Anothertwistafate to try dirt next on Kentucky Derby 2019 trail

Anothertwistafate's name was absent Thursday on the nominations list for Turfway Park's Grade 3, $200,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks, and trainer Blaine Wright confirmed that was no accident.

Wright said that while a specific race spot hasn't been determined, last weekend's dominant the El Camino Real Derby winner will switch from synthetic to dirt for his next start on the 2019 Kentucky Derby trail.

Anothertwistafate has won his last three Golden Gate Fields starts with ease, none more impressive than his seven-length score Saturday going 1 1/8 miles on the all weather track. The son of Scat Daddy, a $360,000 auction purchase owned by Peter Redekop, earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure with the win.

Along with 10 qualifying points toward the Derby, Anothertwistafate cashed in on a new incentive for El Camino Real Derby winners, a fees-paid berth toward the Preakness Stakes. Should his next Kentucky Derby prep not go well, the colt could return to Golden Gate Fields for the April 27 California Derby, also at nine furlongs, as a potential springboard to the Triple Crown series' second leg.

"All in all, I think we’re in a good position however it works out for us," Wright said earlier this week.

ANALYSIS: Will Anothertwistafate handle dirt?

Options are aplenty should Anothertwistafate ship outside of California for his next Derby prep. If he remains near the West Coast, New Mexico's Sunland Derby (G3) runs March 24, and the Santa Anita Derby (G1) falls on April 6.

Anothertwistafate has made four career starts. The first of them came on the dirt, in which he offered little in finishing ninth on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park. But that race came at a sprint distance, and Anothertwistafate has dominated two-turn races since then on the front end.

“I’m not worried about it," Wright said of the surface switch. "Going a route of ground, he’s going to be up near the leaders, and he’s not going to take much dirt.”

Turfway's Jeff Ruby, formerly known as the Spiral, is expected to be headlined by Somelikeithotbrown, a close third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf before winning the local John Battaglia Memorial Stakes last Friday with ease. The Jeff Ruby offers 20 Derby points to its winner, and March 9 placement on the racing calendar allows spacing for a major prep following it.

The Kentucky Derby runs on May 4.

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