Vicar’s In Trouble, winner of the Lecomte Stakes early in the meet and third in the Risen Star Stakes Feb. 22, essentially went wire to wire in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby to suggest he will be a pace factor in the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby on May 3.
Cairo Prince was supposed to confirm his status as one of the top contenders for the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby, but he turned in a relatively flat performance, finishing fourth to a new rising star, Constitution.
Hoppertunity, the winner of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 15, worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 at Santa Anita on Sunday, leading trainer Bob Baffert to deem the colt a “possibility” for Saturday’s $1 million Santa Anita Derby.
The name Apollo will be sure to surface at least a couple of hundred times between now and Kentucky Derby Day following Constitution’s game neck decision over Wildcat Red in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. That’s because Constitution will enter the Derby having made only three starts and none before launching his career with an impressive seven-furlong maiden special weight victory here Jan. 11.
About 4 1/2 hours before trainer Todd Pletcher watched Constitution fight his way into the Kentucky Derby, he witnessed In Tune do the same for the Kentucky Oaks.
Toast of New York turned in a smooth winning performance at 11-1 odds on a relatively dead Tapeta surface, getting the 1 3/16 miles in a creditable 1:57.92. But even with this convincing 2 1/2-length victory over 6-1 shot Asmar, it is questionable whether he can pose a serious threat in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3.
Vicar’s in Trouble, the winner of the Louisiana Derby here Saturday, came out of the race in good order and, by Sunday afternoon, was scheduled to be in Louisville, Ky., where he will be prepared for the Kentucky Derby along with his Mike Maker-trained stablemate, General a Rod, who was third Saturday in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
Sure, it’s horse racing, but there are times when a jockey, understanding the nuances of the track and able to make split-second decisions based on unforeseen developments, can make a huge difference. So it was at Fair Grounds on Saturday, when the track’s leading rider, Rosie Napravnik, adjusted to the track profile and a slow start by a key rival when sending Vicar’s in Trouble to a front-running victory in the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby.
Constitution showed a new dimension while also keeping his record unblemished going into the Kentucky Derby when outfinishing a game Wildcat Red to post a well-deserved neck decision in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
The mutuel field closed as the favorite yet again in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which closed Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern following a three-day run.
