O'Neill would love to finish meet as leading trainer

ARCADIA, Calif. - The first weekend of April will be remembered by trainer Doug O’Neill for Nyquist’s win in the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. The upcoming second weekend of April may be known as the time O’Neill clinched his fourth training title at a Santa Anita winter-spring meeting.

Through Saturday, O’Neill and Phil D’Amato were tied with 32 wins. The meeting runs through April 10 and both trainers figure to be active in the final days of the 63-day meeting. Santa Anita will have four days of racing for the upcoming week, Thursday through Sunday. Los Alamitos begins a three-week spring meeting on April 14.

While O’Neill is eager to start Nyquist in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 7, a training title at a major meeting is another highly coveted aspect of the sport, he said.

“Everyone wants to be leading trainer,” he said. “It would be good for the team.”

O’Neill, 47, won three consecutive training titles at winter-spring meetings from 2004-05 to 2006-07, and finished third in the last two seasons. He said a potential training title will not be forced by running additional horses in the final days of the meeting.

“We won’t run anything out of whack,” O’Neill said.

Saturday, O’Neill had two wins, including a victory by the former claimer Guns Loaded in the $101,380 San Simeon Stakes on the hillside turf course. Jockey Rafael Bejarano rode Guns Loaded, who closed from off the pace.

“He gave the horse a perfect trip,” O’Neill said.

Guns Loaded is a candidate for the $150,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at five furlongs at Churchill Downs on May 6.

“That’s a strong possibility,” O’Neill said.

Bejarano, the leading rider at this meeting, will ride the outsider Denman’s Call in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby for O’Neill on Saturday. The Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, at 1 1/8 miles, will be the longest race of Denman’s Call’s career.

“He will be a longshot, but we’ve got Bejarano to ride, so we feel we’ve got a couple of lengths head start,” O’Neill said.

The Santa Anita Derby field is led by Danzing Candy and Mor Spirit, the first two finishers of the $400,345 San Felipe Stakes on March 12. Other candidates are Exaggerator, Uncle Lino, and Smokey Image, who were third through fifth in the Grade 2 San Felipe, and Iron Rob, the winner of two stakes for sprinters in recent months.