Cupid, Ralis Get Acquainted With Oaklawn Park Racing Strip
Cupid, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s lightly-raced hopeful in Saturday’s Grade 2 $900,000 Rebel Stakes, arrived on Tuesday from Southern California in search of his first Kentucky Derby qualifying points and the colt got his first feel for Oaklawn Park’s racing strip on Wednesday morning.
Owned by the Coolmore connections of Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derek Smith, the handsome 3-year-old son of Tapit went out after the break under exercise rider Danielle Rosier for an easy gallop once around the one-mile oval.
“It was a light day today after a travel day yesterday. We were just showing him the track this morning and we’ll get a little more serious with him tomorrow when he’ll gallop a mile and a half. It will be just our regular routine for him all week,” said Jimmy Barnes, Baffert’s longtime top assistant, who will saddle the gray/roan colt on race day.
That routine has worked exceptionally well for the barn in the Rebel, which offers 50-20-10-5 points (first through fourth place finish) and is the final prep race for the Grade 1 $1 million Arkansas Derby April 16.
Baffert, the reigning Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Trainer, has captured five of the last six runnings of the Rebel.
Last year, Zayat Stables’ American Pharoah made his spectacular 2015 debut in winning the Rebel before returning to Oaklawn to dominate in the Arkansas Derby on the way to becoming only the 12th Triple Crown winner and earning unanimous championships as 3 Year-Old-Male and Horse of the Year.
Cupid, who is out of the Beau Genius mare Pretty ‘n Smart and was a $900,000 purchase at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling sale, has made just three starts and is stepping all the up into a Grade 2 after graduating from the maiden ranks last out at Santa Anita. His 5 ¼ lengths score under Martin Garcia, who gets the return call, was at the 1 1/6 miles of the Rebel distance and impressed his connections.
“I like Cupid,” said Barnes. “He’s lightly raced but he turned out to be a good horse. It was just a matter of stretching him out. We ran him short and he needs to run long. The distance of this race shouldn’t be any kind of problem for him with his pedigree, and from the way he ran, he definitely likes the two turns.”
Baffert put Cupid through a pattern of strong works over the Santa Anita strip after that win, and his last was a bullet 6 furlongs in 1:13.3 when he outworked 22 other horses. He will break from post #3 in the full field of 15, just to the outside of Grade 1 winner Ralis, who is trained by Doug O’Neill and accompanied Cupid on the flight from the West Coast.
“It’s going to be an exciting race. He’s ready to go and I’m pumped,” said O’Neill, who will be in Hot Springs Saturday to saddle Reddam Racing’s homebred son of Square Eddie. “This is a deep prep but a great prep and it will give us a heads-up. It’s a test to see if he can compete with these guys and if we can still think about the Kentucky Derby.”
O’Neill also trains the undefeated Nyquist for Paul and Zillah Reddam and will run the current 2-Year-Old Male champion in the Florida Derby. Other than keeping his pair of Grade 1 winners apart for now on the Triple Crown trail, he thinks the timing of the Rebel the 1 1/16 miles suits him perfectly.
Nonetheless, he knows the 2015 Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes victor will have to bring his ‘A’ game as he’s been idle since a 14th and last place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Oct. 15.
“The long layoff is always a concern,” said O’Neill. “It’s ambitious, but when they’re doing good you’ve got to take chances. This is chancey, but we have a lot of faith in Ralis. I can see where the outsider looking at his form would think ‘What are you doing this for?’ But we’ve seen enough from him in the mornings and enough in the afternoons to think that when he’s doing this well, which he is right now, he deserves his chance. When he’s right, which I think he is right now, he’s a top horse.”
Mario Gutierrez will be aboard Ralis, and he was the regular rider for the Reddams’ I’ll Have Another, who missed his chance for Triple Crown glory in 2012 when O’Neill had to scratch him on the evening of the Belmont Stakes due to a leg injury.
“I’ll Have Another came off a long layoff and won the Bob Lewis (at Santa Anita) and that sent us forward (to Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes wins),” said O’Neill.
Ralis jogged on Wednesday morning, and O’Neill said he expected him to jog 1 mile and gallop 1 mile tomorrow but he will leave the pre-race decisions to stable foreman Sabas Rivera for the rest of the week.
Sudden Breaking News
Multiple stakes winner Suddenbreakingnews completed major preparations for the $900,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) Saturday at Oaklawn with a 5-furlong work Monday morning for trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel.
Breezing over a sealed, muddy surface about 10 minutes after the track opened, Suddenbreakingnews covered the distance in 1:02. Clockers caught the gelding’s final quarter-mile in :23.60 and galloping out 6 furlongs in 1:14.60.
“It was good,” Von Hemel said during training hours Wednesday morning. “Just nice and relaxed early. Stretched out good the last eighth. Came back in good shape.”
Suddenbreakingnews, who returned to the track Wednesday morning, was a last-to-first winner of the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 15 at Oaklawn in his 3-year-old debut.
Suddenbreakingnews broke from post 13 in the 1 1/16-mile Southwest, one of only 11 winners from 113 starters at the meet to win a route race from posts 10-14. Von Hemel laughed when asked if he had post position preference for the 1 1/16-mile Rebel.
“No comment,” Von Hemel said. “I don’t want to anger the gods.”
A few hours later, Suddenbreakingnews drew post 14 for the Rebel.
A son of 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, the colt has a 3-3-0 record from six career starts and earnings of $443,032.Suddenbreakingnews made all five starts last year at Remington Park, winning the $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes Nov. 6 and finishing second, beaten a nose, in the $250,000 Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 13.
Red, Red Wine
Cherry Wine, unraced since a Jan. 9 first-level allowance race at Gulfstream Park, can enter the Kentucky Derby picture with a strong performance in the $900,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) Saturday at Oaklawn.
In addition to a record purse, the Rebel offers 85 points to the top four finishers (50-20-10-5) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters.
Cherry Wine, a gray son of Paddy O’Prado, has won his last two starts by a combined 15 ¼ lengths for co-owner/breeder William Pacella and trainer Dale Romans. He was re-routed to the Rebel after he became ill before his scheduled stakes debut in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park.
“We were all set, but the horse got a little bit of a virus,” Pacella said. “We’re just hoping he’s OK because we need some points to get into the Derby.”
Cherry Wine broke his maiden by nine lengths Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs. Both career victories have been at the Rebel distance (1 1/16 miles).
Romans saddled Paddy O’Prado to a third-place finish in the 2010 Kentucky Derby.
No Rebel Yell
Trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs said Tisdale will be pointed to an upcoming allowance race at Oaklawn, a possible prep for the $125,000 Northern Spur Stakes on the closing-day April 16 card.
Tisdale, who broke his maiden Feb. 6 at Oaklawn, had been under consideration for Saturday’s $900,000 Rebel Stakes (G2), which is the final major local prep for the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 16.
Citing a projected 14-horse Rebel field, Moquett said he decided to pass the race after huddling with owner Eric Johnson (Harlow Stables).
“I agree that it will be kind of a chaotic race, at best,” Moquett said. “We decided to do what was best for him and not chase the Rebel.”
Tisdale is named for the late Oklahoma basketball great Wayman Tisdale.
Source: Oaklawn Park