On a day when a California colt acknowledged as the best Kentucky Derby prospect in the country was sidelined and ruled out of the Triple Crown, California’s 3-year-olds continued to make noise on the Derby trail, as Hot Rod Charlie shipped in to Fair Grounds and made off with the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby, the first of the final round of Derby preps worth 100 points to the winner. Hot Rod Charlie’s victory came one week after Concert Tour left California, shipped into Oaklawn, and made off with the Rebel Stakes. The California connection is the obvious theme, but so, too, in those cases is jockey Joel Rosario, who won aboard Concert Tour and fashioned a daring ride on Hot Rod Charlie on Saturday, putting the usual late runner on the lead and going all the way in the 1 3/16-mile race. Both Hot Rod Charlie and Concert Tour were highly ranked Derby contenders before Saturday, but their standing improved dramatically earlier in the day when Life Is Good, the Derby favorite, emerged from a workout at Santa Anita with an apparent hind-end injury that trainer Bob Baffert said would remove him from consideration for the May 1 Derby and the remainder of the Triple Crown. :: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now. Hot Rod Charlie was slow to come around as a 2-year-old, taking four starts to finally earn his maiden diploma before nearly shocking the world in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, in which he finished second at 94-1 to champion colt Essential Quality. In his only start since then, he closed for third in the Robert Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 30, beaten a neck for it all, when ridden by Rosario for the first time in a race that was fast early, slow late. It was what happened in the weeks after that race that was most notable. In his recent works, Hot Rod Charlie trained like a superstar, blowing away workmates and galloping out with enthusiasm, indicating that much as he progressed at 2, he was giving all the indications he would move forward similarly at 3. It looked like he was sitting on a top effort, and thus was bet down to 5-2, second choice to the 6-5 favorite Mandaloun, who had won the local prep, the Risen Star. Rosario elected to head to the lead after breaking from post 5 in the field of eight. With Midnight Bourbon closest early, and Mandaloun chasing while three paths wide, Hot Rod Charlie led through fractions of 23.10 seconds for the opening quarter, 47.04 seconds for the half, and 1:11.25 for six furlongs. As the field neared the top of the stretch, Mandaloun began to falter. Hot Rod Charlie had to turn back a persistent bid from Lecomte winner Midnight Bourbon, but asserted his superiority in the final furlong and crossed the wire two lengths best in 1:55.06 for 1 3/16 miles on the fast main track. That is a track record, but that’s not as significant as it seems, being as the distance is rarely run at Fair Grounds and the Louisiana Derby was lengthened to this distance for the first time last year. Hot Rod Charlie earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. O Besos rallied up the rail to get third, only a head behind Midnight Bourbon. Proxy was fourth and was followed, in order, by Starrininmydreams, Mandaloun, Rightandjust, and Run Classic. Mandaloun was particularly disappointing, surrendering early after a stalking trip behind the eventual one-two finishers. Proxy also was subpar. He was adding blinkers for the first time after runner-up finishes in the Lecomte and Risen Star. He balked when first asked to load in the gate, got squeezed leaving the gate, and never seemed to get in a comfortable rhythm. Hot Rod Charlie ($7.80) certainly has a pedigree that indicates he could have speed – though he’s by Preakness winner Oxbow, he’s a half-brother to the champion sprinter Mitole – and that combination and stamina and speed proved most effective Saturday. It also should come in handy six weeks hence, as Hot Rod Charlie showed Saturday he can be far more tractable if required, something often needed in a 20-horse field going 1 1/4 miles on Derby Day at Churchill Downs. That’s where Hot Rod Charlie will race next. This race had been placed as a bridge between the Lewis and the Derby, and the distance was attractive to his connections. “We’re going to Kentucky,” a jubilant Bill Strauss, one of the co-owners of Hot Rod Charlie, said to TVG’s Scott Hazelton in the winner’s circle. “This is what you get in the game for.” Strauss owns Hot Rod Charlie along with Roadrunner Racing and Boat Racing, the latter a group of friends for whom Hot Rod Charlie is their first horse. Hot Rod Charlie was purchased as a yearling for $110,000. He earned $610,000 Saturday and now has career earnings of more than $1 million. Doug O’Neill trained Hot Rod Charlie for his first six starts, and will have him again for the Derby. O’Neill earlier this month had to serve a suspension for a medication violation, and at the time of entries for the Louisiana Derby one week ago he was still on suspension, so the colt on Saturday ran for O’Neill’s top assistant, Leandro Mora, who took charge of the barn while the boss sat. Mora, though, is currently in Dubai, preparing several horses for next week’s World Cup card, so another assistant, Sabas Rivera, handled chores in New Orleans. None of it mattered to Hot Rod Charlie. He is Derby-bound, his stock rising like a soufflé at Commander’s Palace.