, and The Great One, six furlongs in 1:14.20 for Doug O'Neill.

The 68-year-old Baffert is closing in on fellow Hall of Fame member D. Wayne Lukas for the lead in Grade 1 wins from Jan. 1, 1976 through yesterday. The 85-year-old Lukas has 219 wins from 1,390 starts; Baffert is one back with 218 from 915 starts.

With 896 career wins at Santa Anita (not including Oak Tree), Baffert also is nearing the record for most races won at The Great Race Place, 21 behind the late Bobby Frankel's 917.

The Runhappy Santa Anita Derby headlines six stakes this Saturday, four of them graded and two showcasing California-bred or sired runners.

In addition to the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, they are the G2 Santa Anita Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles; the G2 Royal Heroine for fillies and mares 4 and up at one mile on turf; and the G3 Providencia Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Also, the two Golden State Series races, the $150,000 Echo Eddie Stakes for three year olds at 6 ½ furlongs and the $150,000 Evening Jewel Stakes for three-year-old fillies at 6 ½ furlongs.

Saturday's local weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, zero percent chance of rain, and a high of 77 degrees.

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Weyburn, Roman Centurian on Course for Wood Memorial

Chiefwood Stables' Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile) breezed an easy half-mile in :50.93 seconds over Belmont's training track Wednesday in preparation for the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. A winner going seven panels in the Big A slop last December, the Ontario-bred kicked off 2021 with a nose victory in the Mar. 6 GIII Gotham S., a race in which Weyburn earned 50 qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Derby.

“He just ran hard [in the Gotham] and he's not the heaviest horse in the world, so he didn't really need anything more than what he did on Wednesday,” said trainer Jimmy Jerkens of the breeze.

Weyburn was recently made the 3-1 early favorite for the $1-million Queen's Plate Aug. 22 at Woodbine-the first jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown.

Don Alberto Stable and Qatar Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Roman Centurian (Empire Maker) is likely to make his next start in the nine-furlong Triple Crown prep, offering 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner. The $550,000 KEESEP graduate finished fourth last out to the victorious Life Is Good in the Mar. 6 GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita Park. The dark bay breezed back for the first time at covering a half-mile in :50.40 at Santa Anita Thursday.

“I think there's a very good chance that we will ship to New York,” said Callaghan. “He breezed very well [Thursday] and we were happy. He'll breeze again next week and it's looking more likely that we'll come.”

After a debut fourth sprinting in a maiden event won by Life Is Good in November at Del Mar, Roman Centurian stretched out to 1 1/16-miles for his second-out graduation Jan. 3 at Santa Anita. He exited that effort to finish a good second in the GII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita, rallying from last-of-six to miss by a neck to Medina Spirit (Protonico).

“I don't think the race set up very well for him last time,” added Callaghan. “We're hoping that with another race under his belt and moving to a track that we think will be more to his liking, that we'll see a good performance to move him forward.”

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