Gold Rush rematch looms

The top four finishers in last month’s one-mile Gold Rush Stakes – Stand and Salute, Broughton Kitten, Sandor the Hound, and Rye Patch – are expected to hook up again in Saturday’s $100,000 California Derby at 1 1/16 miles.

Stand and Salute got first run on Broughton Kitten and held him off by a half-length in the Dec. 6 Gold Rush here. Three weeks later, Broughton Kitten rallied for fourth in the one-mile Eddie Logan on the turf at Santa Anita, and he will appreciate the extra sixteenth of a mile Saturday.

Sandor the Hound came into the Gold Rush off a maiden-claiming victory, and Rye Patch set the pace for most of the Gold Rush.

Two recent maiden winners, Cross the Line and Midnight Destiny, are also expected to run in the California Derby.

Other possible starters include Daddy D T, who won the Oak Tree Juvenile Turf at Del Mar last summer and finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and the Eddie Logan, and Rainsford, who was third here in the six-furlong Golden Nugget.