This Week in Racing: March Madness and Magnum Moon
Upsets, upsets, and more upsets. The NCAA tournament has been turned upside down by all the shocking results from the first week. All those who had Virginia, Xavier, North Carolina, Michigan State and Arizona at the conclusion of their brackets are left only to wonder what happened during a wild and woolly first four days. Much the same can be said about the 2018 Kentucky Derby trail. Picking winners on this prep season has proven as difficult as filling in your brackets.The San Felipe and the Rebel Stakes seemed to bring some semblance of order, but even in those two races run the past two Saturdays, betting the favorite to win only resulted in losing wagers.
He didn't start at 2, but Magnum Moon became a name to watch with a flashy debut victory at Gulfstream Park on January 13. His second start, which came in an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs on February 15, wasn't flashy, but it was clearly a good education, as he stretched out for two turns and rolled late under very little urging. You could tell the leggy colt was full of talent, but he had yet to be tested. That would come in the $900,000 Rebel Stakes. On Saturday in Arkansas, the colt with potential became one of the favorites for the big one on May 5.
This win, his third in as many starts, could set up an intriguing matchup with the other big name colt trying to bust the curse of Apollo in Justify. If both do indeed make the starting gate, the Arkansas Derby will be a must-watch horse race. ZATT's Star of the Week, is ... Magnum Moon!
As for the heavy favorite, Solomini was stuck down on the rail much of the way and ran a solid race to be second best in the Rebel. I don't think he was ever going to beat the winner on this day, but there was nothing wrong with his run first time off the layoff. He also proved game down the lane to win the battle for runner-up. It looks like he will head to the Wood Memorial, where he should be tough to beat.
Magnum Moon was not the only big winner Saturday at Oaklawn Park. A pair of older runners announced themselves as horses to keep an eye on in their respective divisions with impressive victories.
Hedge Fund did not develop into one of Pletcher's big names as a 3-year-old, but it's a new year, and the son of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver appears to be going places. A narrow loser of the Illinois Derby last spring, he only had five career starts combined at 2 and 3. Now 4, Hedge Fund is beginning to put things together. A sharp allowance win in Florida last month was followed up with an impressive victory in the Essex Handicap on Saturday. Things will only get tougher from here, but my guess is there are graded stakes wins soon on the horizon for this one.
Martini Glass has little in common with Hedge Fund, other than a strong performance this weekend in Arkansas. The former claimer continues to improve, and on Saturday she scored her second straight graded stakes win by taking home the Grade 2 Azeri. The 5-year-old mare obviously knows her way to the wire, as this was her 10th win in 23 career starts. The most impressive aspect of this victory was the depth of the field, with every mare in the race having solid credentials. I'm not sure how high her ceiling is, but clearly the mare who gave Songbird a race in last year's Delaware Handicap is better than ever.
Out West, another older female made an even louder statement on the track. Not to dismiss the mares who did enter the starting gate, but certainly the Grade 1 Santa Margarita became an easier race for all involved when it was announced that the expected favorite, Unique Bella, would miss the race due to a cough. It left the race open for the taking, and that is just what Fault did in a big way.
Despite a wide trip, the daughter of Breeders' Cup Classic winner Blame absolutely rolled over the large field of older mares. Now 2-for-2 in California, Fault was coming into the Santa Margarita off an upset win in the Grade 2 Buena Vista last time, which was her second graded stakes victory on the turf. In fact, she was coming in off of 11 consecutive races on the lawn. Now with trainer Phil D'Amato, it looks like the 4-year-old filly has found a new home on the main track. This was by no means a strong Grade 1 field, but the winner turned in a Grade 1 performance.
Kentucky Derby focus shifts to the Big Easy this week, as a field of 10 will take to the track at Fair Grounds on Saturday for the million-dollar Louisiana Derby. There are no runners from the Bob Baffert barn, but among the morning line favorites is a Todd Pletcher trainee, Noble Indy. The lightly raced son of Take Charge Indy finished a solid third in his stakes debut last time, and if he can move forward off that effort, he very well could give Pletcher another important prep win.
The horses that beat Noble Indy that afternoon in the Risen Star at long odds, Bravazo and Snapper Sinclair, both figure to have plenty to say about the Louisiana Derby outcome, as well. And keeping with the upset theme, the surprise winner of the Southwest Stakes, My Boy Jack, rounds out the horses to beat on Saturday. Then again, being a horse to beat, much like a team to beat in March Madness, has not exactly been a harbinger of good things to come. Stay tuned, race fans!