Draft Pick using Los Alamitos Derby as stepping-stone

CYPRESS, Calif. – Draft Pick’s rapid progression in recent months has given owners Lee and Susan Searing and trainer Peter Eurton hope that the colt can run in a lucrative stakes on the East Coast in August: the $500,000 West Virginia Derby or $1.25 million Travers.

Draft Pick tries to win his third consecutive race in the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby on Saturday.

Draft Pick beat maidens going 1 1/16 miles in his sixth start on May 12 at Santa Anita, and won the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes at the same distance there June 10. The $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles and will be the longest race for Draft Pick.

The Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park is on Aug. 4, and the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga is on Aug. 25.

The Searings and Eurton considered sending Draft Pick to the Grade 3 Indiana Derby, a $500,000 race at 1 1/16 miles at Indiana Grand on Saturday, but opted to stay in Southern California.

Draft Pick has only four rivals in the Los Alamitos Derby – the stakes winners Ax Man and Blended Citizen and the longshots King Cause and Once on Whiskey.

Blended Citizen won the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park in May, but was ninth behind Justify in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

KEY CONTENDERS

Draft Pick, by Candy Ride
Last 3 Beyers: 92-83-80

◗ Purchased for $450,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale, Draft Pick is a 3-year-old who developed later than his Triple Crown contemporaries, Eurton said.

“He had to grow up a little bit,” Eurton said. “He was getting beat against maidens and he started to train better.”

◗ Eurton said the prospect of an August trip to the East Coast and the longer distance of the Los Alamitos Derby were leading factors in keeping Draft Pick in California this weekend.

“We like the distance,” Eurton said. “It keeps our horse fresh for something like the Mountaineer, or even if he runs really big, we could shoot for the moon in the Travers.

“Instead of traveling to Indiana and back and traveling back there again, we can run here.”

Ax Man, by Misremembered
Last 3 Beyers: 78-99-101

◗ After an impressive win by 6 3/4 lengths in the Sir Barton Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in the fog at Pimlico on May 19, Ax Man was a well-beaten third in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 16 as the 1-2 favorite. Ax Man was never in the mood to race that evening, trainer Bob Baffert said.

“Ax Man was a total meltdown last time,” Baffert said. “I hope he doesn’t do it again. He had a meltdown in the paddock, warmup, and the gate. He’s back home and he’s fine. I don’t know what got into him that night.”

◗ Baffert sent Ax Man to Los Alamitos earlier this week to give the colt a chance to acclimate to the surroundings. Baffert said Ax Man must be at his best to win the Los Alamitos Derby.

“I think Draft Pick is the horse to beat,” he said.