The San Felipe at Santa Anita appears to have a similar setup to the Robert Lewis with a twist – Exaggerator should get the same trip and may be the faster horse.
Candy My Boy, who held admirably for fourth in the Risen Star after setting a very strong pace, worked an easy half-mile in 50.60 seconds last weekend at Fair Grunds and is likely to make his next start in the Louisiana Derby.
Mo Tom continues to do well in his daily training and came out of a sharp half-mile workout last Saturday at Fair Grounds in good shape, and while Tom Amoss isn’t certain whether Mo Tom will have one or two more works before the Louisiana Derby, Mo Tom won’t be working again on Saturday.
Gun Runner, the Risen Star Stakes winner, worked five furlongs in company with the filly Adore on Monday at Fair Grounds, going the distance in 1:01.40. It was Gun Runner’s second five-furlong work since he won the Risen Star by a half-length while making his first start in almost three months.
Grade 1 winner Greenpointcrusader will ship from Florida to start March 26 in the $1 million Louisiana Derby, trainer Dominick Schettino confirmed Wednesday.
Trainer Gary Sherlock says that when he bought Uncle Lino as a yearling, he took a shot on a colt who needed to grow up. That's also an apt description for Sherlock, who nearly died 20 years ago.
Matt King Coal, who returned with a sharp allowance victory in his 3-year-old debut on Sunday, and Laoban, who finished second in the Gotham on Saturday, are the two newcomers to this week's Derby Watch top 20.
Mor Spirit will attempt to stretch his winning streak to three graded stakes in California on Saturday in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. A Grade 1-winning juvenile who has won three times at a mile or longer, the Pennsylvania-bred ridgling has already outrun most of his immediate family in terms of class and distance.
My memory only goes back to the 1970s on this, but I do not remember a year when we have gotten to mid-March and the country's four best 3-year-olds are unbeaten in 21 combined starts, with two of them having not been tested.
Ten new names are among the 23 separately listed entries in the third pool in the 2016 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Friday at noon Eastern and runs concurrent this weekend with the lone futures pool offered on the 2016 Kentucky Oaks.
