J R's Holiday seeks rebound in American Derby

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Grade 3 American Derby carries a purse of $125,000. The Belmont Derby Invitational, run Saturday in New York, is worth 10 times that much. You can guess which race drew the stars.

Even Surgical Strike, the narrow winner of the Arlington Classic here last month, has gone east for the big bucks, leaving an apparently modest field for the American Derby, a 1 1/8-mile grass race that’s a prep for the Grade 1 Secretariat next month at Arlington.

The 11 3-year-olds in the race have combined for one graded stakes win, and that was Oscar Nominated’s victory in the Spiral Stakes over Polytrack. The 2-1 morning-line favorite, J R’s Holiday, is a stakes winner on turf, having captured the $100,000 Kitten’s Joy at Churchill Downs, but has been second, fourth, and eighth in his graded stakes races.

His eighth-place finish last out in the American Turf at Churchill, however, isn’t a true billing. J R’s Holiday fell out the back door early in the race, then ran into two spots of traffic when trying to rally.

“He was too far back at Churchill, and I was a little disappointed in his position,” said trainer Jose Garoffalo. “The horse was closing really good, but he got in a lot of trouble in the race. I decided to give him a break and chose this spot over the Kent at Delaware.”

Garoffalo, who is based in Florida and has gone 2 for 44 through his career in other states, said he’s not concerned about J R’s Holiday’s outside draw in post 11. He said his horse is a good traveler, “very professional,” and shipped well to Arlington last weekend.

Tequila Joe can win at a solid price if he gets a better setup than he did in the Arlington Classic. That race was run at a common gallop, and when Tequila Joe was taken to the rail to save ground before the first turn, he wound up far behind the early leaders. He was the only one moving from the back of the field at all and did well to finish fifth.

“He can’t get shuffled back like he did last time,” said trainer Mike Stidham. “With a forward placing, I think he can definitely be a factor. He’s got a kick, but not a huge kick.”

One Mean Man was a dead-game second in the Arlington Classic, battling Surgical Strike all the way to the finish before losing by a head. He won an age-restricted allowance race at Churchill but is suspect at the nine furlongs.

Mike Maker trains three starters, with Swagger Jagger and Two Step Time joining Oscar Nominated. Oscar Nominated’s last race in the Penn Mile was too short for him, Maker said, and he might have the best chance of the trio.

Messi set for Arlington Cap

Messi, who had an eye-catching Saratoga meet last summer, is set to get his 2016 season belatedly on track in the Grade 3, $125,000 Arlington Handicap.

Messi won two allowance races at Saratoga before pulling too hard and running himself out of gas in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer, a 1 1/2-mile race trainer Graham Motion now thinks is farther than the horse prefers. Messi then won the Grade 3 Knickerbocker and was injured in the running of the River City last fall at Churchill when a turf clod hit him in the eye.

“It was kind of a miracle we were able to save his eye,” Motion said. “It became really a big production, and it took a while to get him back.”

Messi made his 2016 debut in the Fort Marcy on May 7 at Belmont Park and finished a solid third behind the high-class Ironicus, who was second to Flintshire in the Manhattan.

“I toyed with running him in the United Nations but thought this was a better spot,” said Motion. “I think somewhere between a mile and a mile and a quarter is what he wants, but I’m trying to find his best distance.”

Messi, who has leading rider Jose Valdivia named, is the 4-1 morning-line second choice behind another East Coast shipper, Go Around. Trained by Bill Mott, Go Around is 4 for 9 and has displayed talent, but he has yet to win a graded stakes and did not seem to stay 11 furlongs when fading to eighth after setting a slow pace in the Grade 1 Man o’ War last out.

Kasaqui fell in the Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby card but rebounded with a good second after setting the pace in the Wise Dan last month at Churchill.

“The plan was not to be on the lead,” said trainer Ignacio Correas. “He’s a horse that likes a target.”

Several horses are cross-entered here and in the Stars and Stripes Handicap. Quiet Force’s camp was leaning toward this race, while Pumpkin Rumble probably goes in the Stars and Stripes. Maker will start one horse in each race, and while no decision had been made as of Thursday, Greengrassofyoming looks like the more natural fit for the Arlington Handicap.