Dorth Vader moving on to Grade 1 Acorn

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Michael Yates reported Friday that Dorth Vader is back galloping and doing well coming out of her game fourth-place finish behind Pretty Mischievous two weeks ago in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

Dorth Vader, upset winner of the Grade 2 Davona Dale here earlier this winter, broke a step slow, recovered to prompt the pace while trapped wide and outside the winner for the opening six furlongs of the Oaks, before weakening gradually through the final quarter-mile to finish 3 1/4 lengths behind the winner. She earned a career best 87 Beyer Speed Figure.

“She’s doing well and seems to be her old self,” said Yates. “I thought she ran a really good race in the Oaks, especially considering the fact that the winner made her move at the three-eighths pole, which forced her to make her move at the three-eighths pole as well. [That was] a little sooner than we’d have liked and which probably kept her from being a little closer at the end. But he [jockey Luis Saez] rode her to win.”

Yates said tentative plans call for Dorth Vader to return in the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park on June 9. He said he thoroughly enjoyed his experience at Churchill Downs, being part of a race like the Oaks as well as all the Derby week hoopla.

“I’d never been around Churchill Downs on Derby weekend before so the whole thing was very special for me,” said Yates. “After a while, when all that goes away, it’s just another race on her résumé, but for me it’s a memory I’ll never forget.”

Zayas returns

Sunday will mark the return, as expected, of jockey Edgard Zayas, who has fully recuperated after suffering a slight hairline fracture of his jaw in a frightening spill going into the clubhouse turn here during the running of the fifth race on April 23.

Zayas will launch his comeback aboard the Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained first-time starter Libban in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash over the main track. Libban, a 3-year-old son of Laoban, brought $250,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-year-old sale and is the first foal to make the races out of the unraced mare All in Time.

Libban, who drew the rail, has worked forwardly for his career bow dating back to January and is owned in partnership by C2 Racing and Paul Braverman. The race lured a field of seven, including two other promising-looking first-time starters, the 4-year-old Ghost Force, a son of Ghostzapper, and the 3-year-old Empire Maker filly Can’t Stop for trainer Jena Antonucci.

Antonucci has been on a roll of late. After shipping local maiden winner Arcangelo to Belmont to capture last Saturday’s Peter Pan, she returned here Thursday with the promising 2-year-old filly Avellino, who drew off to a popular eight-length maiden victory, when back in against her own kind after finishing fourth facing males when launching her career four weeks earlier. Avellino is a homebred daughter of Adios Charlie owned by John Grossi.

Rachel’s Rock keeps rolling

Rachel’s Rock continues to give every indication she’s destined for bigger and better things after rallying to an easy 2 1/4-length victory in Thursday’s main event, a first-level optional-claiming and allowance dash for her third one-sided victory in her last four starts, dating back to her maiden win one year earlier.

Rachel’s Rock is a 4-year-old Jacks or Better homebred by Jess’s Dream, trained by Ralph Nicks. The younger sister of Grade 3 winner Cee Zee, she was ridden to victory by Edwin Gonzalez, part of a hat trick for the veteran who sandwiched that victory between wins aboard Runaway Breeze earlier in the card and the favored Tapple Cider in the finale.