Kentucky Derby 2018 Daily: 'Minor setback' for Solomini

Welcome to Horse Racing Nation’s Kentucky Derby Daily, which will each day leading up to the May 5 race at Churchill Downs detail all the news and notes related to contenders in one convenient space. We've got 112 days to go!

By Jonathan Lintner

As Instilled Regard walked to the winner’s circle Saturday after taking the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes, chatter started for how the performance flattered Solomini on the 2018 Kentucky Derby trail.

Solomini beat Instilled Regard and another next-out winner, McKinzie, to the wire in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity but was disqualified to third for bumping in the lane of the Dec. 9 race. To add, the Bob Baffert trainee ran second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before that.

So, when may we see him race?

“I’m not really sure yet,” Baffert told HRN. “I was going to breeze him (Sunday), but he got sick on Friday.”

Baffert called an elevated temperature a “minor setback” for Solomini, a son of Curlin.

“I’ve had a lot of horses lately that have been getting temperatures, and you have to treat them,” the trainer said.

Given the colt hasn’t worked since Dec. 28, he’s unlikely to target the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes set for Feb. 3 at Santa Anita Park. Baffert used the Arkansas circuit to prep the last great Zayat Stables charge, American Pharoah, and Oaklawn Park’s Grade 3 Southwest Stakes falls on Feb. 19.

Racing manager Justin Zayat told HRN in an email that “we are in no rush” to select a race and that “once he is back on a work schedule we will know.”

Smarty Jones coming up short

Another from Baffert’s barn, Mourinho, will get the chance to prove himself Monday in the long weekend’s final points-paying Derby prep, Oaklawn Park’s $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes. It appears he’ll face just four horses as it was reported Navistar, trainer Todd Pletcher’s contender, encountered shipping troubles, and Lone Rock ran instead in an allowance race Saturday at Oaklawn.

Against a short field, Mourinho will put blinkers back on following a runner-up effort Nov. 11 in Del Mar’s Bob Hope Stakes.

“He didn’t break that well … he really wasn’t focused enough,” Baffert said. “I don’t know if it really made a difference. He needs the blinkers just to keep him a little bit more focused. He’s a real fast horse.”

Baffert had originally entered Mourinho in last weekend’s Grade 3 Sham Stakes — won by stablemate McKinzie — but found room on a plane to send him to Oaklawn.

“That race was pretty tough on paper,” the trainer said. “I thought I would bring him up there and see how he handles the shipping and really see if he can go two turns.”

Both Baffert and trainer Steve Asmussen are aiming to win their first Smarty Jones Stakes. Before post time Monday (5:38 p.m. ET) check out HRN’s full field odds and analysis updated to reflect scratches, plus free past performances.

What’s next?

Ron Lombardi, who campaigns Firenze Fire under the Mr. Amore Stables name, told The Blood-Horse that Firenze Fire will continue on the Derby trail through New York following Saturday’s victory in the Jerome Stakes. Now a three-time stakes winner, Firenze Fire rallied from last at Aqueduct despite a slow pace and ground out a win on a muddy track.

He could have a rematch with Seven Trumpets in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes on March 4. The Grade 2 Wood Memorial then runs April 7.

"We staying here,” Lombardi told The Blood-Horse. “We’re not going south. This is fantastic, especially since he's a homebred and people kept telling me, 'Why are you getting into breeding?' It's a dream right now. I've been in this game for nine years and had some good horses but this is something special.”

As for the Lecomte winner, trainer Jerry Hollenforfer was far less committed to declaring Instilled Regard for another prep. The colt will ship back to the West Coast but could return to Fair Grounds for the Feb. 17 Risen Star Stakes, the first prep paying 50 points — essentially a win-and-you’re-in scenario — toward the Derby. Principe Guilherme, previously undefeated, is considered probable for the Risen Star.

The Works

High North — Pointed toward a 3-year-old debut in the Southwest Stakes, he has now worked three times since a fourth-place effort in Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. The latest breeze Sunday went in 49.40 seconds for a half mile at Fair Grounds.

Peace — While Solomini is likely a no-go for the Robert B. Lewis, Peace appears on course for it. A last-out maiden winner with stakes-caliber horses Shivermetimbers and Mourinho in his past performances, he returned to the work tab Sunday, breezing 5/8 of a mile in 1:02.60 at Santa Anita. The Violence colt is trained by Richard Mandella.

Vino Rosso — A worker we overlooked Saturday, this Todd Pletcher trainee made waves as a Dec. 22 allowance optional claiming winner at Tampa Bay Downs. He worked four furlongs in 50.04 seconds at Palm Beach Downs and could match up with Grade 2 Remsen winner Catholic Boy in the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis back at Tampa.

Derby links

• Instilled Regard was a major mover in our latest Kentucky Derby Top 50 following the Lecomte. Others from the aforementioned Los Alamitos Futurity, Solomini and McKinzie, are both ranked in the top five.

• In a “where are they now?” look at 2017’s Derby contenders, we noted last month that most of them will remain in training at age 4. Among them is Irish War Cry, who trainer Graham Motion said is “coming along pretty quick.”

In case you missed it…

Saturday’s Derby Daily included takeaways from both points-paying prep, plus gave insight from some maiden and allowance races around the country that produced hopefuls to watch.

• Catch up with all the latest Derby news by reading past editions of HRN’s Derby Daily report.