Tag: Triple Crown

Arkansas Derby Or Blue Grass Next For Champion Essential Quality

Champion Essential Quality emerged in good order from his victory in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds Saturday at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., the unbeaten colt's trainer, Brad Cox, said Sunday morning.

Essential Quality received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 96, a career high, for his 4 ¼-length victory in the Southwest, Oaklawn's second of four Kentucky Derby points races. The odds-on favorite under Luis Saez, Essential Quality ($3.80) covered 1 1/16 miles over a sloppy track in 1:45.58. The gray son of Tapit was making his first start since clinching an Eclipse Award as the country's champion 2-year-old male in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

“Big performance off the layoff,” Cox said. “Hopefully, we can take another jump or two forward, I think, in order to win the Derby. Hopefully, he has it in him. It was a very nice race yesterday.”

Essential Quality, a homebred for Godolphin LLC, will return to his winter base at Fair Grounds to begin major preparations for his final Kentucky Derby prep, Cox said, although he's “not sure” when the colt will leave Hot Springs. Cox said the $800,000 Blue Grass Stakes (G2) April 3 at Keeneland and the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 10 at Oaklawn are the most likely next-race targets.

“We'll get with the Godolphin team, between Jimmy Bell and Dan Pride, and come up with a plan,” Cox said. “I'd have to say either the Blue Grass or the Arkansas Derby. That's about the only thing, really, that makes sense. If something happens as far as weather goes, I guess you could probably look at the Florida Derby. But in this region of the country, I think the most logical spot would be the Arkansas Derby or the Blue Grass.”

Cox has never had a Kentucky Derby starter, but he has three live contenders two months before the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown.

In addition to Essential Quality, Cox trains Caddo River, record-setting winner of the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 22 at Oaklawn, and Mandaloun, winner of the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) Feb. 13 Fair Grounds.

Caddo River, a homebred for John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs, is scheduled to make his next start in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) March 13 at Oaklawn. Mandaloun is ticketed for the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) March 20 at Fair Grounds.

“It's all coming together like we kind of envisioned it a couple of months ago,” Cox said. “But we've got two more months, and on the Derby trail that's a long way.”

Mandaloun (52) ranks second on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard, according to Churchill Downs. Essential Quality earned 10 points for his Southwest victory and is No. 3 with 40. Caddo River (10) is No. 18.

The Rebel will offer 85 points (50-20-10-5, respectively) to the top four finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters. Caddo River collected 10 points for his 10 ¼-length victory in the Smarty Jones. The Louisiana Derby, Blue Grass and Arkansas Derby are all 170-point races (100-40-20-10).

“He needs to run in a race with some points,” Cox said of Caddo River. “Obviously, Essential Quality had 30 going into yesterday. Picked off 10, so 40 is obviously a good number, with another chance at a 100-point race at some point. Mandaloun is at 52. He's in good shape. Obviously, he'll get a chance at his 100-point race. Caddo River's the one that's going to have to step up in a points race and pick off some points.”

Caddo River had been training at Oaklawn before Cox said he moved the colt to Fair Grounds Feb. 11, just as harsh winter weather was beginning to envelope Hot Springs. Oaklawn lost eight live racing dates and 11 days of training because heavy snow and arctic temperatures. The Southwest was originally scheduled to be run Feb. 15 before being postponed twice. Caddo River has recorded three published workouts at Fair Grounds, including a five-furlong bullet (:59.60) Feb. 20.

“He'll stay down there,” Cox said, referring to Caddo River's final major Rebel preparations.

Two other scheduled Rebel starters are Keepmeinmind for trainer Robertino Diodoro and unbeaten Concert Tour for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Keepmeinmind had been scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest before weather-related training setbacks led Diodoro to opt for the Rebel. Keepmeinmind returned to the work tab Friday morning at Oaklawn, working five furlongs in 1:03.20 under regular rider David Cohen. The track was rated sloppy.

