Ottothelegend to ship in for Santa Anita Derby
The Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby will have one of its larger fields in recent years on April 3, and a rare shipper from an out-of-state stable.
As of Friday, there were eight probable runners in Defunded, Dream Shake, Medina Spirit, Ottothelegend, Parnelli, Rock Your World, Roman Centurian, and The Great One. The stakes winners Get Her Number and Rombauer also are being considered.
All are from Southern California-based stables except for Ottothelegend, an Uncle Mo colt trained in Arkansas by Steve Asmussen. Owned by Three Chimneys Racing, Ottothelegend won his second start in a maiden special weight race at 1 1/16 miles on March 6 at Oaklawn Park, closing from sixth in a field of eight to win by two lengths and earning a 73 Beyer Figure.
“He’s a very talented horse,” Asmussen said Friday.
Ottothelegend is scheduled to have a final workout at Oaklawn Park this weekend before being flown to California on Tuesday.
The $750,000 Santa Anita Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles and is the final West Coast prep for the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
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Since 2016, the Santa Anita Derby has had fields of eight, 13, seven, six, and seven. The Santa Anita Derby seemed likely to have a small field this year until top 3-year-old Life Is Good was sidelined by injury on March 20. His absence has kept Roman Centurian at Santa Anita instead of starting in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 3 at Aqueduct.
“That was one of the main reasons,” trainer Simon Callaghan said Friday. “We just figured staying here is the right move at this point.”
Medina Spirit, Dream Shake, Roman Centurian, and The Great One were second through fifth behind Life Is Good in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 6, the same day Defunded won a maiden special weight race with an 83 Beyer Figure. Rock Your World won the Pasadena Stakes on turf on Feb. 27.
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