Kentucky Derby 2020 Radar: Anneau d’Or will hit the road

Rather than run for a repeat in Golden Gate Fields’ El Camino Real Derby, the connections of trainer Blaine Wright and owner Peter Redekop are arranging to send Anneau d’Or out of town for his next 2020 Kentucky Derby trail start.

Wright said Anneau d’Or, second in both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), is targeting a trip to New Orleans for Fair Grounds’ Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 15. It's the first race on the prep calendar offering 50 qualifying points — essentially a guaranteed spot in the Kentucky Derby field — to the winner.

“Certainly, the points factor is something that interests us,” said Wright, who has never started a horse at Fair Grounds. “…It just came up on our radar. I think the purse money, graded status and chance to go out of town all interested (Redekop). It was one of the first races that he chose. At this point we’re just trying to get through a couple more workouts.”

A $480,000 son of Medaglia d’Oro, Anneau d’Or breezed 3/4 of a mile last Saturday over Golden Gate Fields’ all weather track in 1:13.40. At that point, options appeared to include the Feb. 15 El Camino Real Derby — his connections won it in 2019 with Anothertwistafate — or March 7 San Felipe Stakes (G2).

“We had Santa Anita and Golden Gate in our hip pocket,” Wright said, “but we’re going to travel and see how it goes.”

Wright said Anneau d’Or will return to California after the Risen Star with the April 4 Santa Anita Derby (G1) “more than likely” his final race before a would-be trip back east for the Kentucky Derby.

The Risen Star, with a full points scale of 50-20-10-5 to its Top 4 finishers, has extended to 1 1/8 miles this season. That will stretch Anneau d’Or a half furlong farther than in his previous showings, when he was a close second to champion Storm the Court in the Breeders’ Cup before a neck defeat to Thousand Words at Los Alamitos.

Between now and the Risen Star, we’ll get a better gauge of Anneau d’Or. Thousand Words headlines Saturday’s Robert B. Lewis (G3) at Santa Anita, while Storm the Court is ticketed for his 3-year-old debut in the following weekend’s San Vicente Stakes (G2).

Anneau d’Or is 1-2-0 overall in his three starts having debuted a Sept. 29 winner over the Golden Gate turf. From there, Wright cross-entered into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Turf, opting for the dirt when the turf went oversubscribed. Now, Anneau d'Or figures to stay on the main track with an eye toward the Triple Crown series.

Wright may still be represented in the El Camino Real Derby, a 10-4-2-1 scale points race, by the Hard Spun colt Ajourneytofreedom. The maiden winner for Redekop was most recently fourth in a local Jan. 19 allowance optional claiming event.

As for Anothertwistafate, now a 4-year-old son of Scat Daddy, “The horse is doing really good,” Wright said. “We had a little bit of a setback — a minor stall injury — and I hope to get him on the work tab soon. He’s in training. He’s been doing good.”

Graded stakes-placed in the Sunland Park Derby (G3) and Keeneland’s Lexington Stakes (G3), Anothertwistafate finished 10th in the Preakness Stakes in his most-recent start.