Top San Felipe finishers set for rematch in Santa Anita Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. – Dortmund, Prospect Park, and Bolo – the first three finishers in the San Felipe Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita – all came out of the race well and are set for a rematch in four weeks in the Grade 1, $1 million Santa Anita Derby, their trainers said Sunday morning.

Dortmund “came back great,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He wasn’t really blowing. It wasn’t like his last race, when he was in a dogfight. He’s changed a lot. His last race, that changed his whole attitude. You could see the change. Sometimes a dogfight like that helps them. They know. They get confident.”

Dortmund got a Beyer Speed Figure of 104 for his San Felipe win. He now is unbeaten in five starts.

Prospect Park was getting on a van Sunday morning at Santa Anita, bound for San Luis Rey Downs, where trainer Cliff Sise Jr. is based.

“He closed like he was supposed to,” Sise said. “The farther he goes, the better off he’ll be. He got in a little jam at the top of the stretch. It’s a learning process.”

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Bolo “ran great,” trainer Carla Gaines said. “But will he be able to beat Dortmund on the dirt? I don’t know. He’s El Monster.”

Bolo had his training interrupted recently by wet weather.

“We had ground loss in the race and maybe lacked a little conditioning, but he ran great,” Gaines said. “But if he was fitter, if he hadn’t missed any time, would he have won? I don’t know.”

Ocho Ocho Ocho, who finished eighth while suffering the first loss of his career, also will return in the Santa Anita Derby, said trainer Jim Cassidy. Ocho Ocho Ocho had a terrible trip, especially getting caught in traffic on the first turn, and "got all cut up," Cassidy said.