LOUISVILLE, KY – Raging Sea and Randomized, who finished first and third respectively Friday at Churchill Downs in the Grade 1 La Troienne, will likely meet yet again later this spring in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes at Saratoga trainer Chad Brown confirmed on Saturday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It says something about the depth of a stable when its unbeaten Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old filly is sidelined and it goes on to have an unbeaten Kentucky Oaks winner anyway.
That was the case with Godolphin and trainer Brad Cox. In January, they reported that Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Immersive was benched with bone bruising, and she was not even an Oaks nominee. But waiting in the wings was Good Cheer, who had won all four of her starts as a 2-year-old, in fact doing enough to be an Eclipse finalist behind her stablemate.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Journalism was the mild favorite Friday evening in early wagering on the Kentucky Derby.
With about $4.5 million in the pool, Journalism, who scored a smashing win making his 3-year-old debut in the San Felipe Stakes and overcame trouble winning the Santa Anita Derby, was favored at 7-2. But will-pays for the Oaks-Derby double suggest Journalism will go to post a shorter price than that.
April was a month of progress for Trump Era, a 2-year-old colt who makes his first start in a maiden race for California-breds at Santa Anita on Sunday.
Trained by Ryan Hanson for owner and breeder Richard Barton, Trump Era has had three workouts from the gate since mid-April and five overall since the beginning of last month. Officially, Trump Era was given a time of 1:00.40 for a five-furlong workout on April 27, but Hanson said on Friday the workout was a half-mile in 48 seconds.
Fibonaccis Ride was two weeks away from a potential stakes appearance at Del Mar last fall when she was sidelined with an apparent abscess that kept her out of training for months.
With the issue long behind her, Fibonaccis Ride has her second start in an allowance race for California-bred 3-year-old fillies at 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Considering Fibonaccis Ride won her debut in a maiden race by six lengths at Los Alamitos last September, she is capable of another win on Sunday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – So far, only two colts have finished in front of Journalism, the favorite for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
One of them, Smooth Cruisein, won an allowance race at Santa Anita last Saturday in a career-best effort that has left trainer Karen Headley and co-owner Marsha Naify hopeful he can become a stakes winner in coming months.
Journalism has started five times, starting with a third behind Smooth Cruisein and Mellencamp in a maiden race at Santa Anita last October. Journalism has not lost since.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The plaques listing the names of his six Kentucky Derby winners, three Kentucky Oaks winners, and a few other Grade 1 victors are back on the wall outside of Bob Baffert’s barn 33 at Churchill Downs.
Perhaps more importantly, Baffert himself is back, holding court in front of those plaques, which includes the names of American Pharoah and Justify, his two Triple Crown winners.
“My life is on that wall,” Baffert said. “My greatest achievements are on that wall. It’s good to see them.”
For Baffert, it’s good to be seen again at Churchill Downs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mike Smith was 19 years old when he rode his first Kentucky Derby, a sixth-place finish aboard Pine Circle in 1984. Fourteen of the jockeys Smith will be riding against in Saturday’s 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs weren’t born yet.
“I was so nervous, I don’t think I ever left the bathroom,” Smith recalled. “I kept going to the bathroom to pee and nothing would come out. Once I got on the horse, he actually ran really well. I rode a really good race and ran well.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Five G, the Gulfstream Park Oaks winner, was scratched out of Friday’s $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks, trainer George Weaver said Thursday morning.
“She’s been off her feed the last couple of days. She didn’t train with great energy this morning. I wasn’t happy the last couple of days. We don’t feel good about it,” Weaver said. “This is the type of race where you’ve got be 110 percent, and we don’t feel like she is.”
Longtime Mid-Atlantic trainer Butch Reid won his 1,000th race on Monday when 4-year-old filly Jeanne Marie fired fresh off a layoff to win a $42,000 allowance at Parx Racing. Reid celebrated the milestone achievement with friends and family in a packed winner's circle after the race.
"You're never sure, but we were fortunate enough to have a big crowd show up that day and she got the job done," Reid said.
