Eurton thinking Kentucky Derby for Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Storm the Court

ARCADIA, Calif. - Storm the Court, the upset winner of Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, will be freshened up and pointed to a 3-year-old campaign that his connections hope ultimately gets him to the Kentucky Derby in May.

“Give him a little break and chart out a plan for next year,” Peter Eurton, trainer of Storm the Court, said Saturday morning. “I mean, why even run him again? If we were to get lucky enough to win the Eclipse, that would be huge. He ran so hard yesterday. That’s probably the biggest number he’s ever run. He’s not a super big horse. That takes a little bit out of you, so he’ll need some time to recoup from that.”

Eurton did say that Storm the Court “looks good this morning.”

Storm the Court, who set all the pace under Flavien Prat, outlasted Anneau d’Or by a neck to win the Juvenile at odds of 45-1. His $93.80 mutuel was the highest-priced winner in the 36-year history of the Juvenile, eclipsing the previous mark of $63.20, set by Vale of York here in 2009.

Storm the Court, a son of Court Vision owned by Ryan Exline, David Bernsen, Susanna Wilson, and Dan Hudcok, ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.93 and earned an 87 Beyer Speed Figure.

In the Juvenile, Storm the Court was equipped with blinkers for the first time. That change and the unfortunate stumble of race favorite Dennis’ Moment likely contributed to Storm the Court getting a relatively easy lead.

“I think they helped him get involved in the race early on, which is really key on this racetrack, especially,” Eurton said. “He didn’t pull too much. He sometimes loses his focus, according to Flavien, especially the race before last.”

Eurton said he likely wouldn’t run Storm the Court again before January, typically the month the Sham Stakes is held at Santa Anita. Eurton said he could also wait until February, depending on how the horse handles his break.

“Once January, February hit it’s boom, boom, boom,” Eurton said. “If you run again between now and January, you’re essentially saying we’re not getting off the escalator, we’re just going to keep rolling.”

Twenty-seven of the previous 35 Juvenile winners have gone on to win the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. In 2014, Texas Red, a 13-1 shot, won the Juvenile by 6 1/4 lengths, but American Pharoah won the Eclipse. In 2013, New Year’s Day, a 10-1 shot, won the Juvenile, but Shared Belief won the Eclipse Award.

“Would love to win it,” Eurton said. “We’re probably the favorite to win it, but I never try to outguess anybody or outthink anybody. We’ll definitely show up for it. It’s always fun not to know until they say your name.”

Eurton said he went to Florida for the 2016 Eclipse Awards not knowing if Champagne Room, the 33-1 upset winner of the Juvenile Fillies, would win for champion 2-year-old female. She did.

Anneau d’Or, the Juvenile runner-up, came out of the Juvenile in good order, according to trainer Blaine Wright. Wright who was headed back to Northern California Saturday morning, said his horse would likely return to his Golden Gate base on Sunday. Though Anneau d’Or had only one previous start and it was a maiden victory on turf at Golden Gate Fields, Wright said he wasn’t surprised how well he ran on the dirt.

“If anyone had seen him in the flesh or watched him train they would have known he was a real serious racehorse,” Wright said.

Wright said the Kentucky Derby “is a long way away” and that he has not given much thought about what path he may choose for Anneau d’Or. This year, Wright was on the trail with Anothertwistafate, who won the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate and was second in the Sunland Derby and Lexington Stakes before getting hurt. That horse, by the way, is about to rejoin Wright at Golden Gate in a few weeks.

“Who knows if the Derby winner has even made his first start yet,” Wright said. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. Just seeing the smile on [owner Peter Redekop’s] face like that was priceless.”

As for Dennis’ Moment, he left Santa Anita at 1 a.m. Saturday and was expected back at Churchill Downs by midafternoon Saturday.

Trainer Dale Romans said Dennis’ Moment did not show any visible signs of a problem as a result of the stumble, but said the horse would get a thorough examination when he returns to Kentucky.

Romans said he hopes to be able to stick with his original plan of just freshening Dennis’ Moment up and pointing him down the Triple Crown trail in 2020.