Malagacy could return for Arkansas Derby

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Trainer Todd Pletcher could be going for a stakes triple for 3-year-olds next month at Oaklawn Park. He said Sunday that Malagacy is a candidate for the track’s Arkansas Derby after winning the Rebel here Saturday.

The Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel was the second of Oaklawn’s three graded preps for the Kentucky Derby that Pletcher has won this meet, starting off with the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest in February with One Liner. The Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby will be run April 15.

“I think that will be our first option,” Pletcher said about next-race plans for Malagacy. “We need to get him home and assess how handled everything, but it would certainly make the most sense from a timing standpoint.”

Malagacy was returning home to his south Florida base at Palm Beach Downs on Sunday. He remained undefeated in three starts with his Rebel win, a race in which he was making both his stakes and two-turn debut off a pair of blowout sprint wins at Gulfstream Park. Malagacy won going 1 1/16 miles Saturday, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 91, and will get a new distance test in the1 1/8- mile Arkansas Derby.

“I think you haven’t seen the bottom of him yet,” Pletcher said when asked about more ground for Malagacy, a son of Preakness winner Shackleford. “He was a little closer than his previous couple of races [Saturday], pressured pretty honest fractions, and looked like he still finished up pretty good. We still had something left in the end. I’m optimistic he’ll continue to stretch out. Aside from having natural speed, he’s a very ratable horse. He’s fast, not headstrong. I think that will certainly help him. He handled a mile and sixteenth super. Trying a mile and an eighth is the next logical step.”

Pletcher has won the Arkansas Derby four times and had a significant runner-up finish in 2010 with Super Saver, who in his next start won the Kentucky Derby.

Malagacy races for Sumaya US Stable.

Sonneteer, the maiden who won a photo for second in the Rebel at 112-1, has a few different options to be discussed going forward, including the Arkansas Derby, said his trainer, Keith Desormeaux. The horse returned early Sunday to Santa Anita.

Desormeaux said he will discuss with Calumet Farm the best direction to take with the Kentucky Derby candidate, among the other options the Blue Grass at Keeneland and the Santa Anita Derby. Another angle is to possibly just train up to the Kentucky Derby since Sonneteer, who has made eight starts, has experience and fitness in his corner, said Desormeaux.

“It’s going to be a strong point of discussion whether he should run again before the Derby,” Desormeaux said. “He has experience, fitness. But there are no set plans. We've got to consider them all. We'll have fun talking about it the next few weeks."

Sonneteer closed from next-to-last for second in the Rebel, beaten two lengths by Malagacy. Sonneteer earned a Beyer of 89.

“I think he’ll be even better with more distance,” Desormeaux said. “It was a big day. It’s nice to see one run to your expectations.”

Desormeaux fully expected Sonneteer to be a longshot Saturday as a maiden in the Rebel, but not 112-1.

“I thought 30-1, 40-1,” he said.

Untrapped finished third in the Rebel, a nose behind Sonneteer. Untrapped was coming off a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds, and making his first start at Oaklawn.

“I thought he ran solid, and I think he’ll run back better,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Untrapped for Mike Langford.

Asmussen said Sunday he likes the four-week spacing from the Rebel to the Arkansas Derby better than the three-week spacing Untrapped had between the Risen Star and Rebel.

Asmussen also saddled Lookin At Lee in the Rebel and the horse closed from next-to-last for sixth, finishing 3 3/4 lengths behind winner Malagacy.

“Lookin At Lee, I’m very anxious to get more ground for him,” said Asmussen, who trains the horse for L and N Racing.

Asmussen said the Blue Grass is a possible next spot for Lookin At Lee because of how well the horse ran over the Keeneland surface last year when second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity won by eventual Breeders’ Cup Juvenile hero Classic Empire. He is also under consideration for the Arkansas Derby.

Petrov, who was fourth in the Rebel one start after running second in the Southwest, will be considered for a start in either the Blue Grass or Arkansas Derby, trainer Ron Moquett said Sunday. Petrov was impeded making his run in the stretch Saturday, and lost a photo for second to both Sonneteer and Untrapped.

“The difference was literally a quarter of an inch,” Moquett said. “I tweeted this morning [with the official photo] that a picture’s worth a thousand words and in this case, worth over $100,000.”

Moquett was alluding to the fact that a second-place finish in the Rebel was worth $180,000 and a fourth-place finish, $45,000.

“That’s how racing is,” said Moquett. “Sometimes everything works your way and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Royal Mo, a Grade 3 winner who finished an uncharacteristic ninth in the Rebel after breaking from post 10, arrived back at his Santa Anita barn late Sunday morning, said trainer John Shirreffs. The horse traveled well and plans for his next start are to be discussed, Shirreffs said.

"He didn't run as we'd hoped he'd run, but I think we'll sit down, think about it and try to figure out how we can improve," Shirreffs said. "We certainly have a lot of faith in him. He's a really nice 3-year-old. We'll find a spot for him and figure it out."