Kentucky Derby 2019 Radar: Callaghan holds a talented pair

Trainer Simon Callaghan has three times saddled $600,000 purchase Stretford End for maiden special weight races in California. Each time the son of Will Take Charge was defeated by debut Bob Baffert runners, with the combined margins just two lengths and a neck.

On Thursday at Los Alamitos, Callaghan turned the tables with first time starter Value Play, a son of Algorithms he says will hit the 2019 Kentucky Derby trail next.

“When you win a maiden this time of year with a horse that’s good-looking, and with as much scope as this horse has got, the plan would definitely be to start him off in one of the prep races for sure as a 3-year-old, too,” Callaghan said.

Next on the West Coast is the Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes on Jan. 5 at Santa Anita Park. Callaghan tried All Out Blitz in the one-mile race last year won by McKinzie.

Value Play, owned by Kaleem Shah, galloped to a four-length win going 5 1/2 furlongs over a sloppy, sealed track. There was other apparent talent in the field with him off as a 3.8-1 third choice behind the Baffert-trained All Good, a half-brother to Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty, and Mo Mississippi, who jockey Flavien Prat had been working in the mornings.

Prat elected to ride Value Play in the afternoon, however, and rode the colt in a gate-to-wire score.

“We’ve always thought a lot of this horse,” Callaghan said. “He showed a lot of talent early. He got some sore shins on him, so we gave him the time, and he’s come back working like a good horse.

“I think for sure he’s going to get at least a mile. This is the sort of horse that’s got a lot of speed and can carry it.”

Callaghan is also looking forward to the next race for Stretford End, another campaigned by Shah. In his first start, the colt battled to a close second to Improbable, Saturday’s Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) favorite. Most recently, he was 3/4 of a length behind Kingly, a full sibling to Mohaymen, last weekend at Del Mar.

All three of Stretford End’s starts so far have come at six furlongs.

“He’s definitely got talent,” Callaghan said. “I think our next race is going to be stretching him out. That’s when we’re really going to find out what we’ve got — when we go two turns — because that’s what his pedigree says he should do.”

Next year Callaghan, son of a former British trainer, will bid to make his second Kentucky Derby. His first runner was Firing Line, the second place finisher to American Pharoah by a length in the 2015 running.