Like the King followed up his solid, second-place finish in the local prep, the Battaglia Memorial, with an even better effort here, prevailing after a rough stretch run and earning a spot in the Derby.
Blinkers certainly have made a difference for Known Agenda, who followed up an allowance victory last month with a career best here, earning a Beyer figure that puts him right in the mix with the current top contenders for the Derby.
Like the King ran himself right into the Kentucky Derby with a one-length victory Saturday in the Grade 3, $250,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky.
Although Todd Pletcher didn’t hold the strongest hand coming into the Florida Derby, he was able to register his record sixth victory in the race Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park after Known Agenda rallied to a convincing 2 3/4-length decision over the previously undefeated Soup and Sandwich.
Since Dream Shake finished third in his stakes debut in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 6, the promising 3-year-old colt has spent the last two Saturdays zipping through fast workouts.
The Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby will have one of its larger fields in recent years on April 3, and a rare shipper from an out-of-state stable.
Eight years after Orb took no prisoners marching through south Florida en route to victory in the 2013 Kentucky Derby, trainer Shug McGaughey will look to duplicate those exploits when he sends out Greatest Honour as the solid favorite over 10 other 3-year-olds in Saturday's $750,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
The likelihood of a contested pace that should help his late run, and the hope that he can't possibly get in as much trouble as he did in his last start, makes Hard Rye Guy an appealing prospect to score a mild upset in the Grade 3, $250,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Saturday at Turfway Park.The Jeff Ruby, run over the all-weather Tapeta surface at 1 1/8 miles, has taken on added importance this year as a Kentucky Derby prep owing to it now being worth 170 points overall.
Parnelli, well beaten in two graded stakes for 3-year-olds in January, will start in the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on April 3, joining a field that has increased in size in recent days following the defection of race favorite Life Is Good.
Collaborate is trying to go from an unstarted maiden at the beginning of February to a prominent Kentucky Derby contender in less than three months, a meteoric rise that's a microcosm of that of his trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr. On Saturday, Collaborate will take on Greatest Honour in the Florida Derby.
