Freshened Semper Fortis will run in Los Alamitos Derby

CYPRESS, Calif. – A busy 2-year-old campaign forced Semper Fortis out of the Triple Crown preps this past winter and spring. The colt had won two of his first seven starts, but the campaign took a toll.

“He was just body sore,” trainer Doug O’Neill recalled last weekend.

A gap of more than six months between races seemed to work. Semper Fortis finished a game second in his comeback in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 26, leading to a scheduled start in Saturday’s $200,000 Los Alamitos Derby.

Semper Fortis is a clear second choice in a projected small field for the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby at 1 1/8 miles. The race is led by Accelerate, the winner of the Shared Belief Stakes.

Owned by Paul and Zillah Reddam, Semper Fortis was considered for the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on Sunday.

“We’re staying put,” O’Neill said. “It’s in our own backyard. It’s one of those things we can run here rather than put him on a plane.”

Saturday will be a big day for O’Neill. He is traveling to suburban Philadelphia to watch Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist start in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing. The Reddams own Nyquist, the champion 2-year-old male of 2015.

Semper Fortis, by Distorted Humor, was purchased as a yearling for $525,000. He won a $62,500 claimer for maidens at Del Mar last November and an optional claimer at Los Alamitos last December. In his first two starts this year, both at Santa Anita, Semper Fortis was sixth in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at a mile in January and third in an optional claimer in February. He was turned out following the optional claimer.

The promising performance in the Shared Belief, a half-length loss, has led O’Neill to expect more on Saturday. The Los Alamitos Derby could even lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile if Semper Fortis runs an exceptional race.

“You never know,” O’Neill said. “We like to think big. If they have their credentials, we’ll have to play it by ear.

“We’re optimistic about this guy’s future. He could have a nice end-of-the-year run. We could have a good 4-year-old campaign.”