“Very strong gallop out,” Diodoro said. “He was rolling on the gallop out.”

Unraced since a last-to-first victory in the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs, Keepmeinmind has recorded seven workouts this year at Oaklawn. Prior to breaking his maiden in the Kentucky Jockey Club, Keepmeinmind finished 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.

Keepmeinmind was beaten 3 ¼ lengths by Essential Quality in the Breeders' Futurity and two lengths by Essential Quality in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Diodoro had another close look at the champion Saturday, this time as a highly interested spectator.

“The winner is a very nice horse,” Diodoro said Sunday morning. “The way the track and the weather was, I'm kind of glad we didn't run. Not saying that couldn't happen in three weeks, either. Hopefully, not. The track has taken a beating here the last couple of weeks. No one can stop Mother Nature.”

Southwest runner-up Spielberg came out of the race in “great shape,” Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Sunday morning. Lukas and assistant Sebastian Nicholl have been caring for the Baffert-trained Spielberg since he was flown Wednesday from Southern California to Arkansas. Baffert said next-race plans are pending for Spielberg, who overcame a horrific start to finish 4 ¼ lengths ahead of multiple Grade 1 winner Jackie's Warrior.

“There's not a plane for a little while there,” Baffert said. “I haven't really mapped out anything. I wanted to see how he handled that track and all. I'm very happy with the effort. He shipped well. He behaved himself. Other than the gate, everything went well.”

Baffert has won the Rebel a record seven times, including last year's running with Nadal. Concert Tour (2 for 2) broke his maiden Jan. 15 at Santa Anita and won the $200,000 San Vicente (G2) Feb. 6 at Santa Anita. Nadal's resume was exactly the same entering the Rebel.

Keepmeinmind (18) and Spielberg (17) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard. Concert Tour has never run in a Kentucky Derby points race.

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Off Big Maiden Win, Collaborate In Mix For Florida Derby; Drain The Clock Cutting Back

Three Chimneys Farm and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' 3-year-old colt Collaborate, an eye-catching maiden winner on Saturday's Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth day program at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., may have run himself onto the Triple Crown trail.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Sunday morning that the sophomore son of Into Mischief, also bred by Three Chimneys, is likely to make his next start in the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa March 27.

The Florida Derby offers 170 qualifying points (100-40-20-10) to the May 1 Kentucky Derby (G1), as do the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct and Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland, both run April 3. All three preps are contested at 1 1/8 miles.

“The Florida Derby is at home and he just has to walk out of his stall,” Joseph said. “I talked to the owners briefly yesterday and it will probably be between the Florida Derby, the Wood or the Blue Grass, but the Florida Derby will be the front-runner.

“Off [Saturday's] race, we're probably going to take a chance somewhere,” he added. “We feel like he's a Derby horse. I know we're a little behind schedule, but with the ability he has he can probably overcome it.”

Collaborate broke sharply and set a measured pace under jockey Tyler Gaffalione, going in splits of 23.72 seconds, 46.57 and 1:11.12 before beginning to edge away from his 10 rivals. He hit the stretch six lengths in front and kept rolling to win by 12 ½ at the end in 1:36.35 for one mile over a fast main track.

“We weren't surprised. That's hard to say with a horse winning like that but that's the horse we thought he was,” Joseph said. “The first time out, we got him beat. It hurt to get him beat first time out, because we thought he was that good, but you always have to look at the positive in each scenario and the first time I thought he gained valuable experience.”

Collaborate also went off as the favorite for his debut, a six-furlong maiden special weight Feb. 6, where he endured traffic issues after getting away poorly and wound up sixth though beaten just 1 ¼ lengths.

“He was off a tad slow, took a lot of dirt, had to split horses, had to wait, [but] I thought the experience first time out was priceless,” Joseph said. “It hurt getting him beat, but if you draw the positives from the race it was priceless experience and it carried over to yesterday. He stretched out to a mile for the first time and he got a fairly easy race which, in hindsight, I don't mind because his first race I thought was a pretty hard race on him.”

