Kentucky Derby 2018 Daily: The Tabulator’s back on track

Welcome to Horse Racing Nation’s Kentucky Derby Daily — proudly sponsored by NYRA Bets — 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.

By Jonathan Lintner

In the fall of 2015, Larry Rivelli-trained Cocked and Loaded won Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Iroquois and finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile — but didn’t hit the Triple Crown trail the next year.

Rivelli’s The Tabulator posted identical results in last previous two starts — and there’s still no 2018 Kentucky Derby fever in his barn.

“At least not yet,” Rivelli told HRN. “If he blasts off in one of these races, I’m sure we will.”

A son of Dialed In, The Tabulator returned to light training this week at Florida’s Palm Beach Downs training center in South Florida. The colt could re-appear in either the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 10 or the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 10.

“I’m not going to absolutely rush the Derby deal, but if he makes it, he makes it,” Rivelli said. “If not, there are plenty of West Virginia Derbys, Ohio Derbys, Indiana Derbys.”

The Tabulator earned buzz Breeders’ Cup week both with a 3-for-3 record and his appearance in training, sporting a solid conformation and strong gallops. Three of the four to finish ahead of him in the Juvenile are all considered top Derby prospects: Good Magic, Solomini and Bolt d’Oro.

To add, owner Carolyn Wilson paid $460,000 for The Tabulator as a 2-year-old. Rivelli’s keeping all of this in perspective.

“The Breeders’ Cup is a more attainable goal than probably the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “If it happens to work out, it works out. I don’t think you can shoot for both. You end up killing your horse unless you’ve got just an absolute superstar.

“I always give my horses a couple months off in the winter regardless. The Tabulator ran a bunch of times, so he warranted a little bit of a break…But he looks great physically.”

Pedigree insights

HRN’s new 2018 Kentucky Derby pedigree profiles page launched this week, and the information is worth a deeper dive. Here are a few takeaways on recent Derby trail winners:

• Already a winner of the one-mile Smarty Jones, Mourinho is out of a dam, Sandy’s Ready, who produced a Zia Park Oaks winner going 8.5 furlongs. So there’s at least a bit of distance.

• Firenze Fire’s sire side is heavy on sprinters. But last Saturday’s Jerome Stakes winner — and now a three-time stakes winner overall — has Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford in his female family.

• Instilled Regard went to more than $1 million at auction, in part because of Heavenly Prize, who produced his dam, Enhancing. Of Heavenly Prize’s eight foals to race, seven won.

Be sure to bookmark the pedigrees page. As more Derby trail runners emerge, we’ll be adding profiles.

Owner on a dream ride

Instilled Regard trainer Jerry Hollendorfer credited OXO Equine’s Larry Best both with the decision to ship for Fair Grounds’ Grade 3 Lecomte and the rider choice, putting Javier Castellano on the colt for last Saturday’s race. Turns out Best is pretty good at the game, especially considering how new he is to it.

Best purchased his first horses in September of 2016, according to a Thoroughbred Daily News feature, going over a million more than once as he later did for Instilled Regard. That investment is paying off so far on the Derby trail.

“I’ve said many times that I don’t think about returns this early,” Best told The TDN. “He is one horse who has progressed well and we’re having a lot of fun, but it’s way too early to think in terms of returns. We’ve got a lot of races ahead of us hopefully and we’ll see how it goes. All horses are different and mature differently. I’m thrilled to have one that’s doing so well, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

Derby links

• Our series of regional Derby scouting reports continued Thursday with a Midwest look from HRN’s Christine Oser, who also listed a number of up-and-comers to watch at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park. Yesterday, we featured the East Coast contingent.

• HRN’s West Coast glance will be published Friday. First, check out the latest column from Santa Anita Park odds maker Jon White, who writes that “evidence is mounting that the Southern California-based 3-year-olds are strong in 2018.”

• Laurie Ross, HRN’s pedigree savant, went in depth on Lecomte winner Instilled Regard’s bloodlines in a profile published Thursday. Her major takeaway: “Instilled Regard is a colt to keep on your Triple Crown watch list, especially as distances lengthen.”

In case you missed it

Wednesday’s Derby Daily report provided the scoop on Grade 2 Remsen Stakes winner Catholic Boy’s 3-year-old debut.

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