Kentucky Derby 2019 Daily: The San Felipe showdown's set
Welcome to Horse Racing Nation’s Kentucky Derby Daily, which will each day leading up to the May 4 race at Churchill Downs detail all the news and notes related to contenders in one convenient space.
Undefeated 3-year-olds Game Winner and Improbable are set for their 2019 Kentucky Derby trail showdown, trainer Bob Baffert said Monday, after both colts successfully completed final workouts at Santa Anita Park.
“Everything went smooth,” Baffert said, with Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 San Felipe Stakes (G2) the target. “They got over the ground well and look healthy. That’s the main thing. We’re really looking forward to it.
“This is it. This is when we start thinking about it. This is when happens.”
Game Winner, off since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, clocked five furlongs beside older stablemate Dr. Dorr in 1:00.60. Improbable, who won the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) in his most-recent start, went the distance in 59.80 seconds.
“Improbable always goes by himself. He’s a good work horse,” Baffert said. “Game Winner, I always work him in company. He’s always been that way where he likes something just to keep him going.”
The Hall of Famer said he doesn't favor one horse's chances over the other. He expects both to show their usual running styles in the new year — Improbable as a front-runner and Game Winner as a stalker. The more distance for Game Winner the better, Baffert said, adding that “he’ll never have to run a mile and sixteenth again after this.”
Baffert likened this Derby prep matchup to his decision to run Indian Charlie and Real Quiet against one another in the 1998 Santa Anita Derby. Indian Charlie won, but Real Quiet turned the tables at Churchill Downs.
“I don’t look forward to running them both together, but hopefully one of them is going to be undefeated after the race,” Baffert said. “Sometimes you have to do things. You can’t worry about points. If they’re that good, they’re going to get their points in their last race.”
The San Felipe draws Wednesday along with the Tampa Bay Derby (G2), Gotham Stakes (G3) and Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), all of which pay out qualifying points. Sunday’s Derby Daily report ran down known probables for each race.
Derby links
• Week 2 of the Kentucky Derby Media Poll initiated a trio of new names into the Top 20 as voted on by a panel of 30-plus racing experts.
• In his latest column, handicapper Steve Davidowitz says it’s too soon to discount Hidden Scroll on the Derby trail.
• A main takeaway from the Fountain of Youth? Bourbon War could be the one to beat as the distances get longer in the Florida Derby.
• Kenny McPeek outlines what happened to Signalman in the Fountain of Youth, plus introduces a new name for our Derby Radar.
• HRN’s Brian Zipse spoke with a Jerry Hollendorfer assistant who insists the main reason for Instagrand’s ship out of California is the distance, not competition.