It's go time for Good Magic in Blue Grass Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A disappointing effort in the Fountain of Youth by Good Magic helped muddle the Kentucky Derby picture, but all is not lost for his camp. The reigning divisional champion, he will have every opportunity to regain his lost stature when he goes postward as a solid favorite Saturday in the annual spring showcase at Keeneland, the $1 million Blue Grass Stakes.

Good Magic finished third in the March 3 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park in a race that conceivably could have separated him from the pack on the heels of his 4 1/4-length romp in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November. Instead, he’s still among a cluster of could-be favorites for the 144th Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs.

“It’s time for him to show us he’s as good as we’ve always thought,” said Chad Brown, who trains Good Magic for eFive Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables.

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Good Magic, with Jose Ortiz to ride, will break from post 11 in a full gate of 14 in the 94th running of the Grade 2 Blue Grass, a 1 1/8-mile race that anchors the richest card of the 16-day spring meet.

“The horse is training really well,” said Brown. “The post is challenging, but he’s ready to go. Hopefully, he takes a step forward from his first start of the year and gets back in form. He did have a little foot bruise out of the Fountain of Youth, but he’s fine now. He’s moving well and training well, and we expect a big race from him.”

The Blue Grass goes as the 10th of 11 Saturday races at Keeneland, where weather conditions are expected to be among the worst in race history. Keeneland vice president Bob Elliston said Thursday that track officials had been meeting to discuss the “multiple scenarios” that could develop overnight Friday into Saturday, when a wintry mix of rain and snow and subfreezing temperatures could play havoc with the track.

“Safety will not be compromised,” said Elliston, “but working back from that, Saturday is a very important race day. Obviously, we would like to fulfill our obligations of running the card if at all possible. If there’s any question about the safety of the racing surface, we won’t take a shot, but otherwise we will do everything we can to make this a go.”

First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the Blue Grass set for 6:23. The Blue Grass will be televised live on the NBC Sports Network during a two-hour package that starts at 5:30 and includes the Wood Memorial and the Santa Anita Derby.

The Blue Grass winner will earn 100 qualifying points toward the Derby, with the respective 2-3-4 finishers getting 40, 20, and 10 points.

Free Drop Billy (post 10, Irad Ortiz Jr.), a four-length winner of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity here last fall, also will be looking to restore his standing among the divisional elite. After finishing far behind Good Magic in the BC Juvenile, he was second in the Holy Bull at Gulfstream and third in the Gotham at Aqueduct in his two starts this year.

“He had a couple of real nice breezes before we left out of Florida, so we’re coming in optimistic,” said trainer Dale Romans, a two-time Blue Grass winner with Dullahan (2012) and Brody’s Cause (2016).

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In all, 15 3-year-olds are entered, but the lone also-eligible, Determinant, was expected to run instead Friday in the Transylvania Stakes for trainer Mark Casse. That leaves Casse with his main Derby hope, Flameaway (post 12, Jose Lezcano), as his lone Blue Grass starter.

“The one thing about this colt is he’s a fighter,” said Casse. “He’s shown that so many times already.”

Flameaway made his last two starts at Tampa Bay Downs, winning the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis Stakes before finishing second by a length to Quip, a 19-1 shot, in the March 10 Tampa Bay Derby. Quip (post 5, Florent Geroux) also will be part of a contentious Blue Grass field in seeking to join Audible and Justify as a major Derby hopes for co-owner WinStar Farm.

Fringe possibilities in the Blue Grass include Sporting Chance (post 2, Luis Saez), the winner of the Hopeful last summer for D. Wayne Lukas; Kanthaka (post 4, Julien Leparoux), the winner of the San Vicente in February for Jerry Hollendorfer; Marconi (post 6, Ryan Moore), a Coolmore blueblood trained by Todd Pletcher; and Blended Citizen (post 7, Kyle Frey), the winner of the Jeff Ruby Steaks three weeks ago at Turfway Park for trainer Doug O’Neill.

The Blue Grass is the last of five straight graded stakes here Saturday, and it ends both a pick five (races 6-10, $300,000 pool guarantee) and a pick four (races 7-10, $400,000 pool guarantee). The preceding stakes are the Grade 3 Commonwealth (race 6, 4:00), the Grade 2 Shakertown (race 7, 4:35), the Grade 1 Madison (race 8, 5:10), and the Grade 1 Ashland (race 9, 5:45).

The Blue Grass was first run at the old Kentucky Association track in 1911. Eleven Blue Grass winners have wheeled back to win the Derby, although Strike the Gold (1991) was the last to do so. Street Sense, the 2007 Blue Grass runner-up, is the only Derby winner to have run in this race since then.

The 2017 Blue Grass winner was Irap, who prevailed at 31-1 for Leparoux and Doug O’Neill. Irap was euthanized last October after developing laminitis.

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