Anothertwistafate's camp weighs Kentucky Derby trail options

Trainer Blaine Wright walked his Golden Gate Fields shed row Sunday morning in a daze, he said, and understandably so after Anothertwistafate’s El Camino Real Derby victory. Wright and owner Peter Redekop sat at the colt’s stall, posed for pictures and watched their horse chow down on lunch.

In a matter of minutes the day beforehand, the 3-year-old son of Scat Daddy threw his name into contention for a 2019 Kentucky Derby spot while also earning a fees-paid berth in the Preakness Stakes, a new incentive this year for the El Camino Real Derby hero.

How he arrives either destination remains to be seen.

“This is new to the owner, new to the trainer and new to the rider,” Wright said. “We agreed at dinner that we’d just go race by race.”

Under jockey Juan Hernandez, Anothertwistafate moved his record to 3-for-3 on Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic with a front-running, seven-length win over the Bob Baffert-trained shipper Kingly.

Next, a switch to dirt could be in order for a race like the Santa Anita Derby (G1), or Turfway Park hosts the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) on its all-weather surface.

“If he shows up and runs a strong race, we’ll be taking a close look at the (Kentucky) Derby,” Wright said. “If he doesn’t run good, there’s a race here at Golden Gate that would be a fantastic prep to get to the Preakness. All in all, I think we’re in a good position however it works out for us.”

That local race is the April 27 California Derby. As with Saturday’s El Camino Real Derby, it runs at nine furlongs — “basically the same race as he just ran in,” Wright said, “and he might look like a rock star in it.”

Anothertwistafate, a $360,000 auction purchase, earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure for his El Camino Real Derby performance, comparing well to other top Derby hopefuls inside of three months until the May 4 race.

“I think we all knew what this horse was capable of,” Wright said. “We just needed to see it with a quality group of horses to kind of get our mind frame right.”

Anothertwistafate does have one career start over dirt back on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park. Going six furlongs in a field of 12, he ran mid-pack to finish ninth, with the likely culprit kickback he doesn’t experience racing and training at Golden Gate Fields.

“The only discouraging sign in that race was from the 3/8 pole to the quarter pole,” Wright said. “He was laying fourth. He went back to last. I thought he ran a real good first part of the race, and if you watch the head on, Hernandez gets to work with him. He bellied down. He didn’t make up a whole lot of ground, but he galloped out strong.

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

How may times Anothertwistafate will run before the spring classics, along with where, could be decided this week. What’s most important to the trainer for now?

“He looks good today,” Wright said, “and there’s a lot of races out there.”