Irap will skip Belmont, opts for Ohio Derby
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
ARCADIA, Calif. – Irap, the longshot winner of the Blue Grass Stakes but 18th in the Kentucky Derby last out, will start in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 24 and skip the Belmont Stakes on June 10, trainer Doug O’Neill said in a text message.
The $500,000 Ohio Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles.
Irap was a maiden when he won the Blue Grass, becoming the first winless horse to take the famous Keeneland race. Owned by Paul and Zillah Reddam, Irap has one win in nine starts and earnings of $772,600.
Earlier this year, Irap was second in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita and the Mine That Bird Derby at Sunland Park and fourth in the Sunland Park Derby.
By Tiznow, Irap did not start in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 20. Irap worked six furlongs in 1:14.40 last Friday at Santa Anita, his second workout since the Kentucky Derby.
