Kaplan, Wolfson Seek Indiana Oaks-Derby Double

Trainers William Kaplan and Martin Wolfson will try to do what Bob Baffert did in 2010 - saddle the winner of the Indiana Oaks and Indiana Derby. Kaplan's Holiday Magic has been assigned 15-1 and will make her first start outside of Florida in the 19th running of the Indiana Oaks. The Grade 2 event is carded as Race 9 with a post time of 8:41p.m. Holiday Magic hasn't raced since a fifth place finish over the Gulfstream Park turf in the Honey Ryder where she clipped heels early. This multiple stakes winner has hit the work tab regularly since her last start, most recently a 5 furlong breeze on Sept. 27 in a time of :59.65 and was the fourth fastest of 44 that morning. She will contest graded stakes company for the second time in her career.  

 

Trainer Martin Wolfson sends out lightly raced Georgia who makes just her third start of the year. She made her stakes debut as a two-year old while racing for Bob Baffert in the Sharp Cat at Hollywood Park over the one mile and one sixteenth Cushion Track to a disappointing fifth place finish as the favorite. She debuted for the Wolfson barn in her most recent start at Gulfstream where she set the fractions at a mile facing first level allowance company and also without the blinkers that she wore in her four previous lifetime starts. She travels to Indiana Grand to make her graded stakes debut at odds of 8-1.

 

The field for the Grade 2 Indiana Oaks in post position order: Soul Title (Stewart/Lanerie), Penwith (McLaughlin/Leparoux), Phinda (Phillips/Rechy), Georgia (Wolfson/Napravnik), Awesome Jill (Lovell/Landeros), Holiday Magic (Kaplan/Prado), My Merry Way (Motion/McCarthy), Tiz Windy (Nafzger/Hernandez,Jr), Miss Besilu (Mott/Saez), Unbridled Forever (Stewart/Rosario), and Midnight Beauty (Kahles/McKee). 

 

While Martin Wolfson sends out a longshot in the Indiana Oaks, he has 6-5 morning line favorite Atreides in the 20th running of the Grade 2 Indiana Derby. The feature on the program carded as Race 10 has a post time of 9:30 p.m. Atreides makes just his fourth start and will test graded stakes company for the first time in his career. This will also be the first time the three-year old has raced outside of Gulfstream Park. After breaking his maiden at six furlongs in mid-July as the favorite, he came back a month later to score against allowance company at six and a half furlongs. Twenty days later, he stepped up to face stakes company in the Monarchos Stakes at one mile and scored by an impressive 17 and one-half lengths. 

 

Two horses are early morning scratches out of the Grade 2 Indiana Derby. Quiet Ruler from the Nick Zito barn and I Got It All from the Tom Swearingen Stable have scratched out of the race.

 

Trainer William Kaplan hopes to score the upset with East Hall. He scored in the Ohio Derby at 9-1 two races back at Thistledown on July 19 over a wet fast track at one mile and one sixteenth. East Hall is one of only two horses in the field for the Indiana Derby with wins at one mile and one sixteenth. He most recently finished sixth, nine and a quarter lengths behind winner Vicar's in Trouble, in the Grade 2 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 6. The field for the 20th running of the Grade 2 Indiana Derby in post position order: Cryptopirate (Roberts/Esquilin), Saa Mi (Walsh/Goncalves), Atreides (Wolfson/Rosario), Vicar's in Trouble (Maker/Napravnik), East Hall (Kaplan/Saez), Quiet Ruler- SCRATCH, CJ's Awesome (McPeek/Prado), Just Call Kenny (McBurney/Lopez), and I Got It All – SCRATCH.