Indiana Derby acid test for Atreides

Until an unbeaten horse is defeated for the first time, there is always the potential to be a good one. Some undefeated horses, though, have more potential than others. A smashing winner of his only three starts, Atreides, is one such horse. Trained by Marty Wolfson and owned by Stonestreet Stables, the three-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro has sliced and diced his competition to the tune of better than 25 lengths worth of wins in three fast races in Florida. Tomorrow night at Indiana Grand, Atreides will move a step closer to showing just how good he truly is when he tops a field of nine in the $500,000 Indiana Derby.

The Grade 2 affair will represent several firsts for the Kentucky homebred. It will be his first race away from Gulfstream Park, his first race around two-turns, his first graded stakes attempt, and his first race against a solid field of stakes horses. That’s plenty to step up to for the highly regarded colt and new rider, Joel Rosario, but something that seems to be within his scope judging from his first three starts.

Beginning with a July 12 maiden race, Atreides has done something that only the talented sprinter of several years ago, Lite the Fuse, accomplished - beginning his career with three consecutive races with a Beyer Speed Figure in the triple digits. He received a 105 for his maiden win, a 102 in his next, an optional claimer, and most recently, a 105 when he turned his first stakes attempt into an absolute laugher, winning the one-mile Monarchos Stakes by 17 ½ lengths. Clearly too good for what he was running against in Florida, it is time for Atreides to test the water against better horses, and that is exactly what he will find in Indiana.

If Atreides is indeed up to the step up in distance and class, victory will come at direct expense of the 2-1 morning line second choice, Vicar’s In Trouble. The two-time Derby winner comes in off an impressive win in the Super Derby last month at Louisiana Downs, where he strolled home by more than seven lengths under regular rider Rosie Napravnik. Tomorrow evening’s Indiana Derby will represent the sixth consecutive Derby for the Ken and Sarah Ramsey runner. Besides his Super Derby score, the son of Into Mischief counts a Louisiana Derby win, and a pair of third place finishes in the Iowa and West Virginia Derbies. The only millionaire in the field with career earnings of $1,128,900, Vicar’s In Trouble’s only out-of-the-money finish was a 19th place fade in the Kentucky Derby.

Those trying to stop the rise of Atreides, as well as, a third derby victory for Vicar’s In Trouble, include: C J’s Awesome, East Hall, Saa Mi, Just Call Kenny, I Got it All, Quiet Ruler, and the rank outsider of the field, Cryptopirate.