OLDSMAR, Fla. – For a moment there, it looked like Independence Hall might’ve been a 1-5 shot when the Sam F. Davis is run Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.
But with the connections of Ajaaweed and Premier Star choosing the Davis over other Kentucky Derby preps, Independence Hall might well have to work harder than ever to remain unbeaten.
Just days before he is scheduled to make his first start at 3 after being named last year’s champion 2-year-old male, Storm the Court topped a list of 347 3-year-olds who were made early nominees to this year’s Triple Crown, it was announced Wednesday by Churchill Downs, host of the Kentucky Derby.
Storm the Court is scheduled to race on Sunday at Santa Anita in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes, which will mark his first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile three months ago.
Ten new names are in the lineup for Pool 2 of the 2020 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Friday at noon Eastern for the customary three-day run.
The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, has been pegged as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in Pool 2 by Churchill Downs linemaker Mike Battaglia, with Tiz the Law the shortest individually listed interest at 8-1. Next are Independence Hall (10-1), Dennis’ Moment (12-1), Nadal (12-1), Authentic (15-1), Maxfield (15-1), and Thousand Words (15-1).
Leaderboard for qualifying points to the 2020 Kentucky Derby, which will be run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, May 2, 2020. Points are earned by the top four finishers in designated Kentucky Derby prep races.
ARCADIA, Calif. – He trained for Robert Lewis, for whom the race is named, and got his 3,000th victory in North American Thoroughbred racing on Saturday with a horse named Thousand Words, in a race that’s a prep for the Kentucky Derby, which he’s won five times.
For trainer Bob Baffert, the connections were obvious and meaningful after Thousand Words remained undefeated with a victory in the Grade 3, $100,500 Robert Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It was mentioned to Linda Rice on Saturday morning that her 3-year-old Max Player was a bit of a buzz horse entering that afternoon’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.
Rice seemed a bit surprised at the notion and responded “Did anybody see his first two races?”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Tiz the Law got back on the winning track and did so in impressive fashion, pulling away through the final furlong from a game Ete Indien to register a popular three-length victory launching his 3-year-old campaign in Saturday’s $250,000 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Triple Crown-nominated filly Taraz picked up 10 points for the Kentucky Oaks on Saturday, when she won her two-turn debut by 3 3/4 lengths in the $150,000 Martha Washington at Oaklawn.
She is now 3 for 3, with her victories coming by a combined margin of 22 1/2 lengths.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the best of her yet,” regular rider Florent Geroux said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Anneau d’Or, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita, will begin his 3-year-old campaign in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds as a prep for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4, trainer Blaine Wright said Friday.
Anneau d’Or, who is in training at Golden Gate Fields, was second in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 7 in his most recent start, finishing a neck behind Thousand Words.
Wright said he will add blinkers to Anneau d’Or for the Risen Star.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Gouverneur Morris will ship from his Florida base to make his 3-year-old debut in the Feb. 17 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park looking to score points on the Kentucky Derby trail.
Barry Irwin, whose Team Valor International partnership owns Gouverneur Morris with WinStar Farm, said the Constitution colt is flourishing in his training for Todd Pletcher at the Palm Beach Downs training center in Delray Beach, Fla.
