Honor A. P., Authentic plotting paths to Kentucky Derby

The top two finishers from the Santa Anita Derby – Honor A. P. and Authentic – both came out of the race in good order, and both remain on the trail to the Kentucky Derby, but how both get there is uncertain owing to the new path all 3-year-olds must navigate toward the delayed Sept. 5 Derby this year.

The postponed Derby does, though, offer a chance for glory for the maiden winner Cezanne, who was an impressive winner on debut on the undercard Saturday, five weeks after the Derby would have been run.

The Santa Anita Derby usually is the culmination of an orderly prep schedule at Santa Anita, following the Sham, Robert Lewis, and San Felipe, all about a month apart, with the Santa Anita Derby four weeks out from the Kentucky Derby. This year, owing to postponements related to the coronavirus pandemic, the Santa Anita Derby was run two months after its intended date and three months in front of the rescheduled Kentucky Derby.

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“Santa Anita has a great schedule. You never have to leave,” said John Shirreffs – the trainer of Honor A. P. – who utilized those races in 2005 when preparing Giacomo for his upset victory in the Kentucky Derby. “Giacomo needed every one of those races. Now, everything’s different.

“It’s hard to say right now what we’ll do, but obviously there’s time for a couple of races. A lot depends on the timing of everything.”

Shirreffs on Sunday morning said he would confer with Lee Searing, who owns Honor A. P. with his wife Susan, to map out a plan. If Honor A. P. remains in California, options could include the 1 1/8-mile Los Alamitos Derby on July 4 and/or the 1 1/16-mile Shared Belief on Aug. 1 at Del Mar. Otherwise, Honor A. P. would have to travel.

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Of benefit to Honor A. P. is that earning points for a Kentucky Derby berth is not a concern. He got 100 for the Santa Anita Derby to add to the 20 he received for finishing second in the San Felipe. He’s in.

“We have options. A lot depended on the race yesterday,” Shirreffs said.

Honor A. P. got a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102.

“All is well. He came out of the race in good shape,” Shirreffs said.

Authentic, like Honor A. P. making his fourth career start Saturday, suffered his first loss in the Santa Anita Derby. Though trainer Bob Baffert on Sunday said he had yet to decide on a next start for Authentic, the 1 1/8-mile Haskell Invitational on July 18 at Monmouth might provide an ideal bridge between the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby. Baffert has won the Haskell eight times.

“If I had to commit to something now the Haskell might be it, but I’m not thinking about all that just yet,” Baffert said. “He came out of the race great. He looked good afterwards. He never had run that hard before. He’ll move forward off of that. He ran well. The winner ran a big race.”

Baffert earlier in the card sent out the expensive 2-year-old auction purchase Cezanne for an impressive victory in his long-awaited debut. The son of Curlin got a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 while sprinting.

“He’s not a sprinter anyway,” Baffert said. “He needed the race. He’s still a little heavy. He showed his class.”

Baffert said Cezanne would be managed to try and make the Derby, but what races he may use in coming weeks are uncertain.

Also Saturday, Baffert said that Charlatan, winner of a division of the Arkansas Derby, had suffered a minor ankle injury that was going to require time off. Just how much time off is still being evaluated, though on Sunday Baffert said, “I feel better about it today than yesterday.”

“He had some filling in an ankle. We did X-rays. It’s agitated, like he wrenched it,” Baffert said. “We’re not sure if he’s going to need surgery. We’re being very cautious. It looks like it’s minor. But we’re going to get input from other vets and decide what to do.”