Joseph made his Triple Crown race debut last fall with John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing, Paul Braverman and Team Hanley's Ny Traffic. Runner-up in the Louisiana Derby (G2), Matt Winn (G2) and Haskell (G1), he finished eighth in the Derby and ninth in the Preakness.

“It's very exciting to have the owners that we have providing these horses to us. We're thankful,” Joseph said. “The horses will make good trainers and we've got some really quality horses now and we're thankful for each and every one.”

 Fountain of Youth (G2) Runner-Up Drain the Clock Cutting Back
While impressive maiden-winning stablemate Collaboarate earned the chance to stretch out for a shot at the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa, Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Drain the Clock isn't expected to join him.

Joseph said Sunday that Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael Nentwig's Drain the Clock, himself a sharp winner of the seven-furlong Claiborne Farm Swale (G3) Jan. 30 at Gulfstream in his graded debut, would remain at shorter distances for now.

Drain the Clock set the pace in the 1 1/16-mile Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Saturday at Gulfstream, his first attempt around two turns, and nearly pulled off the upset before getting reeled in by Holy Bull (G3) winner Greatest Honour.

“Talking to the owners briefly after the race, initially I think we're going to step back and keep him at one turn. We tried it and I think he handled the mile and a sixteenth, but I don't think we're going to try to push it,” Joseph said. “I think we have a really good horse. I feel like we have a Grade 1 horse and he's probably going to be best at one turn, so most likely we're going to stick to one turn.”

The Fountain of Youth was the first loss for Drain the Clock in a race where he finished. He broke his maiden and beat winners in an optional claiming allowance last fall at Gulfstream and Gulfstream Park West, respectively, before losing his rider on the backstretch of the Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs. He returned to South Florida and opened his 3-year-old season with a win in the Jan. 3 Limehouse that set him up for the Swale triumph.

Drain the Clock ran splits of 23.66 seconds, 47.18, 1:11.51 and 1:37.45, taking a 2 ½-length lead into the stretch before Greatest Honour, trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, closed stoutly on the outside to win by 1 ½ lengths. Drain the Clock, second choice in the wagering behind the winner, was two lengths clear of 18-1 long shot Papetu in third.

“He looked like a winner at the quarter pole but he got run down by a horse that has a lot of stamina and excellent ability in Shug's horse. A credit to Shug for the job he's done with that horse. We lost nothing in defeat. You like to win if you can but if any horse runs like that, you walk away thankful and happy,” Joseph said. “He's doing well. He ate pretty good last night and seemed to cool out well.”

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Greatest Honour Closes With A Rush To Win Fountain Of Youth Going Away

Eight and a half lengths behind the leader with five-sixteenths of a mile to run, Courtlandt Farms' homebred Greatest Honour, closed with a rush under Jose Ortiz to win Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Trained by Shug McGaughey, the 3-year-old colt by leading sire Tapit (who also was represented on Saturday by G3 Southwest Stakes winner Essential Quality, the 2-year-old male champion of 2020) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.02 on a fast track.

Pacesetter Drain the Clock  – who posted fractions of :23.66, :47.18, 1:11.51 and 1:37.45 and held a 2 1/2-length lead at the eighth pole – finished second, 1 1/2 lengths behind Greatest Honour. Papetu was another two lengths back in third, with Tarantino fourth and Jirafales fifth in the field of 10.

The Fountain of Youth, a 1 1/16-mile key prep for the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill n' Dale Farm at Xalapa March 27, headlined a 14-race program with nine stakes, eight graded.

The Fountain of Youth offered 85 qualifying points to the Kentucky Derby, with the first four finishers receiving 50-20-10-5.

