HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jockey Cristian Torres has one primary objective with Sandman when the pair starts from post 3 on Sunday in the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel at Oaklawn Park.
The Rebel was rescheduled from Saturday due to a winter storm system in the Hot Springs area.
“The main thing we’re looking for this race is to have a better break,” he said last week.
Connections for the Risen Star’s second- and third-place finishers, Chunk of Gold and Built, haven’t set plans for their horses’ next race, but Ethan West, Chunk of Gold’s trainer, narrowed the possibilities to the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds or the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway, both on March 22.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Baeza emerged as an exciting candidate for the Santa Anita Derby with an impressive maiden victory Friday at Santa Anita.
A colt sired by McKinzie and half-brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and 2024 Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch, Baeza dominated the mile-long maiden race Friday in the third start of his career. He won by 4 3/4 lengths in 1:37.84, a fast clocking over a dirt surface that played decidedly slow.
Vassimo, an aspiring Kentucky Derby candidate trained by Todd Pletcher who has been entered in this weekend’s Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, tested positive for a regulated medication, betamethasone, after winning the first start of his career late last year, according to records posted by the Horseracing Integrity and Wagering Unit (HIWU) on Wednesday afternoon.
Sovereignty, unraced since winning the Street Sense Stakes on Oct. 27 at Churchill Downs, is on schedule to make his 3-year-old debut in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 1, though trainer Bill Mott has concerns about that 1 1/16-mile race.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The small but very talented U.S. contingent that’s expected to race on the undercard of the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 22 arrived safely in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The group is led by 2024 sprint champion Straight No Chaser (Riyadh Dirt Sprint) and includes the South Florida-based duo of Howard Wolowitz (Turf Sprint) and Cyclone State (Saudi Derby), a Kentucky Derby hopeful. They all figure to be among the favorites in their respective races.
Trainer Rick Dutrow has obviously been pleased with what he’s seen from Captain Cook on the racetrack, the 3-year-old having won both of his starts for him, including the Withers Stakes two weeks ago.
Dutrow is only just now starting to like what he’s seeing from Captain Cook at the barn.
Hypnus, who announced his presence with an eye-catching debut maiden route win Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds, remains a candidate for the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
The colt’s trainer, Kenny McPeek, told Daily Racing Form he was considering the Risen Star Stakes, the Rebel, and a first-level allowance for Hypnus, a son of Into Mischief and Dream Tree who made short work of eight rivals last month while earning an 85 Beyer Speed Figure.
Derby Watch member Coal Battle pulled a page out of the Mystik Dan playbook last month when he traveled from his Arkansas base to Louisiana to maintain an uninterrupted training schedule ahead of a major 3-year-old prep at Oaklawn Park.
Mystik Dan traveled from Oaklawn to Fair Grounds in January 2024 just before a major snowstorm hit Arkansas and disrupted training at Oaklawn. He logged three works in Louisiana and returned to win the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn and eventually the Kentucky Derby.
Santa Anita-based Bullard is headed to Oaklawn for the Rebel, and armchair handicappers might view his past performances and conclude he is merely a late-running sprinter. His first two starts were last-to-first sprint wins, including the Grade 3 Bob Hope on Nov. 17 at Del Mar, followed by an even-paced third in the seven-furlong San Vicente on Jan. 4 at Santa Anita.
“I sprinted him [again in the San Vicente] strictly because I didn’t want to wait another month to run him,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “The winner of the San Vicente [Barnes] is a fast horse.”
