Kentucky Derby 2018 Daily: Ramsey's dreams alive and well

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By Jonathan Lintner

Ken Ramsey, a record-setting 30 times Churchill Downs’ leading owner alongside of his wife, Sarah, is plenty used to leading his horses into the winner’s circle under the Twin Spires. He’s still dreaming, too, of venturing into the other winner’s circle, the one only used on the first Saturday in May.

Could it happen at the 2018 Kentucky Derby?

“I try to be realistic — optimistic to a point, but not overboard,” Ramsey told HRN this week. “At this stage, I’d say my chances of getting one to the Derby are 100-1.”

Ramsey submitted three horses for early Triple Crown nomination, with the full list of horses made eligible typically released near the end of January or in early February.

One of them, Alpha to Omega, runs Saturday at Gulfstream Park on the Pegasus World Cup undercard. The Fort Larned colt was eighth in his debut on the lead, but this time out he’ll come from off the pace.

Ramsey’s two other Derby hopefuls are both by his well-known sire, Kitten’s Joy. Year of the Kitten won his Nov. 26 debut over the Churchill Downs turf, while Family Kitten has twice been a runner-up over Turfway Park’s All Weather Track.

The Ramseys’ best-ever Derby finish came in 2003 when Ten Cents a Shine ran eighth for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Mike Maker conditions all their current prospects, at least one of which Ramsey hopes to get to Turfway Park’s Jeff Ruby Steaks (formerly the Spiral Stakes).

He’s used the race before to “sneak in the back door” with a new Derby prospect. In noting that, Ramsey quipped, “Anyway, let’s lower the odds to 75-1.”

Some Eclipse Awards reaction

The announcement (late, way too late) Thursday night that Good Magic is our 2-year-old champion male — and not Bolt d’Oro — came as a pretty big surprise to this voter.

Perhaps in another year, winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, with a close runner-up finish in another key Grade 1 would have been enough. But Bolt d’Oro had seemed to separate himself far enough from the pack before the Breeders’ Cup, to the point that only a really poor effort would keep him from the Eclipse Award.

At least voters were consistent. In my view, the turf filly Rushing Fall put together a superior campaign to that of Caledonia Road, and she even won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. But Caledonia Road won the companion race on dirt, and thus she became a champion.

Here were the 2-year-old male vote totals: Good Magic, 131; Bolt d’Oro, 113; Catholic Boy, 3; Firenze Fire, 1; Mendelssohn, 1; Solomini, 1. Given all the attention we’ve already paid them, hopefully this isn’t the final close finish between Good Magic and Bolt d’Oro during their careers.

The works

Saturday will mark the most-anticipated three-furlong breeze so far this year as Bolt d’Oro returns to the work tab at Santa Anita Park, working toward the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 10.

Other highlights from Friday:

All Out Blitz — A sneaky-good second to McKinzie in the Grade 3 Sham, able to set the opening fractions and hold on for second, the Simon Callaghan trainee posted his first work back, moving four furlongs in 49.60 seconds (31/55). He’s among early nominations to the Santa Anita Derby and should stay on the trail.

Enticed — The Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club winner back in November, he put in his final work toward the Feb. 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream, drilling the half mile in 49.75 (15/28) at the Palm Meadows Training Center.

Higher Power — After taking a first-level allowance Jan. 13 at Oaklawn Park, this one from Donnie Von Hemel’s barn is a candidate for the Feb. 19 Southwest Stakes. He got back on the work tab with some pace Friday, breezing 5/8 in 1:01.40 (5/25).

Mourinho — The one to beat in the Southwest, this Smarty Jones Stakes winner is back on the West Coast training up to a return to Arkansas. He started back with three furlongs Friday in 37.40 seconds (6/10).

Vouch — Third in the Grade 2 Remsen, he continued consistent training up to a return Friday at the Classic Mile training center in Florida, moving 5/8 in an easy 1:03.20. No word on the next start, but his connections, trainer Arnaud Delacour and owners Lael Stables and Three Chimneys Farm, are familiar to the Triple Crown series.

In case you missed it…

In Thursday’s Derby Daily report — with 100 days until the race — we took a look at the latest odds from Las Vegas.

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