Pennsylvania Derby: Our Moneyman looks to parlay cleaner trip into upset
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Our Moneyman was no match for Further Ado when the two met in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes, a race in which Further Ado parlayed a perfect trip into a two-length victory over Our Moneyman going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs three months ago. Bret Calhoun has reasons to believe Our Moneyman can flip the script when the two meet again in Saturday’s $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing, the last two-turn, Grade 1 stakes restricted to 3-year-olds of the season.
Following the Matt Winn, Our Moneyman ran in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby on July 11, where a bad start cost him position as he fell a neck short of Leading Change. That performance was certainly flattered when Leading Change came back to defeat Triple Crown heroes Golden Tempo and Napoleon Solo in the Grade 1 Travers on Aug. 29 at Saratoga.
Calhoun actually feels, given all that happened in the Indiana Derby, Our Moneyman was the best horse that day.
“I missed the break; the horse lunged at the start and a horse took his spot,” Calhoun said. “We had to move into a pretty good, solid pace. The jock dropped the stick, and we just got beat. We had a lot overcome that day.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good as Leading Change again, that day we were,” Calhoun added.
The Indiana Derby performance caught the attention of the KAS Stables of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Sons, who purchased Our Moneyman for $2 million at the Fasig-Tipton July horses of racing age sale.
Calhoun said the original plan was to run Our Moneyman in the West Virginia Derby, but with the sale and change of ownership and their desire to race in Saudi Arabia, the Pennsylvania Derby became the new target.
In the Pennsylvania Derby, Our Moneyman will have to find a way to turn the tables on Further Ado, the Grade 1 Blue Grass winner who finished 11th as the 5-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby. Further Ado bounced back with his Matt Winn victory, stalking the pace from second and easily holding Our Moneyman at bay in the stretch.
“Further Ado got the trip he wanted, got out of traffic, forwardly placed, ran a big race,” Calhoun said. “We were second best. I think we might have had to wait a little bit to get out, but he was just better than us that day. Hopefully, we’ve closed the gap, and I see him gradually improving.”
Our Moneyman must prove he can get a 1 1/8-mile distance he has yet to run.
“He’s never done it yet, but he’s always finishing strong,” said Calhoun, who has Saratoga’s leading rider, Manny Franco, to ride.
Further Ado, after the Matt Winn, was sent off the 11-10 favorite in the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park, but he finished fifth behind upset winner Baby Vino in a race run over a sloppy track.
Trainer Brad Cox said he’s hopeful the wet surface and wide trip were legitimate enough excuses for the Haskell non-effort. Cox said he’s seen some changes in Further Ado in the two months since the Haskell.
“Physically, he’s developed a bit over the summer since the Haskell,” Cox said. “I was away from him a little bit this summer, but each time I came back to Churchill, he put on a little weight, looked really good. His coat looks good. I’m hopeful he handles the ship and everything and gets a good trip.”
Flavien Prat rides Further Ado for the first time.
The Puma defeated Further Ado in the Tampa Bay Derby on March 7 and then came back three weeks later and was within a nose of beating Commandment in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Saturday, The Puma will be coming back again on three weeks’ rest, after finishing fourth to Leading Change in the Travers.
Gustavo Delgado Jr., the assistant trainer his father, Gustavo, said The Puma has shown good energy since the Travers “and he looks amazing.”
The Puma will wear blinkers for the first time at the suggestion of jockey Javier Castellano.
“Javier said he hesitated passing horses in the last race,” Delgado said. “What we’re looking for is to be a bit closer to the pace. We don’t think it’s going to affect him in any way or produce a major change. If it’s going to help him, it’s going to help him. We don’t think it’s going to be against him.”
Blinkers seemed to help Zihnal, who wore them for the first time in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby, a race he won by 6 1/4 lengths on Aug. 9 at Mountaineer. In his start before that, Zihnal finished fourth, four lengths behind Leading Change, in the Indiana Derby. Saturday, he will break from the rail under John Velazquez for trainer Jonathan Thomas.
Iron Honor, the Grade 3 Gotham winner who finished second in the Preakness and third in the Haskell, will be getting blinkers for the first time as well. Trainer Chad Brown has enlisted Jose Ortiz to ride for the first time.
Talk to Me Jimmy, trained and owned in part by Rudy Rodriguez, took advantage of a speed-favoring track to win the Withers at Aqueduct in February and won the New York Derby at Finger Lakes in July. He comes out of a second-place finish in the Albany Stakes last out.
Igniter, trained by Rick Dutrow, will try to stretch out to 1 1/8 miles after winning the one-mile Ellis Park Derby by four lengths.
Sassmaster, a recent first-level allowance winner at Saratoga, and Micanopy, Ponder and Dream, and Freedom’s Echo – the first three finishers from the Smarty Jones Stakes on Aug. 18 at Parx – round out the field.
The Pennsylvania Derby goes as race 14 on a 15-race card that begins at 10:35 a.m.
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