Trainer Todd Pletcher came to South Florida this winter with a bevy of unproven commodities in the 3-year-old division. He will leave here in a few weeks for Churchill Downs with a strong portfolio of contenders for the 144th Kentucky Derby.
I’m usually dismissive of the UAE Derby winner since the competition is often substandard, but MENDELSSOHN already had proven at age 2 that he was a high-class colt, and his win here – in his dirt debut while earning the strongest Beyer Speed Figure on the prep trail – stamps him as a legitimate win candidate five weeks hence, especially when considering he’s trained by arguably the best trainer in the world and ridden by arguably the best jockey in the world. These are top-class connections.
Trainer Todd Pletcher continued his recent stranglehold on Gulfstream Park’s marquee event, the $1 million Florida Derby, winning the race for the fourth time in the last six years Saturday as Audible registered a popular and convincing three-length victory.
Top Kentucky Derby contender McKinzie has sustained an injury and won't start in the Santa Anita Derby, trainer Bob Baffert said a few minutes after the Dubai World Cup on Saturday night in Dubai.
Aidan O’Brien said before the UAE Derby that Mendelssohn is the horse best suited to the Kentucky Derby that he’s ever trained. He’s surely not saying anything different now. Mendelssohn made his dirt debut in the Grade 2, $2 million UAE Derby and won almost from Dubai to Kentucky.
By way of tiny Newcastle Racecourse in the north of England, Gronkowski is bound for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5.
The Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 7 may have one of its smallest fields in recent history, and the presence of the two leading 3-year-olds in the nation – Bolt d'Oro and McKinzie – is largely to blame.
Enticed will be flying to New York on Wednesday where he will run in the Wood hoping to solidify his credentials for the Kentucky Derby on May 5.
He'll never catch your eye when he works in the morning, but every time you look up, there is Audible in the winner's circle again. On Saturday, trainer Todd Pletcher will have yet another Florida Derby victory squarely in his sights when he sends the New York-bred out as the likely favorite against eight other 3-year-olds in the key Kentucky Derby prep that highlights an outstanding 14-race program. First post is 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
Enhanced security protocols will be in place for the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 7 at Aqueduct, according to a press release issued by the New York Gaming Commission and the New York Racing Association on Thursday.
