Whiskey Ticket unlikely for Triple Crown after Illinois Derby win

STICKNEY, Ill. – That the Illinois Derby no longer is a true prep for any Triple Crown race, much less the Kentucky Derby, was emphasized this weekend by the fact that neither the winner of Saturday’s race, Whiskey Ticket, nor the horse he nosed out in victory, Conquest Curlinate, is nominated to the Triple Crown.

The winner of the Illinois Derby the last two years, Dynamic Impact in 2014 and Departing in 2013, went on to contest the Preakness Stakes (neither with much success), but Whiskey Ticket at this point is highly unlikely to appear in any Triple Crown race, while Conquest Curlinate is very unlikely for the Preakness, though the Belmont Stakes could emerge as an option, according to trainer Mark Casse.

Whiskey Ticket and Conquest Curlinate proved much the best Saturday, finishing four lengths in front of the third-place Phenomenal Phoenix. Whiskey Ticket’s winning time of 1:50.82 on a fast main track produced a Beyer Speed Figure of 95, a few points higher than the figure Whiskey Ticket earned in his lone previous start, a one-mile Santa Anita maiden race.

Both horses appeared to have come out of the race in good order, their trainers said, and by Sunday had departed Hawthorne for Kentucky, Whiskey Ticket for Churchill Downs and Conquest Curlinate for Keeneland.

Whiskey Ticket won his debut at odds of 15-1 and was thought by his connections to be the least talented of three maidens Baffert had in the sixth race March 19 at Santa Anita, but Whiskey Ticket ground out a front-running win that day and came from off the pace to score another game victory Saturday.

“He wasn’t showing that much in the morning, but the light came on for him,” Baffert said. “He’s a good horse. He looks like a runner when you see him.”

Baffert has no set plans for Whiskey Ticket, a son of Ghostzapper, but has a wide menu of age-restricted races with appealing prize money from which to choose. For now, the colt will be kept to spots below the elite level.

“There are a lot of summer derbies,” Baffert said. “We’ll let him make some money, let him develop, and have some fun with him.”

Conquest Curlinate, a massive gray son of Curlin, raced last with a little more than a half-mile to run and rallied steadily, just missing winning in what was easily the best start of his four-race career.

“It takes him a little while to get moving,” Casse said. “He has the potential to be a good horse.”

Conquest Curlinate is an Ontario-bred, so the major early summer goal with him is clear – the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine. But that race isn’t until July, and Conquest Curlinate will get in a start before then.