Rockemperor will be running late in Saratoga Derby

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Going into the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Derby on July 6, trainer Chad Brown said he wished he had a little more time to prepare Rockemperor, a horse that had only been in his care less than a month.

Couple that with having to break from the outside post in a 14-horse field, and Rockemperor seemed up against it. So it came as a pleasant surprise to Brown when Rockemperor rallied from last to finish third, beaten only 1 1/4 lengths.

Now, with a race under his belt and two workouts since, Rockemperor could be poised to run even better in Sunday’s inaugural running of the $1 million Saratoga Derby at 1 3/16 miles.

The Saratoga Derby is the second leg of the New York Racing Association’s Turf Trinity, which began with the Belmont Derby and concludes with the Jockey Club Derby on Sept. 7.

In the Belmont Derby, at 1 1/4 miles, Rockemperor, under John Velazquez, was basically last for the opening mile, only in front of Demarchelier who was pulled up midway down the backstretch. Velazquez was able to save ground around the far turn before tipping widest of all in the stretch. After lugging in for a stride or two in upper stretch, Rockemperor closed strongly to get third behind Henley’s Joy and Social Paranoia, both of whom are in this race.

“He was a little far back but he made a nice run,” Brown said of Rockemperor. “It was a nice first start for me. He’s trained well since.”

Rockemperor will break from post 4 in Sunday’s Saratoga Derby.

Brown also sends out Digital Age, who, breaking from post 13, rallied from 12th place to finish fourth in the Belmont Derby, where he had to wait for some running room in upper stretch.

“He had a little bit of an eventful trip in that race, but he’s come back and trained super here, I expect him to run well,” Brown said.

Brown hopes there is some pace for both of his colts. A Thread of Blue, who breaks from post 3, and Flying Scotsman, who has the outside post in this 11-horse field, appear the primary pace players.

Henley’s Joy, who won the Belmont Derby at odds of 20-1, also figures to be close under Jose Lezcano. He broke very well in the Belmont Derby and settled into a close third down the backside before outfinishing Social Paranoia to win by three-quarters of a length.

“Jose made sure he got into the bit and got a good position, and we’ll try to play it the same way,” Mike Maker, the trainer of Henley’s Joy, said. “I don’t think he’d be quick enough to have the lead, but I think he’d be quick enough from the inside post to save ground and hold his position.”

Maker also will send out Kadar, a horse who rallied from last to be third, beaten a head, in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race here July 18. Maker, who is adding blinkers to Kadar’s equipment for this race, said he sees a different horse since that allowance race.

“The way he’s trained, he seems pretty forward,” Maker said. “Whether that race woke him up or it’s the blinkers, I don’t know, but he’s a lot different horse.”

Before coming to the United States, Rockemperor finished sixth, beaten eight lengths, in the Group 1 French Derby at Chantilly. One length behind him was Mohawk, a son of Galileo trained by Aidan O’Brien who is here after winning a Group 3 race on July 18 at Leopardstown.

In his first start this year, Mohawk finished second to stablemate Circus Maximus – to whom he was conceding five pounds – in a listed stakes at Chester in Great Britain. Circus Maximus came back to win the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

T.J. Comerford, assistant to O’Brien, said off his second to Circus Maximus, Mohawk “has a live chance” Sunday. Comerford said that Mohawk was compromised by soft ground in the Group 1 Irish Guineas.

O’Brien also runs Cape of Good Hope, who finished eighth in the Belmont Derby. Last year, he was beaten three lengths by Mohawk in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket.

Seismic Wave was sent off the tepid 9-2 favorite in the Belmont Derby. He, like Rockemperor, was in the back of the pack and made a mild bid to finish fifth, beaten 3 3/4 lengths.

“He was a little dull that day for some reason,” trainer Bill Mott said. “I don’t think he ran his best race. I think he’s got a little better race in him. For some reason, he was a little bit hot and he didn’t sustain his run.”

Social Paranoia is only 1 for 9 but has never finished worse than third. He had the lead at the eighth pole of the Belmont Derby only to finish second.

“He shows up, runs consistently. He ran well here last year,” trainer Todd Pletcher said, referring to a maiden race in which he finished second to Forty Under. “He’s trained well, he looks good, he’s a big strong colt that carries his condition really well.”

Eons comes into the Saratoga Derby having won four consecutive races, including the Grade 3 Kent at Delaware over Award Winner, who was scheduled to run in Friday’s Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes.