Mr. Commons ran himself into the Santa Anita Derby picture with a good allowance win Feb. 28. The pace of the mile race was slow (47.02 seconds for a half-mile), which subsequently led to a slow final time (1:34.84). As a result, the number was soft - 89 Beyer.
After being bubble horses in recent weeks, Stay Thirsty and Archarcharch have both been promoted to the top 20 of Derby Watch. Stay Thirsty, who makes his 3-year-old debut in the Gotham Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct, is 40-1 on the Kentucky Derby future line set by Mike Watchmaker.
Admiral Perry, who ran well on turf at Tampa Bay Downs, ships north for trainer Shug McGaughey for Saturday night's John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park.
Trainer Nick Zito got the prep race he had been seeking for Dialed In - a 1 1/8-mile optional claimer at Gulfstream on Sunday. The race is meant to set up Dialed In for the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 3.
While every top jockey in the country covets the Derby, the very best try to stockpile as many prospects as possible early on, then deftly hang onto them as long as possible. Crunch time starts now, two months out. There are many moving parts, involving the progress of the horses in key prep races, the negotiating skills of agents, and the temperament of trainers and owners.
He was the top money-winning trainer at the 2010 Hollywood Park fall meet and has a Kentucky Derby contender in Comma to the Top. But the game hasn’t been quite that simple for Peter Miller, who wasn't born to the game but came to it passionately.
Fusa Code, who won his maiden in the $100,000 Borderland Derby last weekend at Sunland Park, is being considered for a start in the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby, said his trainer, Steve Asmussen. The 1 1/8-mile race is March 27.
Smoke It Right has not made a wrong move in three career starts and with the right kind of performance Saturday in the $60,000 Mountain Valley at Oaklawn he could be headed to the Arkansas Derby, said his co-owner and trainer, Benard Chatters
Stay Thirsty will try to step out of the shadow of his more heralded stablemate Uncle Mo and step onto the Triple Crown trail when he heads a field of nine entered to run in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
While Mucho Macho Man will skip the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby, trainer Rick Dutrow said there is a chance that Flashpoint could make his two-turn debut in the Grade 1 fixture. “We’ll nominate him to the Florida Derby, the Swale, the Wood, the Santa Anita Derby, and the Bay Shore,” trainer Rick Dutrow said. “Then we’ll wait and see who’s going where."