Updated Kentucky Derby Leaderboard

Greatest Honor lagged far back while racing in traffic early but made steady progress approaching the far turn. Drain the Clock continued to show the way under Edgard Zayas around the far turn and into the homestretch as Papetu, the early trailer, made a sweeping move around Greatest Honour to enter contention under Junior Alvarado.

The long-striding Greatest Honour was steered to the outside while building momentum on the turn into the homestretch and kicked in powerfully through the stretch to sweep past Papetu and catch Drain the Clock approaching the finish line. Greatest Honour galloped out strongly, suggesting he may get better as the distances get longer.

“He was a little farther back that I thought he would be going down the backside. A lot of dirt was hitting him. They weren't going overly fast. Going three-quarters in 1:11 and change over this track is not fast,” McGaughey said. “When Jose got him in the clear it was over.”

Ortiz, who was aboard for the considerably easier 5 ¾-length Holy Bull victory, said Greatest Honor's momentum was briefly stopped on the far turn.

“He's such a big horse with such a big stride. At the three-eighths [pole] I'm trying to get him going and I got a space on the inside but I didn't what to stop him again,” Ortiz said. “I decided to go wide and when he hit the clear, boom!”

McGaughey is hoping that Greatest Honour will follow the example of Orb, whom he saddled for victories in the 2017 Fountain of Youth, the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby and the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby.

“I'm glad we don't have to run a mile and a sixteenth anymore,” McGaughey said. “When they're going farther, I think we might see a little better horse.”

Fire At Will, who captured the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Keeneland, stalked the early pace before fading to eighth.

$300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Quotes

Trainer Shug McGaughey (Greatest Honour, 1st): “I wasn't real comfortable. I could see what was going on and I felt like if [jockey Jose Ortiz] got him in the clear then we could have a shot to make a run at him. The horse that was second [Drain the Clock], when he did break clear I said, 'Uh, oh.' But, he's a really nice horse.”

“The pace wasn't that fast today, I don't think, but he was able to overcome it. He's won twice down here now in stakes doing what he doesn't want to do, and that's a mile and a sixteenth. Like Jose said, I'm glad these mile and a sixteenth [races] are behind us. We'll be looking forward to getting him stretched out. Hopefully it's in the near future but, if not, I know what we've got. Hopefully as we keep going longer he'll keep improving. The farther the better for him.”

“He does cover a lot of ground. I don't know that he's really that quick, as much as he just covers so much ground and he can get to horses so quick. And he did today. He got to that horse pretty quick.”

“It was the kickback. Jose said he wasn't wanting to run through the dirt. He was wanting to get him to the outside and they were kind of holding him in there. Then he said they bumped over there on the turn and he kind of lost his rear end a little bit.”

Florida Derby? – “That would be my plan.”

Jockey Jose Ortiz (Greatest Honour, 1st): “He broke good, a bit slow like he always does, and I put him in the race. I tried to be as close as I could going to the backside and I got a good path behind Prime Factor. But, when we hit the turn I bumped the horse outside of me and lose my hind end a little bit and it was very hard to get him back going. He's such a big horse with such a big stride. At the three-eighths pole I'm trying to get him going and I got a space on the inside but I didn't want to have to stop him again, so I decided to go wide and when he hit the clear, boom. He was there for me. Huge run.”

“Not just this race. I won the first one [Holy Bull] and the second one, now we're going to the Florida Derby and if we could sweep the three legs that would be great momentum going into the Derby. I know there's a lot of time left and anything can happen. We just pray for the best and stay healthy. I know if the Florida Derby we're going to face tough competition, for sure.”

Owner Donald Adam, Courtlandt Farm (Greatest Honour, 1st): “It's very exciting. Being a horse that I bred and the history by which I came by him is very gratifying. I was a little concerned in this one. It looked like he wasn't in the best position, but this will be the shortest race he runs in a long time. And the longer he goes, the better he will be.”

“I bought the mare [Tiffany's Honour] in foal to a Tapit colt and that colt hit the ground and was killed in a paddock accident. So, I bred her back to Tapit and got him. I bought her at a Fasig-Tipton sale.”

