Tag: Triple Crown

Among the overflowing list of talented 3-year-olds in the barn of trainer Brad Cox is Verifying, the $775,000 Justify colt who is a half-brother to champion Midnight Bisou.

Verifying won on debut, then finished second in the Grade 1 Champagne. He finished sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile after being bumped at the start, beaten 12 lengths by presumptive 2-year-old champion Forte.

In his sophomore debut, Verifying ran lights-out in an allowance optional claiming race at Oaklawn Park to win by 5 1/4 lengths. Now Cox is ready to start the colt in a prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, though the trainer told the Daily Racing Form on Tuesday that he hadn't quite decided on a specific race.

There are two options on the table, Cox said. Verifying will either start in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star at Fair Grounds on Feb. 18, or in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel at Oaklawn on Feb. 25.

“He's a beautiful horse, well balanced,” Cox told DRF. “I think probably one of his best attributes is that he's kind of easy on himself. He's not a horse that wants to over-train. He just kind of goes along and does what's asked. He's not super aggressive. I think on this Triple Crown trail, that's something Essential Quality taught me – you kind of have to have a horse that doesn't want to overdo it all the time. It's a long, grueling, tough road to get down.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Horses under the care of trainer Bob Baffert are currently unable to earn qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, and it appears a new regulation is in place for the 2023 edition. Last year, several promising Baffert-trained sophomores were transferred to other trainers, including Tim Yakteen, in early April, aiming for the final 100-point prep races that would allow for a tilt at the Run for the Roses.

This year, the Daily Racing Form reports, the nomination form for the 2023 Triple Crown states: “horses under the care of any suspended trainer or affiliates may be transferred to a non-suspended trainer and become eligible for earning points on a forward-looking basis so long as the transfer is complete by February 28, 2023.”

Last year's late transfer was spurred in part by Baffert's 90-day suspension, issued by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in the wake of a 2021 positive test from Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. The suspension began on April 4, 2022, about a week after his top 3-year-olds were transferred.

That suspension is wholly separate from the two-year ban put in place by Churchill Downs, Inc. In May 2021, CEO Bill Carstanjen banned Baffert for over two years from all of the company's properties, citing private property rights. The ban also prevents Baffert-trained horses from earning qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.

Regarding the CDI ban, Baffert's legal team has secured a hearing on Feb. 2, 2023, for a judge to consider Baffert's motion for a preliminary injunction against that ban.

“Right now, we're not commenting on anything,” Baffert told DRF. “We have a Feb. 2 hearing, we're waiting until that date. Until then, there's nothing to talk about.”

The following are some of the promising 3-year-olds currently in Baffert's barn: Cave Rock, National Treasure, Hejazi, Gandolfini, Carmel Road, Arabian Knight, Fort Bragg, Arabian Lion, Reincarnate, and Newgate.

Both the CDI ban and KHRC suspension came after Baffert-trained Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone after finishing first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. It was the second betamethasone positive for a Baffert runner in a major Churchill Downs race, following Gamine's failed drug test after a third-place finish as the odds-on favorite in the Kentucky Oaks in 2020. Baffert runners failed three other drug tests outside of Kentucky in 2020, including Charlatan in the G1 Arkansas Derby.

Medina Spirit was subsequently disqualified from his Derby win, and owner Amr Zedan has appealed the disqualification. Medina Spirit died following a workout in December 2021.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

The post Baffert Derby Drama: Owners Must Transfer 3-Year-Olds By Feb. 28 To Earn Kentucky Derby Points appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's multiple Grade 1 winner Forte, a finalist expected to be named champion 2-year-old male of 2022, has begun stepping up preparations for his expected sophomore debut in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) March 4 at Gulfstream Park.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday that Forte exited a three-furlong breeze in :38.38 Saturday at Palm Beach Downs in good order. It marked the Violence colt's return to the work tab since winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

“It was very good,” Pletcher said. “It was his first work back, just a nice introductory three-eighths. We'll probably go a half-mile next week.”

Forte graduated at first asking last spring at Belmont Park and ran fourth in the Sanford (G3) at Saratoga. He hasn't lost since, reeling off wins in the Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga and Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland prior to the Breeders' Cup.

Joining Forte as an Eclipse Award finalist for champion 2-year-old male are Del Mar Futurity (G1) and American Pharoah (G1) winner Cave Rock, runner-up to Forte in the Juvenile, and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Victoria Road.

The Fountain of Youth follows the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) Feb. 4, also at 1 1/16 miles, as Gulfstream's 3-year-old prep races on the road to the $1-million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) April 1.

“We've got the Fountain of Youth penciled in as our target and, so far, it's gone according to plan,” Pletcher said. “We've still got a ways to go.”

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