Kentucky Derby 2018 Daily: West Coast ‘absolutely loaded’
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.
Trainer Bob Baffert has been known to call it “California speed,” the type of front-running efforts big horses from the West Coast tend to bring. They can hang near the pace, but they don’t need the lead, and it makes for an ideal 2018 Kentucky Derby contender who creates his own luck.
“Regardless of the controversial outcome, both Bolt d'Oro and McKinzie ran sensational at 1 1/16 miles,” said Darren Rogers, media poll voter and Churchill Downs’ senior director of communications. “Justify continues to impress and isn't overhyped; he has all the tools.
“The West is absolutely loaded this year,” Rogers added, and that’s before Solomini gets his shot in Saturday’s Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
“Though it will be his first start of the year, it will be interesting to see if Solomini can continue to validate the strength of the California contingent,” wrote Horse Racing Nation’s Mike Shutty.
The Curlin colt will exit a layoff, though not one quite as lengthy as his company in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, in which the Baffert trainee ran second — behind Good Magic, but ahead of Bolt d’Oro. Last out, Solomini was disqualified from a win in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity back in December.
Of course, equal points were awarded in Derby prep races in New York and Florida last Saturday, too.
“The San Felipe was clearly the best Kentucky Derby points race of the weekend,” said TimeformUS’ Craig Milkowski. “From a Derby perspective the disqualification mattered little as the top two have the required points to get in the field. Justify showed on Sunday that he will be a force to be reckoned with as he joins the Derby fray next out.”
Thoughtful opinion on the DQ
California stewards made the unanimous call to swap McKinzie and Bolt d’Oro after a lengthy review Saturday. As previously mentioned, both should already be safely in the Derby field, but the San Felipe was likely the most-watch race of the weekend.
The purse money doesn’t matter to those connections, but the winnings do to horse players.
Via John White, another media poll voter who sets the morning line at Santa Anita Park: “As a person who has worked as a steward in California (as recently as last year), Washington and Idaho, I would have voted for no DQ in the San Felipe Stakes because the videotape replay of the incident coming into the stretch is sufficiently conclusive to me in that I believe it shows that Bolt d'Oro fouled McKinzie, with the videotape then also showing that McKinzie later fouled Bolt d'Oro in the final sixteenth.
“In my opinion, inasmuch as each horse fouled the other, I would have voted for no change to the original order of finish. The San Felipe DQ aside, McKinzie and Bolt d'Oro both ran a marvelous race and remain 1-2 for me this week after being 1-2 last week, with the exciting Justify rocketing to No. 3 this week after I had him at No. 14 last week.”
Far from scientific, of course, but we also ran a poll on the HRN Twitter page for an hour following the decision, asking whether stewards made the correct call. Wrong (55%) narrowly lost out to Right (45%).
Firenze Fire on the bubble?
Trainer Jason Servis planned to speak Monday night with owner Ron Lombardi, who campaigns multiple stakes winner Firenze Fire under the Mr. Amore Stable name, about what’s next for the colt after a fourth-place finish in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes.
“I think Ron wants to go to the Derby if he gets the points,” Servis said. “That’s the impression I get.”
With 29 points, the homebred by Poseidon’s Warrior could end up right on the bubble when it comes to making the Top 20 should he not make another start before May 5. The Grade 2 Wood Memorial has been the predicted spot, but Servis said, “I think we’ve been leaning on the horse a little bit. I’m going to see Ron tonight…We’ll probably talk about it then.”
Servis-trained World of Trouble also ran third in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby for another ownership group, Michael Dubb and Bethlehem Stables. The trainer had said a finish on the board could open up options moving forward on the trail.
Derby links
• In somber news Monday, Kentucky Derby hopeful Mourinho suffered a fatal sesamoid injury during a workout toward his next prep, either the Rebel Stakes or Sunland Derby. Said Baffert, who sat through the DQ on Saturday, then sent out Justify on Sunday: "Up and down, every day. It's a shame.”
• In the minutes after his victory going two turns for the first time, Justify dropped from 10-1 to the 6-1 individual top choice in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. That was a bit of a surprise given Bolt d’Oro and McKinzie’s performances 24 hours beforehand.
• Next race plans are yet to be decided for Quip, the Tampa Bay Derby winner, but he could meet runner-up Flameaway again if pointed to Keeneland’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes. “I don’t think he was cranked all the way to the bottom,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset said of Quip.
The works
Bravazo — The Grade 2 Risen Star winner continued steady preparations for a March 24 return to Fair Grounds for the Louisiana Derby, posting the five-furlong bullet Monday at Oaklawn Park. He got it in 1:00.00, the fastest Bravazo has ever worked 5/8.
Restoring Hope — He was going in company with Mourinho when the workmate broke down at Santa Anita Park. Where this colt could end up is unknown, though he presumably will hit the Derby trail next. In his fifth workout since a breakout maiden win, he got 5/8 in 1:03.40.
Sporting Chance — Third in the Grade 3 Southwest to end a layoff, and certainly a leading Rebel Stakes contender, he also went fast for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. As with Bravazo, it was a bullet breeze Monday at Oaklawn with four furlongs in 47 seconds.
Snapper Sinclair — Beaten a nose by Bravazo, he’ll get a rematch in the Louisiana Derby and tuned up Monday with five furlongs in 1:01.00 for trainer Steve Asmussen at Fair Grounds. That’s likely the big work toward next weekend’s race.
Zing Zang — Set for the Rebel, and with Asmussen’s Oaklawn string, he traveled a half mile in 50.80 seconds (17/21), with the easy half mile a characteristic assignment from his Hall of Fame trainer.
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