The week that was in racing, March 7-13, 2016

Here's a collection of some of the biggest stories in horse racing, all in one place. Unless noted, all of the links here are to free stories on DRF.com.

Two big preps for the Kentucky Derby

Danzing Candy stamped himself a legitimate Kentucky Derby candidate as he notched his third straight easy win, this time in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes over some proven Derby prospects. He broke sharply under Mike Smith, ran his early rivals off their feet with a quick pace, and then held off favored Mor Spirit in deep stretch to win by two lengths. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 100 for the effort, while facing the deepest field yet of any Derby prep. The Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 9 figures next, and he’ll likely run into a few of these again there.

Trainer Todd Pletcher may have a couple more Kentucky Derby hopefuls to go along with Zulu as Destin and Outwork ran one-two in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby. Destin equaled the 100 Beyer Speed Figure that Danzing Candy received in the San Felipe and was edging away at the wire while setting a new track record. While he’s earned a spot in the starting gate for the Derby, the question remains as to whether he’s as good away from Tampa Bay Downs.

Not your older brother’s Big Cap

With the likes of California Chrome and Hoppertunity bypassing the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, the meet’s championship race for older horses was ripe for an opportunistic, aggressive move. Trainer David Hofmans felt that, under the circumstances, Melatonin’s victory in a second-level allowance last month earned him a shot in a field that featured just three graded stakes winners. He pulled off the upset Saturday, leading from start to finish and drawing away at the end.

This just in: Tepin’s pretty good

The beat goes on for Tepin, who showed why she is the best older turf mare in training while running down a loose leader to take her fourth straight victory in the Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes. As much as 18 lengths behind on the backstretch, she ran down a tiring but resolute Isabella Sings to earn her seventh graded stakes win in 12 starts, setting a new course record in the process.

Bombs away in the San Luis Rey

Generosidade was a Grade 1 winner in Brazil in May 2013, but she hadn’t won since that year, and her first three U.S. starts weren’t very pretty, hence the reason she was sent off at a whopping 71-1. After two months off, she came back a new mare as she beat males and some other girls to post the huge upset in the Grade 2 San Luis Rey Stakes. She won as the biggest longshot in the race, but none of the top four finishers were under odds of 10-1, triggering massive horizontal payouts and sparking a pick six carryover heading into Thursday’s card.

– reporting by Nick Fortuna, Mike Hogan, Marty McGee, and Jay Privman