Two favorites in Sir Barton have common bonds
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BALTIMORE – The top two on the morning line in Saturday’s $100,000 Sir Barton Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles are well bred, well connected, and receive blinkers for the first time.
Corporate Power, a $925,000 yearling by Curlin out of Grade 2 winner Road to Victory scored a second-out win at Gulfstream for trainer Shug McGaughey. In his first start out of the maiden ranks, Corporate Power finished second, beaten 1 1/4 lengths, in a first-level Aqueduct allowance contested over a sealed, sloppy track.
“I thought he ran a good race,” McGaughey said. “Hopefully, the track will be fast.”
The Sir Barton is restricted to horses that have never won a stakes race.
“I think it’s a good spot for him. I wanted to run him around two turns. There was an allowance race [in New York] going long on the dirt, but I didn’t know if it would go or not. He’s training very well.”
McGaughey thought that Corporate Power “was getting a little bit lazy in his races and looking around a little bit.” He hopes the blinkers will help the colt focus better.
McGaughey feels that Corporate Power will be laying close to the pace.
Todd Pletcher counters with Tuscan Sky, a $200,000 half-brother to Grade 2 winner Private Creed. The Vino Rosso colt won his first two starts over wet tracks, then finished seventh at 5-2 in Aqueduct’s Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 6.
“Disappointed with the Wood performance,” Pletcher said. “We felt like he was very live going in there and he didn’t fire at all. He seemed just a little bit dull coming out of it. We added some blinkers, and it seemed to wake him up. His last couple of breezes have been quite good.”
Pletcher also feels that Tuscan Sky will be prominent early.
Imperial Gun, beaten a head when second in Oaklawn’s Bathhouse Row on April 20, looks like a strong contender for trainer Steve Asmussen. The Gun Runner colt must overcome the far outside draw under Joel Rosario.
Like Kentucky Derby hero Mystik Dan, Gould’s Gold is a son of Goldencents trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. A maiden winner sprinting two back, Gould’s Gold then ran third in the Bathhouse Row, four lengths behind Imperial Gun.
Real Macho drops in class after failing to crack the top three in both the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby.
Deposition, Circle P, D Day Sky, Mighty Message, and Daily Grind complete the field.