Kentucky Derby 2020 Radar: Monday Morning Qb will go again
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Photo:
Courtesy of Laurel Park
After an adventurous trip in the Withers Stakes (G3), fourth-place finisher Monday Morning Qb is expected to reappear on the 2020 Kentucky Derby
trail.
Cash is King and LC Racing's colt just missed the board but received one Derby qualifying point last Saturday at Aqueduct, where he was off slowest and forced to make up ground throughout before that rally leveled out in the lane.
“You can’t break like that, make a couple of different runs at them, then fail to switch leads in the lane against that level of competition,” said trainer Robert "Butch" Reid, who previously sent Monday Morning Qb to a victory in Laurel Park's Heft Stakes. “He just ran into a few mistakes that ultimately cost him the race. I feel he may have been the best horse in the race.”
With that in Mind, Reid said the son of Imagining "deserves another shot" at a Derby prep.
“He came out of it well," the trainer added. "Bounced off the van well. So far, all systems are go. If everything stays the way it is, we’ll make our decision from there.”
A bobble at the start of the Withers left Monday Morning Qb more than three lengths behind the early pace only 50 or so yards into the race. Jockey Jorge Vargas Jr. encouraged the colt, who split horses while advancing up the back stretch.
Wise through the far turn, Monday Morning Qb entered contention by the top of the stretch, but he failed to run on by not switching leads in his first race past seven furlongs. Max Player went on to win the 1 1/8-mile Withers with Shotski second and Portos third.
“We’re not discouraged by that effort in the least,” said Reid, who will consult with Monday Morning Qb's owners in deciding a new race target.
A $25,000 purchase as a yearling, Monday Morning Qb has earned $120,000 with two wins in four starts. The Heft victory back on Dec. 28 followed a Nov. 16 maiden special weight score going 5 1/2 furlongs at Parx Racing.
Reid, who bases in Pennsylvania, was also on the Derby trail last year with Maximus Mischief, who won the Remsen Stakes (G2) before retiring to stud with a soft tissue injury. The trainer is seeking his first Kentucky Derby starter.
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