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. (Drain the Clock, 2nd): “He ran huge. He ran like a winner. I didn't even see the winner coming. I saw Papetu coming and he ran good. Obviously, the winner is a very good horse. We can't be disappointed. It was his first time at the distance and he was beaten by a quality horse.”

Florida Derby? – “We're undecided. We'll talk it over with the owners and then we'll see what they want to do and how he comes out and go from there.”

Jockey Edgard Zayas (Drain the Clock, 2nd): “He did everything right. It's always a question if he could handle the two turns and I think he handled it pretty well. The winner has way more experience than him going two turns and for his first time going two turns, I think he ran a great race. I think he should try it again and he'll probably get better. If not, he can go back to sprinting but I think he deserves another shot.”

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Champion Essential Quality Returns With Victory Over Spielberg In Southwest

Making his first start since winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland last Nov. 6, Godolphin homebred Essential Quality – the reigning 2-year-old champion of 2020 – remained undefeated in four starts with an off the pace win for trainer Brad Cox in Saturday's Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark.

The Tapit colt out of Delightful Quality, by Elusive Quality, covered 1 1/16 miles on a sloppy track under Luis Saez in 1:45.48 and paid $3.80 for the win as the 4-5 favorite, winning by 4 1/4 lengths.

Spielberg, a late entry to the Southwest from Bob Baffert's West Coast stable, finished second, with pacesetter Jackie's Warrior another 4 1/4 lengths back in third and Woodhouse fourth in the field of seven 3-year-olds.

The Southwest, postponed from its original date because of the winter storm that hit Arkansas, was a qualifying race for the Kentucky Derby offering 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.

Updated Kentucky Derby Leaderboard

Jackie's Spirit, also making his first start since the Breeders' Cup Juvenile – in which he finished fourth, his first career loss in five career outings – went to the lead under Joel Rosario. The Maclean's Music colt, who won the G1 Hopeful and G1 Champagne as a 2-year-old, went the opening quarter in :23.52, a half-mile in :48.11 and six furlongs in 1:13.59.

Essential Quality, fifth early, moved into contention approaching the far turn, went three wide at the three-eighths pole and took command into the stretch. He clocked a mile time of 1:39.05 and drew off for the win.

Spielberg, after getting away slowly rallied from last to get second for the third time in eight starts to go with a maiden win and victory in the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity.

Winning trainer Brad Cox, Essential Quality: “Luis put him in a good position. I was little nervous when I saw the :48, but look our horse ranged up at the half mile pole in a nice comfortable way. He showed up and ran his race. It was somewhat of a relief to get this race over with. The delay of the race, the track condition, just a lot of obstacles to overcome. Good horses do overcome, but it doesn't mean the trainer doesn't worry. We just want to wrap him in bubble wrap and get to the next race.”

Winning jockey Luis Saez, Essential Quality: “I'm so excited. I was very happy to be riding this horse. We were waiting a long time. What a talented horse. We knew the speed was to our outside. The plan was to try to follow him (Jackie's Warrior) the whole way. Everything came together. He broke pretty well and at the 5/8th pole he took the bridle and was really pulling me, but I was waiting, just trying to wait with him. We came to the stretch just so easy. He switched leads and just took off. What a nice horse. He finished very strong and I still had a lot of horse.”

Trainer Bob Baffert, second with Spielberg: “After the start, Martin didn't panic. He stayed back there and rode his race. He was just moving a little (in the gate). But, you have to give credit to the winner. He's a good horse. I'm proud of the way (Spielberg) ran. He showed up. I'm very happy. Other than the gate, everything went well. He shipped well and he ran well.”

Jockey Martin Garcia, second on Spielberg: “He missed the break. I put him in the race and on the outside, I just followed the winner every step. When I asked him, he went, but the winner was already being asked. I think my horse will be better at 1 1/8 miles.”

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