Authentic, Honor A. P. to see rematch in Santa Anita Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. – Authentic and Honor A. P., the one-two finishers in the San Felipe Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, both emerged from the race well and are scheduled to meet again in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4, their trainers said Sunday morning here at Santa Anita.

The Santa Anita Derby, which has a purse of $1 million, will be their final prep before the Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

Authentic, who won the San Felipe by 2 1/4 lengths to remain unbeaten in three starts, “acts like he didn’t even run,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He’s a happy dude.”

“It showed he must have great heart and lungs, because he was just galloping,” Baffert said.

Authentic got a Beyer Speed Figure of 98. He earned 50 points for the win. Combined with the 10 he earned for his victory in the Sham Stakes in January, he now has 60 points and is guaranteed a spot in the Derby field.

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Baffert was gratified by the way Authentic handled himself both before and during the race. There was no sign of the erratic behavior he displayed in the stretch of the Sham. Baffert used ear plugs, similar to what he did with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015, to help keep Authentic from being distracted. Baffert said the notion of putting blinkers on Authentic to potentially help him focus would not be prudent.

“He’s keen as it is,” Baffert said.

Honor A. P., who was making his first start in nearly five months, turned in “an excellent effort,” trainer John Shirreffs said.

“Think about who went in the race – an undefeated colt, a multiple graded stakes winner, and the 2-year-old champ,” Shirreffs said, referencing, respectively, Authentic, Thousand Words, and Storm the Court. “It doesn’t come much saltier than that.”

“And he had never run against winners,” Shirreffs added. Honor A. P. was making his third start on Saturday, his first since beating maidens here in October. He missed the Sham owing to a foot bruise.

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Storm the Court, who finished third, will be considered for three races on April 4 – the Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial, and Blue Grass Stakes – trainer Peter Eurton said. All those races are worth 170 points overall, with 100 to the winner.

“I’m feeling like we’ll probably be traveling,” Eurton said.

Eurton said he thought Storm the Court took a step forward, but said he thinks “there’s still more there.”

“He wasn’t in the bridle,” said Eurton, who said jockey Joel Rosario was forced “to shove on him the whole way.”

Thousand Words, who finished fourth while suffering his first loss after three victories, is likely to ship out of town for the Wood or Blue Grass, but Baffert, his trainer, said he first needs “to figure out why he ran so poorly.”

“He was up close and flattened out,” Baffert said.

Thousand Words owned victories in the Los Alamitos Futurity and Robert Lewis coming into the San Felipe.

Baffert on Sunday morning worked two more of his top 3-year-olds.

Nadal, who has won both his starts in sprints, went five furlongs in 59.60 seconds for the Rebel Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn, which will be his first race around two turns. The work was the fastest of 58 at the distance.

Charlatan, a dazzling debut winner against maidens sprinting, worked six furlongs in 1:12.60, the best time of five at the distance.

Drayden Van Dyke, who won the San Felipe on Authentic, worked both Nadal and Charlatan.