ARCADIA, Calif. – In his first winter of riding in California full time, jockey Julien Leparoux has found the dream mount on top 3-year-old Flashback.

The winner of the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths in his stakes debut at Santa Anita on Feb. 2, the undefeated Flashback will start as a favorite in the $300,000 San Felipe Stakes over 1 1/16 miles March 9. The race is a prep for the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 6.

“We got lucky to pick up the horse in my first winter,” Leparoux said at Santa Anita on Friday.

Jockey James Graham said he liked what he saw from Ive Struck a Nerve in the Risen Star last weekend and is looking for him to improve even more.

At 135-1 odds, Ive Struck a Nerve rallied from last to first to win the Risen Star, the final prep for the Louisiana Derby.

“He ran a good race,” Graham said. “He really did. And I think there’s more improvement if he settles more. He doesn’t have to be as far back. Maybe he can keep stepping forward. I think if he settles the way he did . . . you can do anything with him.

The eighth season of Countdown to the Crown returns as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 4 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates, opinions and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.

Straight from the gate

Is it possible to pick a $46.20 winner and feel absolutely miserable about it? It is. That happened to me last year in Pool 2 of Churchill’s Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After finding Itsmyluckyday and 2-year-old champion Shanghai Bobby a little too much to handle going two turns making his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Holy Bull, Clearly Now will get both distance and class relief when he turns back to seven furlongs for Saturday’s $150,000 Swale.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On the road to the Kentucky Derby, Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct shapes up as a starting point for Overanalyze and a proving ground for his 11 rivals.

Overanalyze is one of just two graded stakes winners in the field, having ended his 2-year-old season with a nose victory in the Grade 2 Remsen over Aqueduct’s main track last Nov. 24, his last start.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – For Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the $60,000 Gazebo for 3-year-olds at Oaklawn Park on Saturday is more than just a little sprint feature. It’s the launching pad for Kentucky Derby hopeful Titletown Five, a horse the Wisconsin native named for the Green Bay Packers and one of its most outstanding players, No. 5, Paul Hornung.

[bc_video_id:285464:]It’s Big Cap Day on Saturday at Santa Anita, with the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap topping a program that also includes two other Grade 1 events, the $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile and the $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes.

There also are multiple graded stakes Saturday at Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park. At Aqueduct, the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham is supported by the Grade 2, $200,000 Top Flight Handicap and Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap. At Gulfstream, the Grade 3, $150,000 Swale Stakes is backed up by the Grade 3, $150,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes.

No, there aren’t any Kentucky Derby points available Saturday in the $75,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes over the Polytrack surface at Turfway Park. But for some folks working backward from the May 4 Derby – such as Ken Ramsey – it seems like an ideal place to get in some useful practice for Polytrack races with points.

WHO'S HOT

Code West, Ive Struck a Nerve, and Orb are the three newcomers to this week’s Derby Watch Top 20. Orb, who won the Fountain of Youth last Saturday, is the co-fifth choice at 12-1 on the Kentucky Derby future line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper. Ive Struck a Nerve, the upset winner of the Risen Star, is 40-1 on Watchmaker’s line, with Risen Star runner-up Code West 30-1.