Carrick looks to rebound in Hollywood Derby

Carrick was halfway through the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Sept. 29 when trainer Tom Morley saw alarming signals. Carrick, 3, was struggling on the soft turf.

“We could see it on the backstretch,” Morley recalled on Wednesday. “He was not handling the ground.”

Carrick finished 27 1/2 lengths behind winner Channel Maker in the Joe Hirsch, his debut against older horses. That loss ended any thoughts of starting Carrick in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

Carrick does have a Grade 1 assignment in Saturday’s $300,000 Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar.

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This will be Morley’s first starter at Del Mar. The last time Carrick started against strictly 3-year-olds, he won the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at 38-1 at Arlington Park on Aug. 11.

That race was at 1 1/4 miles, and Morley said on Wednesday that the shorter distance of the Hollywood Derby is one of his few concerns.

“He might want a 10-furlong race,” Morley said. “We’re looking at a big field and an honest pace in California. He’ll be very dangerous at nine furlongs.

“I don’t think the trip will be too much of an issue. Hopefully, he can be stalking in the second rank.”

Kent Desormeaux will ride Carrick for the first time, replacing John Velazquez, who is scheduled to ride at Aqueduct on Saturday.

Owned by Donegal Racing, Carrick was shipped to California on Tuesday, a 16-hour journey, Morley said.

“We had a long day yesterday,” Morley said on Wednesday. “He’s an experienced traveler. He took the journey well and ate well last night.”

Wednesday, Carrick had a one-mile jog, Morley said.

Aside from Carrick, the projected starters in the Hollywood Derby are Californiagoldrush, Desert Stone, Fight On, Have At It, Instilled Regard, Kazan, Platinum Warrior, Prince Earl, Pubilius Syrus, Raging Bull, Risky Proposition, River Boyne, and Way Early.

Californiagoldrush, unraced since winning the Grade 2 Sands Point Stakes at Belmont Park on Sept. 15, is the lone filly in the field.