Mott, Asmussen have top contenders in Iowa Derby, Oaks

When racing folks think about Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, they tend to place him squarely in New York, his home base for much of the year. But Mott grew up in South Dakota and got his start in the middle of the country, and he has a knack for winning stakes races in Iowa. Four of his last seven stakes starters at Prairie Meadows have won, and Mott has runners in all three stakes Friday night, with Modernist in the Cornhusker, Nova Rags in the Iowa Derby, and The Grass Is Blue in the Iowa Oaks.

Nova Rags drew post 9 and is listed at 5-1 on the morning line, a $250,000 listed race over 1 1/16 miles, but Nova Rags will be a shorter price than that and break from post 7 since Proxy and Snow House will be scratched. Proxy suffered a hind-leg injury, the specific nature of which had not yet been determined as of Tuesday, trainer Mike Stidham said. Snow House will be aimed for the Dwyer in New York, said Brad Cox, who runs Gagetown in the Iowa Derby.

Mott won the 2020 Iowa Derby with Acre after Letmeno was disqualified from first, and Nova Rags has a solid chance Friday. The Union Rags colt has raced decently around one turn in his last two starts, the seven-furlong Woody Stephens and the 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan, and performed creditably in a pair of two-turn tries over the winter at Gulfstream. Junior Alvaradro has traveled to ride Mott’s horses Friday.

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Super Stock and Gagetown might wind up the favorites here. Super Stock peaked winning the Arkansas Derby on April 10, then finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby and was a somewhat disappointing fourth racing over a sloppy track from post 10 in the $300,000 Texas Derby at Lone Star.

“The outside post and there was a deluge – everything was just bad that day,” trainer Steve Asmussen said of the Lone Star start. “This is a very good opportunity for him. Hopefully we get back on track. He’s training well and doing good.”

Super Stock would benefit from a strong, contested pace and should get one: Flash of Mischief, Stilleto Boy, and Rightandjust all have strong TimeFormUS early pace figures of 108 and higher. Gagetown also can use pace help on the front end and comes into this start after a career-best winning the local Iowa Derby prep, the June 4 Prairie Mile, by a neck over Flash of Mischief.

“He got an absolutely perfect ride last time, but this could set up for him, too,” said trainer Brad Cox. “I thought his last race was his best race around two turns by far.”

Iowa Oaks

Pauline’s Pearl came a long way in a short time this past winter, and a return to her best spring form would win the Grade 3, $225,000 Iowa Oaks on Friday night.

By Tapit, Pauline’s Pearl is out of Hot Dixie Chick, a supremely fast sprinter during her racing days, but Pauline’s Pearl didn’t come close to getting up while making her career debut last December in a Fair Grounds sprint and began to excel in two-turn races. She scored a third-start maiden route win at Fair Grounds, finished second to subsequent Kentucky Oaks third-place finisher Will’s Secret in the Honeybee at Oaklawn, and hit her peak capturing the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn by one length.

Sent off at 19-1 in the Kentucky Oaks, Pauline’s Pearl stalked the pace and faded to eighth.

“She’s a quality filly we’ve regrouped with,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “She ran frequently and hard leading up to the Oaks, did a lot in a short period of time. A little freshening and she’s going to come back good.”

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Pauline’s Pearl, the 2-1 morning-line favorite with jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., breaks from post 2 and should have two horses, Sister Annie and Windmill, going a good clip on the lead.

Windmill never has raced beyond seven furlongs or around two turns, and after two solid stakes performances at Oaklawn, she threw two clunkers at Churchill Downs. Sister Annie finished second last out at Prairie Meadows in the June 4 Panthers Stakes, won by Iowa Oaks entrant Oliviaofthedesert, but set a fast pace that night and held well in defeat. Her best chance is to sit a pressing trip just outside Windmill and hope to get a jump on the closers.

The Grass Is Blue will be making her first start for trainer Bill Mott after a tame sixth in the Black-Eyed Susan.

Rail-drawn Army Wife might provide Pauline’s Pearl’s sternest competition. Trained by Mike Maker, Army Wife was no match for victorious Search Results while finishing third in the Gazelle on April 3 at Aqueduct, but, dropping a notch in class into the Black-Eyed Susan, she overcame a bit of trouble and won going away in a career-best performance. Joel Rosario rode the Declaration of War filly at Pimlico last out and has a call again Friday.