Quintons Gold Rush is in!
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Quintons Gold Rush earned a spot in the starting gate for the 130th Kentucky Derby when he drew off to a 2 3/4-length victory Saturday in the $325,000 before a record crowd of 31,028 at Keeneland.
Making his fifth overall start, and his first for trainer Steve Asmussen, Quintons Gold Rush was always prominent after clearing most of the field from post 10 in the bulky field of 14 entered in the 1 1/16-mile Lexington. Ridden by Jerry Bailey, the colt took over from longshot Dashboard Drummer in the final turn, then sped clear to win without a challenge. Asmussen said in the immediate aftermath that Quintons Gold Rush, owned by Satish Sanan and Jay Manoogian, would run in the May 1 Derby, "providing he comes out of the race well."
Quintons Gold Rush, by Wild Rush, returned $13.40 as fourth choice after finishing in 1:43.82 over a fast track. Fire Slam finished second, a neck ahead of Song of the Sword, who had another two lengths on Pomeroy in fourth place.
Except for the winner, it appears highly unlikely that any of the Lexington runners will or can proceed to the Derby, although Fire Slam and Song of the Sword are on the bubble.
The easy win for Bailey puts the Hall of Fame jockey in something of a dilemma regarding a Derby mount. Earlier Saturday, he tentatively committed to riding Wimbledon for trainer Bob Baffert, but Asmussen said after the Lexington: "I think Jerry will choose this horse. If not, I guess I'm looking for a rider."
Asmussen had assumed the training of Quintons Gold Rush just a few days after the colt finished fourth after contesting all the pace in the April 3 Santa Anita Derby. "Mr. Sanan called and asked, 'Do you have a Derby horse?' " said Asmussen. "I thought he meant if I knew about a horse he could buy. But he wanted to send me this colt, and of course I was glad to get him."
Asmussen went out of his way to acknowledge Mike Mitchell, who trained Quintons Gold Rush in California before the colt was sent to Kentucky. "Mike told me everything I needed to know about him," he said.
Derby Contenders
The leading contenders for the 130th Kentucky Derby ranked by earnings in graded stakes races, the tiebreaker if the field exceeds the maximum 20 horses:
| HORSE | EARNINGS | TRAINER | JOCKEY |
| The Cliff's Edge | $793,258 | N. Zito | S. Sellers |
| Action This Day | 780,000 | R. Mandella | D. Flores |
| Friends Lake | 611,000 | J. Kimmel | R. Migliore |
| Smarty Jones | 600,000 | J. Servis | S. Elliott |
| Tapit | 530,000 | M. Dickinson | R. Dominguez |
| Castledale | 510,000 | J. Mullins | J. Valdivia Jr. |
| Limehouse | 478,405 | T. Pletcher | J. Santos |
| Lion Heart | 475,600 | P. Biancone | M. Smith |
| Read the Footnotes | 397,860 | R. Violette | Undecided |
| Wimbledon | 375,000 | B. Baffert | J. Bailey |
| Pollard's Vision | 366,000 | T. Pletcher | J. Velazquez |
| Imperialism | 363,000 | K. Mulhall | K. Desormeaux |
| Minister Eric | 350,000 | R. Mandella | P. Day |
| Birdstone | 327,000 | N. Zito | E. Prado |
| Borrego | 320,000 | B. Greely | V. Espinoza |
| Sinister G | 302,500 | John Toscano Jr. | P. Toscano |
| Quintons Gold Rush | 258,500 | S. Asmussen | Undecided |
| **Value Plus | 252,500 | T. Pletcher | Undecided |
| St Averil | 215,200 | R. Becerra | T. Baze |
| Master David | 208,000 | R. Frankel | A. Solis |
| Preachinatthebar | 159,000 | B. Baffert | G. Stevens |
| Song of the Sword | 132,500 | J. Pedersen | N. Arroyo Jr. |
| Pro Prado | 105,685 | R. Holthus | J. McKee |
| Tricky Taboo | 100,000 | E. Frederick | T. D'Amico |
| Eddington | 95,000 | M. Hennig | J. Bailey |
| Rock Hard Ten | 90,000 | J. Orman | G. Stevens |
| Mustanfar | 87,500 | K. McLaughlin | R. Migliore |
Earnings as of Saturday, April 19
**Unlikely to run
The record crowd surpasses the 29,687 that attended the 2000 Blue Grass Stakes.
* Earlier Saturday, Dyna Da Wyna ($4.40) and jockey Pat Day gave chalk players all the drama they could take before the filly got up in the final jump to win the $85,575 Shakertown Stakes.
Trained by Elliott Walden for Win Star Farm, Dyna Da Wyna won for the seventh time in 13 starts, beating Boozin' Susan by a nose in 1:02.63 in the 5 1/2-furlong turf race.