Kentucky Derby: Rodríguez is out with foot bruise; Baeza is in
Louisville, Ky.
Rodríguez, the Grade 2 Wood Memorial winner who was one of the two colts bringing trainer Bob Baffert back to the Kentucky Derby, was scratched Thursday because of a bruise to his right front foot.
“A skinny little foot bruise,” said Tom Ryan of SF Racing, the lead owner of Rodríguez. “It just had a little sensitivity to it. ... If we had another 48 hours, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. It’s just one of those things. It’s like a bruised nail. They can just feel a little bit of pressure after it happens.”
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Baeza, the Santa Anita Derby (G1) runner-up who needed one dropout before Friday at 9 a.m. EDT in order to get off the also-eligible list, drew into the starting gate. Still no. 21 in the program, he will break from post 20.
Ryan said Rodríguez’s bruise was discovered after a Sunday breeze at Churchill Downs. When it did not heal to the connections’ satisfaction, Ryan said they decided to hit the brakes and prepare the 3-year-old Authentic colt for the May 17 running of the Preakness.
“We made this call,” Ryan said when asked if Kentucky veterinarians had any role in the decision. “We made the decision in conjunction with Bob, obviously, and we feel like it gives us the best chance to be in the best form of the Preakness.”
Baffert was to the point with a text response. “Preakness,” he wrote. “Need (a) few more days.”
Baeza, who was made a 12-1 shot on the morning line, has been training in earnest for the Derby, having been shipped from Santa Anita to Churchill Downs last week. He breezed Monday while his connections were forced to hurry up and wait until the Churchill Downs vice president of racing notified them Thursday afternoon.
“Ben Huffman called and said a horse scratched, and we were in,” trainer John Shirreffs said.
Flavien Prat will ride Baeza, his first preference for the Derby. He had been named to ride third-place Florida Derby (G1) finisher Neoequos. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Luis Sáez takes over on Neoequos. Sáez had been left without a ride when Florida Derby winner Tappan Street got hurt last week. Mike Smith, who would have been on Rodríguez, no longer has a ride.
Baeza, a maiden winner who has raced four times, will try to follow the path to victory that worked three years ago. That was when Rich Strike drew in late, got stuck in post 20 and pulled off an 80-1 upset.
“I think 20 is an OK post for Baeza being a horse that hasn’t had a lot of races,” Shirreffs said. “Certainly we won’t be in the gate very long, so that’s a big plus, and he won’t get caught up in a lot of traffic right out of the gate. There are a lot of benefits from being out there.”
Ryan and Baffert have their remaining horse at the other end of the gate Saturday. Citizen Bull, a two-time Grade 1 winner who finished first in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) but fourth in the Santa Anita Derby, goes from the rail post with Martín García getting his first Kentucky Derby mount in 10 years. No horse has won the Derby from the 1 hole since Ferdinand in 1986.
Resigned to Rodríguez’s exit, Ryan said it was a reminder of how fragile hopes can be in racing.
“We’re big boys,” he said. “It is what it is, but always put the horse first.”