Eh Cumpari, the last-to-first winner of the Grade 3 Palm Beach Stakes here last Saturday on turf, will be given an opportunity on the Kentucky Derby trail, said trainer Michael Dilger.
Today, in the second week of March, Dortmund is absolutely my Kentucky Derby horse.
With both Materiality and Royal Son joining the Derby Watch top 20 this week, Todd Pletcher now has six runners on the list, headed by Carpe Diem, who won the Tampa Bay Derby last week.
Nobody was running any better at the end of the Grade 2 Risen Star than Keen Ice and trainer Dale Romans is expecting an even better performance when his top Kentucky Derby hopeful returns to Fair Grounds and stretches out another sixteenth of a mile later this month in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby.
EL KABEIR won his third points race on the road to the Kentucky Derby, following victories in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs last fall and the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct earlier this year. He fires every time and has braved a brutal winter, no doubt owing to both his fortitude and the care of trainer John Terranova and his wife, Tonja.
CARPE DIEM was making his first start since finishing second last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He had received rave notices for his workouts at Palm Beach Downs by Daily Racing Form’s onsite clocker and came off the bench with a terrific performance to serve notice that he belongs among the elite Kentucky Derby contenders.
Jockey Corey Nakatani has the mount on Take Charge Brandi on Saturday in the Grade 2, $750,000 Rebel at Oaklawn Park, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Tuesday.
Take Charge Brandi, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2014, and Far Right, winner of the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes, led a group of notable 3-year-olds who worked Monday at Oaklawn.
Although Honor Code received a career best 108 Beyer Speed Figure for his performance in the Gulfstream Park Handicap, it was not the fastest performance on Saturday’s card. That honor went to Ready for Rye, who received a 109 for his easy victory in the Swale.
Dortmund remained unbeaten with his fifth win, his third straight in a stakes race, all at 1 1/16 miles, all worth points toward a berth in the Kentucky Derby.
