Baeza tops field of 10 in Pennsylvania Derby
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With only one horse to oversee in person this week, trainer John Shirreffs will have time to do some sightseeing in Philadelphia.
“I got to go see the steps that Rocky ran up, I guess,” Shirreffs said.
Shirreffs and his 3-year-old colt Baeza certainly won’t be underdogs in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing in nearby Bensalem, Pa. Having gone toe-to-toe with division heavyweights Sovereignty and Journalism – and acquitted himself well all spring and summer – Baeza does not have to face either one in a Pennsylvania Derby field that drew 10 horses.
“I think he’s run very well” against them, Shirreffs said. “In the [Kentucky] Derby, I think he could have been second had [Flavien] Prat had a little more experience on him, and in the Jim Dandy, Sovereignty beat him by a length. So, I think we’re pretty close to those two.”
Baeza, a half-brother to classic winners Mage and Dornoch, arrived in Pennsylvania on Saturday after he worked a strong six furlongs in 1:11.60 at Santa Anita. After a walk day on Sunday, Baeza galloped Monday morning over Parx’s main track.
“It seems like he takes a couple of days to sort out the environment,” Shirreffs said. “If we come in on Tuesday, we won’t have a chance to let him look around enough.”
Baeza is still looking for his second career victory. After his maiden win at Santa Anita in February, he finished second to Journalism in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He followed that with third-place finishes behind Sovereignty and Journalism in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes before making another cross-country trek to New York, where he finished second to Sovereignty, beaten just one length, in the Jim Dandy.
His workouts since the Jim Dandy have been solid and mostly done by himself.
“I would say that he’s maybe just a little stronger in his works,” Shirreffs said. “For quite a while we always needed to have a horse go with him for him to really breeze. Since the Jim Dandy, he hasn’t really required that.”
However, Shirreffs did have a workmate – the unraced 3-year-old Silent Way – join in with Baeza in his last work.
“Because you go by past habits, I wanted to make sure he had a good work,” Shirreffs said. ”Hector Berrios has been working him, and Hector’s a very conservative rider. He doesn’t ask much of a horse in a workout. I just felt not to take any chances, I’d have Silent Way jump in at the half-mile pole and provide some company.”
Berrios will ride Baeza, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, from post 8.
Baeza’s main competition in the Pennsylvania Derby figures to come from Gosger and Goal Oriented. Gosger, trained by Brendan Walsh, finished second to Journalism in the Preakness and was second to that one again in the Grade 1 Haskell. Goal Oriented was fourth in the Preakness after bumping with Journalism and was third, beaten a neck for second by Gosger, in the Haskell.
Gosger, the 4-1 third choice, will break from post 9 under Luis Saez.
Goal Oriented, trained by Bob Baffert, will have a new rider in Irad Ortiz Jr. for the Pennsylvania Derby. Goal Oriented drew post 6 and is the 5-2 morning-line second choice. Baffert only entered Goal Oriented, electing to keep Los Alamitos Derby winner Nevada Beach home. Magnitude (post 3), the Grade 2 Risen Star and Iowa Derby winner, will look to bounce back from a disappointing third in the Travers, where he was beaten 20 3/4 lengths by Sovereignty.
Also entered are Ohio Derby winner Mo Plex (post 10), Ellis Park Derby winner Big Truzz (post 7), Curlin runner-up So Sandy (post 1), recent allowance winner David of Athens (post 4), Smarty Jones fourth-place finisher Happily Delusional (post 5), and low level-claimer Altobelli (post 2).
Trio set for battle in Cotillion
Grade 1 winners Good Cheer, La Cara, and Scottish Lassie head a field of eight 3-year-old fillies entered in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
Good Cheer, trained by Brad Cox, won her first seven starts, including the Kentucky Oaks, before finishing behind La Cara in the Grade 1 Acorn, a race run over a sloppy Saratoga main track. Good Cheer was then second to Nitrogen in the Grade 1 Alabama.
In addition to the Acorn, La Cara won the Grade 1 Ashland and the listed Suncoast Stakes this year for trainer Mark Casse.
Scottish Lassie is coming off a 15 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, a race in which Dry Powder finished third. Dry Powder came back to win the Cathryn Sophia Stakes at Parx and also is entered in the Cotillion.
Others entered include Indy Bay, winner of the Charles Town Oaks; Clicquot, winner of the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks; and locally-based runners Ourdaydreaminggirl and Not Too Late.
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