Like the King is looking for his first victory on dirt in the Kentucky Derby, and Wesley Ward will be saddling the colt as his first starter in the classic. But Ward has someone in his camp who knows the ins and outs of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby well, and who has given him additional confidence that his colt’s synthetic and turf abilities could be an asset.
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DRF Past Performances
ARCADIA, Calif. - Gregorian Chant briefly left the stakes division on Sunday at Santa Anita, long enough to win an allowance race at six furlongs on turf.
The winner of two turf sprint stakes earlier this year, Gregorian Chant could start in the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf at Santa Anita on May 29, or the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes at six furlongs on turf at Belmont Park on June 5.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Six months from now, As Time Goes By could be at the center of discussions regarding the older filly and mare division.
On Saturday at Santa Anita, As Time Goes By displayed the sort of performance in the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes at 1 1/8 miles to suggest she belongs in that group. Winning her first stakes, As Time Goes By led throughout the $200,000 Santa Margarita, pulling clear through the stretch to win by 9 1/4 lengths as the 3-5 favorite.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Very quickly on Saturday at Santa Anita, Flightline gave trainer John Sadler and Hronis Racing intriguing depth to their 3-year-old male division.
Flightline won his debut in a maiden special weight race at six furlongs, disputing the pace before pulling clear to win by 13 1/4 lengths in 1:08.75.
“He might have as much potential as any young horse I’ve ever trained,” Sadler said, walking out of the winner’s circle. “But you don’t want to get too hyped until you run them.”
Before trainer Steve Asmussen sent his two Kentucky Oaks runners, Clairiere and Pauline’s Pearl, out to work at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, one of Asmussen’s two Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Midnight Bourbon, had a spirited gallop under exercise rider Wilson Fabian.
His tail tied while training over a wet track, Midnight Bourbon galloped about 1 3/4 miles, Asmussen said. Going down the backstretch the first time, Midnight Bourbon increased his tempo, going at nearly a two-minute-lick clip.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Average daily wagering for the Keeneland spring meet in Lexington jumped nearly 15 percent compared to the last time the spring meet was held in 2019, according to figures released by the track Friday night.
Average daily wagering was $10.99 million for the 15-day meet, which had one less live racing day than the meet in 2019 because Easter fell on a live racing day this year. Total handle for the meet was up 7.6 percent to $164.7 million, up from $153.1 million in 2019.
Keeneland did not hold a spring meet last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Top California jockey Flavien Prat has ridden Hot Rod Charlie once, finishing fifth as the 2-1 favorite in a maiden race on turf at Del Mar last September.
A lot has changed since then for Hot Rod Charlie.
This month, Prat has been reacquainted with Hot Rod Charlie in workouts, just in time to renew the partnership in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 1.
On Saturday at Santa Anita, Prat was aboard Hot Rod Charlie for a six-furlong workout in 1:13.60 less than an hour before post time.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Crazy Beautiful and Millefeuille finished first and second in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Oaks four weeks ago. On Saturday, they were the only two 3-year-old fillies on the grounds to put in workouts for their next meeting in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When it was mentioned to trainer Chad Brown that Highly Motivated was starting to get some buzz on the backstretch at Churchill Downs leading into next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, the four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer was all smiles.
“If you’re talking about a horse having a good chance, it’s a conversation I want to be in rather than someone talking about a horse that’s not training well,” Brown said.