Rebel a distance test for Nadal, Basin

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on Saturday at Oaklawn Park is a pivotal race for Derby Watch members Nadal and Basin.

Both are stretching out around two turns for the first time and making their first appearance in a Kentucky Derby prep race. The Rebel, which drew eight, including Silver Prospector, American Theorem and No Parole, doles out Derby qualifying points to the first four finishers on a scale of 50-20-10-5.

The Rebel anchors an 11-race card that includes the Grade 2, $350,000 Azeri and $350,000 Essex Handicap. The stakes should produce starters for a trio of $1 million offerings during next month’s Racing Festival of the South: the Arkansas Derby, Apple Blossom, and Oaklawn Handicap.

Nadal could go favored Saturday based on his 2-for-2 record which includes the Grade 2 San Vicente going seven furlongs at Santa Anita. He is moving to a mile and a sixteenth, and his trainer, Bob Baffert, who has won six Rebels, believes the son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame will handle the two-turn test.

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“He should,” Baffert said. “You never know until they do it. They have to prove it. But I don’t see why he wouldn’t do it.”

Basin also enters off a win at seven furlongs, in the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 2 at Saratoga. His trainer, Steve Asmussen, has won four Rebels and looks for Basin to again call on his class as he gets his first distance test Saturday.

“It’s a question that’s not been asked of him,” Asmussen said, “and we’re jumping into a talented and deep field.

“He didn’t win a Grade 1 by accident.”

Derby Watch member Three Technique is looking for his first two-turn win in the Rebel after finishing second in the $150,000 Smarty Jones at a mile at Oaklawn.

“You never know until they do it, but it seems to me the more ground he gets the better he’ll be,” said trainer Jeremiah Englehart.

KEY CONTENDERS

Nadal, by Blame

Beyers: 91-98

◗ The horse, who removes blinkers, was a three-quarter-length winner of the San Vicente on Feb. 9. He dueled through quick fractions and prevailed over a field that included champion Storm the Court.

“That was a tough race,” Baffert said. “They ran from the get-go. He took a lot of heat and kept going.”

◗ Baffert has since targeted the Rebel with Nadal, who will break from the rail under Joel Rosario.

“The track, speed horses do well there, and he’s stretching out,” Baffert said Monday. “It’s a good spot for him.”

◗ Nadal was a $700,000 purchase as a 2-year-old in training from the Fasig-Tipton March auction at Gulfstream Park. He races for George Bolton, Arthur Hoyeau, Barry Lipman, and Mark Mathiesen.

“When he was sold as 2-year-old, he worked really fast, and looking at him – a big, heavy, strong horse – you’d never think he could be that quick,” Baffert said. “He’s quick and he’s powerful. He’s just a powerful horse, and he’s got the pedigree.

“He’s always acted like a special horse.”

Basin, by Liam’s Map

Last 3 Beyers: 85-86-70

◗ He was a 6 1/2-length winner of the Hopeful over a wet track, and there is an 80 percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms Saturday.

◗ Basin, who races for Jackpot Farm, will break from post 3 under Javier Castellano.

“He’s extremely athletic,” Asmussen said. “I think that he’ll be handy and anywhere Javier wants him to be.”

Silver Prospector, by Declaration of War

Last 3 Beyers: 97-82-82

◗ This Derby Watch member won his second Kentucky Derby points race in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest on Feb. 17 at Oaklawn with a career-high Beyer Figure of 97 – the best last-race number in the Rebel.

“It’s a good time to have a talented 3-year-old,” said Asmussen, who trains Silver Prospector for Ed and Susie Orr.

No Parole, by Violence

Last 3 Beyers: 79-86-89

◗ He’s stepping outside the Louisiana-bred ranks after winning his three starts by a combined margin of 34 lengths. He moved to two turns Feb. 8 and wired the $100,000 Premier Night Prince, a mile race run on the six furlong track at Delta Downs.

“No Parole we know is a very, very good sprinter,” trainer Tom Amoss said, “and I don’t mean Louisiana-bred sprinter. I mean national-level sprinter. Can he take that and carry it a route of ground, over a traditional racetrack at a mile in circumference? It’s an unanswered question and that’s why we’re here.”

◗ Amoss noted No Parole is lining up against the best horses he’s ever faced.

“There’s a lot of speculation around him and it’s justified,” Amoss said. “My attitude is we’re excited about the race and we’ll see what happens. He does deserve this opportunity and he’s trained into the race very well.”

◗ Maggi Moss was the sole owner of No Parole for his first three starts. She sold an interest in him to Greg Tramontin after the Premier Night Prince, said Amoss.

– additional reporting by Jay Privman