Timberlake powers to Rebel win and berth in Kentucky Derby

Hot Springs, Ark.

Timberlake hit all the right notes as the 4-5 favorite and secured a spot in the Kentucky Derby with his two-length victory over Common Defense in Saturday’s Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn.

The win was worth 50 points towards eligibility in the run for the roses, pushing him to the top of the qualifying standings with 66 points, enough to assure him a place in the 20-horse gate at Churchill Downs.

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Showing a new dimension in his 3-year-old debut, Timberlake ($3.60) got a good position behind the early speed and settled in fifth as Carbone led the field through early fractions of 23.20 and 47.67 seconds for the first half-mile.

Owned by WinStar Farm, Timberlake began to make his move around the turn from home and took control at the top of the stretch, winning with authority under jockey Cristian Torres in 1:44.00 for 1 1/16 miles over a fast track.

“Beautiful trip,” Torres said. “I wanted him to be nice and relaxed. He did it. He’s a classy horse. I’m just grateful that I could get it done for Brad (Cox) and WinStar. It’s a dream to win these kind of races for these kind of people. It’s a dream come true.

Trainer Brad Cox, who was halfway around the world, watched the race as he was preparing to leave Saudi Arabia where, earlier in the day, he saddled Saudi Crown to a third-place finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1).

“I thought he ran a big race,” Cox said. “He was a little wide around the far turn. Looked like he may have been getting tired late, but overall it was a great run off the layoff. Cristian did a great job of getting him in a good spot. He was able to get him to relax and finish up well.”

Trainer Ken McPeek, who won Oaklawn’s Southwest Stakes (G3) with the Arkansas Derby (G1)-bound Mystik Dan, saddled the second- and third-place finishers of the Rebel, Common Defense and Northern Flame.

“Two fantastic runs by two very nice horses and an impressive winner,” McPeek said. “Really impressive. You gotta put him in your top tier. My colts will make their presence felt the rest of the year. There’s some nice races out there. We just have to pick the right ones. Common Defense, I could see us coming back at Turfway in the Spiral (Jeff Ruby Steaks, G3). Northern Flame, we will take a look around and talk about where he wants to go.”

Woodcourt finished fourth and Dimatic fifth. The race was worth 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers.