Turf sets up nicely for Schoolofhardrocks in American Derby
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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Southern California-based trainer David Hofmans, during his peak years, was a regular graded stakes winner. His last such victory came in 2010, but Schoolofhardrocks, a rare Hofmans runner at Arlington, has a great chance to end Hofmans’s drought.
Schoolofhardrocks is one of 10 3-year-olds entered in the $200,000 American Derby, which is one of four Grade 3 grass stakes on Saturday’s Million Preview Day program at Arlington, and Schoolofhardrocks crackles with turf promise.
A debut winner around two turns over Del Mar’s Polytrack last summer, Schoolofhardrocks dipped his toe in the Triple Crown pool when he finished fourth in California Chrome’s San Felipe win, his second career start. But Schoolofhardrocks went in the wrong direction in the Santa Anita Derby, fading to last, and Hofmans went to plan B – which might have been plan A all along – and switched Schoolofhardrocks to turf.[bc_video_id:329758:]
Schoolofhardrocks rallied for second in a minor turf-sprint stakes, and in a first-level allowance race over 1 1/8 miles against older horses May 31, he found his niche. Racing for the first time in blinkers, he tracked a solid pace, took over at the top of the stretch, and buzzed home to a 4 1/4-length victory, galloping out like a house afire.
“I ran him against older last time with the Secretariat in my mind,” Hofmans said. “He’s a big, tall, long-striding, free-running horse. Blinkers and the distance helped him a lot.”
Schoolofhardrocks gets another half-furlong with which to work Saturday. He arrived Wednesday, with Hofmans saying he was not concerned about shipping the “very smart horse.” Victor Espinoza, who was aboard for the debut win last summer, has the mount.
Schoolofhardrocks is the 7-2 morning-line second choice behind Divine Oath, a Todd Pletcher-trained shipper. Divine Oath is from the female family of the great Personal Ensign, a dirt horse all the way, but has made three starts on turf and one on Polytrack. Divine Oath beat decent horses in two Florida grass wins – Ring Weekend in his debut and Big Bazinga in an allowance race – and finished decently enough last out in the $400,000 Penn Mile to suggest that Saturday’s added distance might not trouble him.
Our Channel, on the other hand, is cutting back in distance, having last raced in the 1 1/2-mile Epsom Derby, in which he finished 13th. The American-bred son of English Channel is trained by William Haggas, whose only previous U.S. runner, Primary, was third in the 2006 Secretariat.
Our Channel has more speed than the typical overseas invader, one reason Haggas long has considered the colt for North American racing. His best win came April 23, when he won the Derby Trial at Epsom going 1 1/4 miles.
“He’s in great form right now,” Haggas said.
Afortable has won 2 of 3 grass races and can be excused for a third-place finish last out in the Arlington Classic, in which he fell too far behind a slow pace before finishing well.
“I think the distance hits my horse right between the eyeballs,” said trainer Chris Block.
Highball sharply won a maiden turf route at Churchill last out in his second start and “has a lot of talent,” according to trainer Wayne Catalano.
Heisinfront beat first-level turf-route allowance foes last out at Churchill and is trained by Dale Romans, who won this race in 2012 with Cozzetti.
The overseas import Chief Barker has disappointed in his two U.S. starts this year, but it might be too soon to give up.
The American Derby (post time 4:55 p.m. Central) is the ninth of 12 races Saturday, with first post set for 1 p.m. A $100,000-guaranteed pick four (base bet 50 cents) links the four graded stakes, races 7-10. The weather forecast is iffy. It was dry and beautiful midweek, but there was a 50 percent chance of storms Friday night into Saturday.