Texas Red looking good for comeback
ARCADIA, Calif. – When Texas Red makes his first start at age 3 on Sunday in the Grade 2, $200,000 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita, it will be exactly three months since his runaway victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The colt people see won’t quite resemble the one they last saw.
Texas Red made an eye-catching presence on the track on Friday morning. It was merely a routine gallop, but he appears to have filled out and grown into a far more handsome individual than the one who brought only a $17,000 final bid as a yearling.
Texas Red had a five-race foundation at age 2, and now embarks on what Keith Desormeaux, his trainer and co-owner, envisions as a three-race prep schedule toward the Kentucky Derby on May 2.
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“It’s exciting,” Desormeaux said as he stood on some steps not far from Clocker’s Corner. “Three months off is enough. It’s time to get this show on the road.”
The San Vicente is at seven furlongs, so Texas Red will be cutting back from his ideal trip, which is going two turns – witness his Breeders’ Cup win and a good third in the Grade 1 FrontRunner. But this is a means to an end.
“It’s part of the building process,” Desormeaux said. “It’s the kind of race that can put some speed in him the way you can’t put speed in a horse in the morning. I’m prepared for him to get beat, but he’s talented enough and fit enough to win.”
The San Vicente drew seven other runners, including the speedy allowance winner Serbian Syclone, and the Bob Baffert-trained pair of Lord Nelson and Punctuate.
It is the sixth race on an abbreviated eight-race card designed to get fans and horsemen home in time for kickoff for the Super Bowl. To facilitate the early exit, first post time is 11 a.m. Pacific.
KEY CONTENDERS
Texas Red (Last 3 Beyers: 104-93-78)
◗ The return to a sprint makes him vulnerable, since he lost his only two sprints before blossoming in three subsequent starts around two turns. But seven-eighths is a distance at which many late-running distance horses can excel, with horses like Ferdinand and Unbridled – both Derby winners – coming to mind. Texas Red’s style is more like those horses’ than, say, Silver Charm or Spectacular Bid, other Derby winners who were just fine going seven furlongs.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Texas Red. Trainer Keith Desormeaux is 13-2-1-2 with a $0.81 ROI over the past five years going route to sprint with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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◗ Texas Red has grown up a lot since the Breeders’ Cup.
“He’s grown in both height and width,” Desormeaux said. “He’s progressed physically, as he should.”
Serbian Syclone (Last 3 Beyers: 88-89-50)
◗ He used his sharp speed to score a fast, front-running victory against allowance runners over this track last time out. He is absolutely the one to catch.
Punctuate (Beyer: 77)
◗ He came from last to first to win his lone start, which came back in September.
“He had an infection,” Baffert said of the reason for the time between starts. “We had to stop on him for a few weeks. He’s doing well now. He’ll need a race to catch up with everyone, but he can go two turns.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Punctuate. Trainer Bob Baffert is 10-5-0-1 with a $4.15 ROI over the past five years in dirt graded stakes with last-out maiden winners off a layoff of 45 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Lord Nelson (Last 3 Beyers: 82-92-90)
◗ Baffert’s other runner, he is 2 for 2 sprinting, and has finished out of the money in two routes, so this return to a sprint should help.
◗ He drew the rail. “I don’t like the post,” Baffert said.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Lord Nelson. Trainer Bob Baffert is 24-8-0-0 with a $4.87 ROI over the past five years going route to sprint on dirt in graded stakes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan