Force the Pass a cut above Commonwealth Derby foes
Force the Pass lost the Secretariat Stakes on Aug. 15 at Arlington, a race he was the 3-2 favorite to win. But how much, really, did Force the Pass lose in defeat?
The typically laid-back colt for some reason got a bee in his bonnet during the post parade, went to the gate agitated, and lurched up into the air when the stall sprang open. Force the Pass spotted the rest of the field several lengths and basically lost all chance to win when the talented Irish invader Highland Reel set a walking pace. That Force the Pass rallied for third, just missing second, seems like further testament to his talent more than an indictment of his form.
Most bettors, however, figure to see things that way when Force the Pass runs back Saturday at Laurel Park in the Grade 2, $400,000 Commonwealth Derby. He’s the 6-5 favorite on the morning line and could slip even lower while facing at most seven rivals, none of whom on paper appears his equal.
If the Commonwealth Derby doesn’t ring a bell, don’t fret. It’s a new name and new location for an old race, the Virginia Derby, which lost its home when Colonial Downs ceased hosting racing in 2015. The Virginia Equine Alliance, a consortium of horsemen’s groups, is sponsoring the Derby, which it hopes to bring back to Virginia in 2016, as well as the Grade 2, $200,000 Commonwealth Cup, the former Colonial Turf Cup. The Commonwealth Cup, headed by Up With the Birds, goes as race 4 on Saturday, the Derby as race 9. The weather is supposed to be sunny and hot, and the turf should be firm.
KEY CONTENDERS
Force the Pass (Last 3 Beyers: 92-92-88)
◗ The Secretariat was contested on a course turned wet by torrential rain not long before the race. “I think all that rain or something got him kind of jazzy,” said trainer Alan Goldberg. “He was pretty good in the paddock but got all jazzed up in the post parade and at the gate. He just got off bad. I thought he’d be on the lead or just off it.”
◗ Force the Pass, a powerful chestnut colt by Speightstown, won the Grade 3 Penn Mile with a strong late move and the Grade 1 Belmont Derby from just off a slow pace. “He’s a good horse, and he’s doing good right now,” said Goldberg, who since the Secretariat has put four works into the colt at his private training center.
◗ Secretariat winner Highland Reel returned to finish fifth in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes, but that was one of the best races run anywhere in the world this year. Secretariat runner-up Closing Bell won the Dueling Grounds Derby last week at Kentucky Downs.
Go Around (Last 3 Beyers: 91-91-81)
◗ The Bill Mott-trained colt made his stakes debut Sept. 5 in the Saranac at Saratoga and ran well to finish third after moving – perhaps prematurely – into a hot middle pace.
FORMULATOR FACT: Mott with 3-year-old turf horses coming back in fewer than 15 days after a race is just 2-5-1 from 25 starters, with an 80-cent return on investment over the last five years.