Ohio Derby: Razor-sharp Desert Gate takes on five Triple Crown runners
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Five times in its past 10 runnings, the Ohio Derby has been won by a horse directly exiting the Triple Crown series. That’s the case for five of the 10 entrants in Saturday’s renewal of the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
Ocelli, third in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness Stakes; Chip Honcho, third in the Preakness; Robusta, 14th in the Derby and ninth in the Preakness; Albus, 15th in the Derby; and Bull by the Horns, sixth in the Preakness; are all back in action. They join multiple stakes winner Desert Gate and Grade 3 winner Trendsetter in the 1 1/8-mile race on Thistledown’s marquee card.
The Ohio Derby is the last of 12 races on a card that begins at noon. The program includes the $250,000 Lady Jacqueline Stakes for fillies and mares and three stakes for Ohio-bred or -accredited runners.
Desert Gate, the morning-line favorite, would be just the fourth career runner at Thistledown for Bob Baffert. Desert Gate was multiple Grade 1-placed at 2 and finished fourth in the Grade 3 Robert Lewis after stalking the pace in his 3-year-old debut. He has since won back-to-back stakes on the front end with flashy Beyer Speed Figures, taking the Hot Springs at Oaklawn by 9 3/4 lengths and the Texas Derby by 6 1/4 lengths.
He is the most likely pacesetter in the Ohio Derby but will have company seeking the front end while facing much stiffer competition. Desert Gate drew post 8 but has a long run to the first turn. He is outside of the other likely speed, with Robusta in post 2 and Chip Honcho in 3.
Ocelli, who is still a maiden after eight starts, could benefit from a quick pace. Trainer Whit Beckman acknowledged he could have chosen a “nice, safe spot” in a maiden race at Churchill Downs or even at Saratoga. However, the Ohio Derby’s $500,000 purse, relatively easy ship from Churchill, and “a pretty evenly matched field” with “no killers in there” made it attractive.
Ocelli had just one horse – eventual winner Golden Tempo – beaten in the early stages of the Kentucky Derby and was still 10th at the quarter pole. He rallied impressively and led late in the stretch before being beaten a length by Golden Tempo and Renegade.
In the Preakness, Ocelli was 10th after six furlongs. He gave a creditable effort to be fourth in a race in which the leaders were relatively unchanged at the end. Napoleon Solo, Iron Honor, and Chip Honcho were second, third, and fourth, respectively, behind Taj Mahal after six furlongs. While the leader wilted, the other three maintained their running order to the wire and finished one-two-three.
“I hope it’s a nice, even, fair track [at Thistledown], but I don’t think he has to be so far back,” Beckman said. “We just kind of played it that way in the Derby. I told [jockey Tyler Gaffalione] I didn’t want him to send out of the gate. I just wanted him to get out quietly and get a nice, clear run.
“Had he broke alertly, he’d have been in kind of that big second tier that was cruising way too fast. I think he can be closer if the pace is not quite as strong. I don’t think he’s got a problem running away from the gate.”
Albus broke from post 2 in the Derby and was immediately clobbered by horses on both sides seeking position. He never got into a rhythm in the crucial run into the first turn.
“We really got eliminated from that point on,” trainer Riley Mott said.
Albus went to his owner’s Pin Oak Stud for about a two-week freshening and turnout time.
“He really benefited from that,” Mott said. “He came back looking well, his coat was shining, good energy, and has had three good works since then.”
Albus drew the outside post, and jockey Jaime Torres will have tactical options watching how the race unfolds in the solid run to the first turn. The colt was in a closer stalking position to win his maiden and then closed from eighth to win the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, making him the only member of this field to win at the distance. Although the speed figures for the Wood were slow, its form has come back strong. Ocelli was third, and Napoleon Solo and Iron Honor were fifth and seventh, respectively.
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“The Wood might not have gotten a whole lot of respect to this point, but since the Preakness, people are maybe second-guessing that initial analysis on it,” Mott said. “It’s always nice to see horses you beat come back and perform well. It was the fourth start of his career, so he really has a license to improve, if you cross a line through that Kentucky Derby.”
Chip Honcho kept good company all winter at Fair Grounds, winning the Gun Runner, finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Lecomte, second in the Grade 2 Risen Star, and fifth in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. Golden Tempo won the Lecomte and was third in both the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby.
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