Instilled Regard not abandoning Derby aspirations just yet

ARCADIA, Calif. – Instilled Regard, fourth in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7, is a candidate for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5, if he can gain a berth in the field.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Wednesday that he has held discussions with owner Larry Best about a potential start in the Kentucky Derby for the colt, who was purchased for $1.05 million at a sale of 2-year-olds in training last year.

“We’d have to think about it,” Hollendorfer said. “We’re trying to make a plan.

“We have a horse that’s good and fit. He’ll have a good five-eighths work this weekend.”

As of Wednesday, Instilled Regard was 22nd in the points standings for the Kentucky Derby, which will have a maximum of 20 starters. Instilled Regard can gain a berth if two runners ranked above him are taken out of consideration.

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The field is determined largely by qualifying points earned in major stakes throughout the country. Gronkowski, based in England, earned an invitation by winning the European Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Instilled Regard has won 2 of 7 starts and earned $294,000. He ended his 2-year-old season with a second in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity in December. Instilled Regard won the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds in January before finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes there on Feb. 17.

In the Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles, Instilled Regard closed from last in a field of seven to finish 10 3/4 lengths behind winner Justify, who is rated as the top contender for the Kentucky Derby.

The Kentucky Derby is run at 1 1/4 miles, a distance Hollendorfer thinks should suit Instilled Regard, who is by Arch.

“He’s ready to do that,” he said.

Hollendorfer said that if Instilled Regard does not start in the Kentucky Derby, then plans are uncertain. The Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 19 would be considered.

“I don’t have a backup plan,” he said. “There are certainly plenty of races for 3-year-olds.”