Calhoun staying patient with Mr. Big News on Kentucky Derby trail
With the track downgraded to sloppy and the pace fast in the Oaklawn Stakes, trainer Bret Calhoun reflected Sunday on Mr. Big News’ winning run from the back of the pack, saying, “Maybe it wasn’t the best trip for some of them, but it was the best trip for him.”
With the score, Allied Racing’s Mr. Big News put himself in line for a return to the 2020 Kentucky Derby trail.
“Where, I don’t know next,” said Calhoun who, absent a full-time string at Oaklawn Park, had his horses on a van Sunday morning returning to New Orleans’ Fair Grounds. Mr. Big News, along with fellow board hitters Farmington Road and Taishan, earned guaranteed spots in the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) with their Oaklawn Stakes finishes.
“I just feel like with the Kentucky Derby being the first weekend in September, that’s a long ways away to turn a horse around in three weeks having to ship up there, back to New Orleans and up again,” Calhoun said.
“It’s a difficult decision — confusing right now not knowing when or where we might get the next opportunity. I’d prefer to be a little more conservative and wait for another spot later.”
As a son of Giant’s Causeway, Mr. Big News would have been considered for a switch to turf had he not run big in the Oaklawn Stakes. Now he’s a winner in two of his last three starts, sandwiching a fifth in a division of the Risen Star Stakes (G2) between his maiden and stakes victories.
Under jockey Gabriel Saez, Mr. Big News had just three horses beat a half mile into the Oaklawn Stakes but sat in a favorable position with Gold Street cutting opening fractions of 22.07 and 45.47 seconds in the 1 1/8-mile feature.
“We kind of wanted to work our way outside, and that’s what Gabe did immediately from the gates, then kind of tipped him out turning for home,” Calhoun said.
Mr. Big News finished up in 1:49.89, striking at 46-1 — and now connections figure to wait for the racing calendar to sort itself out amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Churchill Downs will add existing 3-year-old stakes to its schedule of points preps leading into the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby.
The 4-year-old Mr. Money was a more well-regarded runner earlier in the card who didn’t deliver like his stablemate. By Goldencents, the multiple Grade 3 winner ran an even sixth in the Oaklawn Mile, his 2020 debut.
Mr. Money had never raced over an off track, with Oaklawn’s surface deemed “wet fast” as rain started to fall Saturday.
“I really thought he would handle it fine,” Calhoun said. “Gabe said the kickback was extremely heavy for that race. He didn’t get away too sharp, but then I thought he recovered and got in a good position. The way the pace was setting up, I thought he got a good trip.
“I tend to believe it was more a surface situation than anything.”
Calhoun said Mr. Money cooled out and scoped fine. He too was on the way back to Fair Grounds with no future race options imminent.