Essential Quality morning-line choice in Pool 4 of Kentucky Derby Future Wager
Essential Quality, a decisive winner last Saturday in his 3-year-old debut, is the morning-line favorite in Pool 4 of the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens for the customary three-day run Friday at noon Eastern.
Pool 4 coincides with the only Kentucky Oaks futures and Oaks-Derby double to be offered by Churchill Downs prior to both classics. Pool 4 will close Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern, and the Oaks pool a half-hour later at 6:30. Win and exacta wagering are offered for both pools.
Essential Quality, the reigning divisional champion, stayed unbeaten last Saturday with a 4 1/4-length victory in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. He is listed as the 7-2 choice on the Churchill morning line for Pool 4, followed by Life Is Good (4-1) and Greatest Honour (6-1).
This is a particularly good weekend for bettors to be aware that odds are not locked in until the pools are closed, given that as many as eight individually listed interests in Pool 4 are expected in action Saturday. Life Is Good, one of five horses on the Pool 4 roster trained by Bob Baffert, is foremost among that group; he’ll be a solid favorite in the San Felipe at Santa Anita. The other Derby preps being run this weekend are the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs and the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2021: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
There are just five new names in Pool 4 from when Pool 3 was held Feb. 12-14. They are Collaborate, Hush of a Storm, Proxy, Rombauer, and Spielberg.
Proxy and Spielberg both were previously listed as separate interests in Pool 2, held Jan. 22-24.
Gone from Pool 3 are Fire At Will, Jackie’s Warrior, Nova Rags, Senor Buscador, and Swiftsure.
The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, closed as a lukewarm favorite in the first three pools. The field is listed as the 10-1 fourth choice on the Pool 4 morning line.
The field closed as the 6-5 favorite in Pool 1, held Nov. 26-29 in tandem with the Derby Sires Future Wager. The field was the 9-5 favorite in Pool 2 and the 3-1 favorite in Pool 3, when combined handle was $388,986, up 9 percent from the corresponding 2020 pool. The fifth and final pool is set for March 26-28.
Churchill had offered four pari-mutuel futures pools in recent years, although there were seven pools toward the 2020 Derby because of the race being postponed from May to September due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As for the 2021 Oaks pool, Clairiere is listed as the 5-1 favorite, followed closely by Malathaat (6-1), Travel Column (6-1), and the field (8-1). Numerous Oaks prospects will be in action this weekend with three qualifying preps being run – the Busher at Aqueduct, the Honeybee at Oaklawn, and the Santa Ysabel at Santa Anita.
Last year, the Oaks futures coincided with Pool 3, which was held in early March, while Pool 4 was held in early April. Handle on the 2020 Oaks futures was $101,841, while the Oaks-Derby double drew $87,175.
In the case of field horses filling both exacta slots, the next-best finish by a separately listed horse will count toward the winning combination.
Churchill has offered Derby futures since 1999. The first year for Oaks futures was 2003.
The 147th Oaks will be run April 30 and the 147th Derby on May 1.
2021 KENTUCKY DERBY POOL 4
(No., Horse, Trainer, P1, P2, P3, P4 M/L)
1. Caddo River, B. Cox, 27-1, 13-1, 15-1, 15-1
2. Candy Man Rocket, B. Mott, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 35-1, 30-1
3. Collaborate, S. Joseph Jr., 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 3-1(f), 30-1
4. Concert Tour, B. Baffert, 6-5(f), 16-1, 17-1, 20-1
5. Dream Shake, P.Eurton, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 28-1, 30-1
6. Essential Quality, B. Cox, 8-1, 8-1, 8-1, 7-2
7. Freedom Fighter, B. Baffert, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 52-1, 30-1
8. Greatest Honour, S. McGaughey, 6-5(f), 40-1, 9-1, 6-1
9. Highly Motivated, C. Brown, 18-1, 24-1, 37-1, 20-1
10. Hot Rod Charlie, D. O’Neill, 34-1, 40-1, 35-1, 30-1
11. Hush of a Storm, W. Morey Jr., 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 3-1(f), 50-1
12. Keepmeinmind, R. Diodoro, 19-1, 19-1, 25-1, 30-1
13. Life Is Good, B. Baffert, 5-1, 7-1, 7-1, 4-1
14. Mandaloun, B. Cox, 6-5(f), 42-1, 16-1, 15-1
15. Medina Spirit, B. Baffert, 6-5(f), 24-1, 25-1, 30-1
16. Midnight Bourbon, S. Asmussen, 59-1, 26-1, 41-1, 30-1
17. Prevalence, B. Walsh, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 14-1, 20-1
18. Proxy, M. Stidham, 6-5(f), 76-1, 3-1(f), 20-1
19. Risk Taking, C. Brown, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 25-1, 30-1
20. Roman Centurian, S. Callaghan, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 41-1, 50-1
21. Rombauer, M. McCarthy, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 3-1(f), 50-1
22. Spielberg, B. Baffert, 6-5(f), 47-1, 3-1(f), 20-1
23. The Great One, D. O’Neill, 6-5(f), 9-5(f), 38-1, 50-1
24. Mutuel field, n/a, 6-5, 9-5, 3-1, 10-1
(f) – Mutuel field
2021 KENTUCKY OAKS FUTURE WAGER
(No., Horse, Trainer, CD M/L)
1. Bow Bow Girl, D. Romans, 50-1
2. Clairiere, S. Asmussen, 5-1
3. Coach, B. Cox, 30-1
4. Crazy Beautiful, K. McPeek, 20-1
5. Dayoutoftheoffice, T. Hamm, 12-1
6. Kalypso, B. Baffert, 15-1
7. Lady Mystify, P. Eurton, 50-1
8. Li’l Tootsie, T. Amoss, 30-1
9. Malathaat, T. Pletcher, 6-1
10. Moraz, M. McCarthy, 50-1
11. Obligatory, W. Mott, 30-1
12. Pass the Champagne, G. Weaver, 50-1
13. Pauline’s Pearl, S. Asmussen, 30-1
14. Search Results, C. Brown, 30-1
15. Simply Ravishing, K. McPeek, 12-1
16. Souper Sensational, M. Casse, 50-1
17. Sun Path, B. Cox, 30-1
18. Travel Column, B. Cox, 6-1
19. Vequist, R. Reid Jr., 12-1
20. Wholebodemeister, J. Avila, 12-1
21. Will’s Secret, D. Stewart, 15-1
22. Willful Woman, S. Asmussen, 50-1
23. Zaajel, T.Pletcher, 15-1
24. Mutuel field, n/a, 8-1