Magnum Moon stays undefeated in Rebel

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Magnum Moon burst onto the Kentucky Derby scene Saturday at Oaklawn, where he picked up 50 points for the classic by darting to a 3 1/2-length win over favorite Solomini in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel. It was Magnum Moon’s third victory in as many starts, as well as his stakes debut.

“I’m very, very excited with the way he ran,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Magnum Moon.

Solomini, who was making his first start since December, picked up 20 points for the Kentucky Derby. It was another head back in third to Combatant, who earned 10, while fourth-place finisher Title Ready earned 5.

The Rebel anchored a 10-race card that also featured the $300,000 Essex Handicap won by Hedge Fund, another Pletcher trainee, and the Grade 2, $350,000 Azeri captured by Martini Glass. It was a sunny afternoon with temperatures in the 70s and the estimated attendance on a day when the infield was open was 37,500.

:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays

Magnum Moon ($8) broke well and was content to sit just off the pace in third as Title Ready took the field through an opening quarter in 23.42 seconds, a half-mile in 47.15 seconds, and 1:11.26 for six furlongs. Magnum Moon took after the leader on the turn, drew even with him at the quarter pole, then shuttled home while covering 1 1/16 miles on a track rated fast in 1:42.68 and earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 97.

“He broke good, he was in the right spot, and when he came into the stretch he kept running,” said winning rider Luis Saez. “He never stopped.”

Saez was aboard Magnum Moon in January, when the horse won his debut in a maiden special weight sprint at Gulfstream Park, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 95. The rider also teamed with the horse in his second start, when he captured a first-level allowance route Feb. 15 at Tampa. The horse arrived Tuesday at Oaklawn from Florida.

“He’ll fly back to Palm Beach Downs on Monday,” Pletcher said. “We’ll assess how he handled the trip and the race and all. I would say the Arkansas Derby would be very high on the radar at the moment.”

The Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby will be run on April 14.

Solomini, the runner-up in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, was launching his 3-year-old season. He last raced Dec. 9 and finished first in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity, but was placed third for interference. In the Rebel, Solomini was in contention throughout after breaking from post 3, was unable to get through along the rail near the quarter pole, then made a bid through the lane.

“We got on the inside and that’s not the best for him, but then I wasn’t going to keep him off,” jockey Flavien Prat told the media department at Oaklawn. “And he made a nice run. I mean, he ran a good second.”

Magnum Moon is a son of Malibu Moon who races for Robert and Lawana Low.

“We’re just so proud to be associated with this horse,” said Robert Low, who is a resident of Missouri.

Magnum Moon earned $540,000 for the win, which pushed his earnings to $577,800. He is from the female family of Graeme Hall, who won the Arkansas Derby in 2000 for Pletcher. Magnum Moon was the second straight Rebel winner for Pletcher, who sent out Malagacy to victory in 2017.

The complete Rebel order of finish was: Sporting Chance in fifth; Zing Zang, High North, Higher Power, Pryor, and Curlin’s Honor. Bode’s Maker was scratched from the Rebel to run in a Sunday allowance at Oaklawn, according to his trainer, Allen Milligan.

Handle on the 10-race card from all sources was $10.7 million.