American Derby coming together with strong field despite competing races

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – There was a $200,000 turf race for 3-year-olds, the Centaur, Wednesday at Indiana Grand, and Belmont Park this weekend hosts a $1.25 million race, the Belmont Derby, in the same division. Even so, the $200,000 American Derby, part of the July 12 Million Preview card at Arlington, has a chance to come together as a decent race.

As of Friday, there were seven more-or-less confirmed starters for the American Derby, the local prep for the Grade 1 Secretariat on Aug. 16. The group, if it holds, is headed by shippers from New York, California, and England.

The New York horse is Divine Oath, a talented Todd Pletcher-trained colt who most recently finished a creditable fourth in the $400,000 Penn Mile, a race in which Bobby’s Kitten and Global View, two of the top horses in the division, ran first and second.

The California horse is Schoolofhardrocks, a David Hofmans-trained colt who failed to pan out as a Triple Crown prospect on dirt but scored a breakthrough turf-allowance win May 31, a performance that produced a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

The English horse is Our Channel, who had won 2 of 4 starts before he was overmatched in the Epsom Derby, in which he finished 13th of 16. Our Channel, an American-bred son of English Channel, is trained by William Haggas, who has started only one horse in the United States.

The other probable American Derby runners are the filly Ceisteach, Afortable, Big Tom Prado, and Chief Barker, though the number of runners could easily grow before entries are taken Wednesday.

Million Preview stakes in flux

The other three Million Preview Day stakes – the Modesty for older fillies, the 1 1/4-mile Arlington Handicap, and the 1 1/2-mile Stars and Stripes – all were in some degree of flux as of Friday.

The Modesty appears likely to draw the largest, most appealing field of the three races. Possible starters for the local Beverly D. Stakes prep include Alette, Ana Luisa, Embarr, Dance Again, Gulsary, I O Ireland, I’m Already Sexy, Irish Mission, Kepi, and Tabreed.

The composition of the Modesty could be altered if the Robert Dick Handicap at Delaware Park this weekend is rained off the turf, sending connections of entrants there looking for an alternative turf race.

The state of the Monmouth Park turf, which hosts the United Nations Stakes on Sunday and was being pelted with heavy rain Friday, could impact the Arlington Handicap and the Stars and Stripes, both of which could be destined for relatively short fields.