Isolating the chief contenders for the Kentucky Derby can be difficult even after post positions are drawn, let alone roughly four months before the race. But as challenging a task as handicapping the Derby this far out is, it remains fun to look at the race.
On Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, 3-year-olds will take what their connections hope are the first steps to the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and Grade 3 Florida Oaks when they go postward in the $100,000 Pasco and $100,000 Gasparilla Stakes.
Zeewat looks like a standout as 3-year-olds take their first steps along the Derby trail Saturday in the $100,000 California Derby at Golden Gate Fields.
There are a number of similarities between last year's Kentucky Derby-winning combination of I'll Have Another and Mario Gutierrez and current prospect Goldencents and low-profile rider Kevin Krigger.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said that Jerome fourth-place finisher Long River and recent maiden winner Valid are both possible for the Withers.
Trainer Nick Zito picked up three more victories over the weekend and may have found himself a potential Kentucky Derby contender or two in the process.
Goldencents, the winner of the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday, will have “one or two more” starts leading to the Kentucky Derby in May, trainer Doug O’Neill said on Sunday.
Vyjack came out of his hard-fought head victory over longshot Siete de Oros in Saturday’s Grade 2 Jerome Stakes in good order, according to trainer Rudy Rodriguez, but the undefeated gelding will likely not run again until the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes on March 2 at Aqueduct.
It remains to be seen if Vyjack is a viable candidate for the Kentucky Derby but he did his pass his first test around two turns and first gut check winning Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,00 Jerome Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.
Showing the versatility that could make him dangerous on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring, Goldencents won for the third time at his fourth different racetrack, and came from slightly off the pace when capturing the Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, a performance that puts his trainer, Doug O’Neill, back in the Derby spotlight.
