Midnight Interlude, who was coming off a victory against maidens, outran eight other rivals to capture the Grade 1, $1 million Santa Anita Derby on Saturday and earn a trip four weeks hence to the Kentucky Derby.
Toby's Corner upset leading Kentucky Derby contender and heavily favored Uncle Mo in Saturday's $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in arguably the biggest upset in the race's history since Secretariat lost 38 years ago
Santiva completed his major preparations for the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes by breezing five furlongs in a minute flat Saturday morning at the Palm Meadows training center in south Florida.
Trainer Kathy Ritvo has scheduled four workouts for Mucho Macho Man leading up to the Kentucky Derby, and if the last three are as good as the first one, he could be a force to be reckoned with on May 7 at Churchill Downs.
To Honor and Serve, third in both the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby, is off the Kentucky Derby trail with a strain to the suspensory ligament of his left foreleg, trainer Bill Mott said late Friday afternoon.
The participation of Jaycito in Saturday’s $1 million Santa Anita Derby was cast in doubt on Friday when trainer Bob Baffert said the colt is battling the lingering effects of a bruise in his right front foot. "I'm not going to make the call until tomorrow morning," Baffert said. "If it's still tender, I'll skip."
“There’s a lot of horses get hurt,” said trainer Paco Gonzalez at Santa Anita Friday morning. “We just seem to remember the good ones.”
For those keeping score at home, it has been 22 years since the winner of the Santa Anita Derby went on to win the Kentucky Derby as well.
