Sheer Flattery and Ann Arbor Eddie will take the bulk of the mutuel action in Saturday’s Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, and the reasons are clear. Sheer Flattery is a graded stakes dropper whose last two Beyer Speed Figures exceed the career tops of his rivals, and Ann Arbor Eddie is a winner of three of four starts and a two-time stakes winner routing, albeit facing California-bred company.
At least a dozen 3-year-olds were expected to be entered Thursday in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 25 at Fair Grounds.
Fair Grounds racing officials on Wednesday listed Arklow, Girvin, Guest Suite, It’s Your Nickel, Local Hero, Mo Town, Shareholder Value, So Conflated, Sorry Erik, Takeoff, Untrapped, and U S Officer as expected entrants in the Risen Star. The race, one of six stakes on the card, will be contested at 1 1/16 miles and is the first North American Kentucky Derby prep of the year to offer 50 Derby qualifying points to the winner.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Among the paddock schoolers at Gulfstream Park on Wednesday was Huracan Americo, a Group 1 winner in his native Chile at 2 who is currently being pointed toward a possible start in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on March 4.
Wild Shot, beaten 3 1/2 lengths when fourth behind McCraken last weekend in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, will return to Tampa Bay Downs for the March 11 Tampa Bay Derby “unless I see no reason not to go,” said trainer Rusty Arnold.
Like McCraken, Wild Shot was making his first start since the Nov. 26 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. A son of Trappe Shot, Wild Shot is based at Payson Park.
From the time the horses crossed the wire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile until the Holy Bull was run on Feb. 4, Classic Empire, last year’s champion 2-year-old male, was the acknowledged favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 6. But his third-place finish in the Holy Bull has left the Derby scene as muddy and roiling as the Ohio River after a springtime storm, with the likes of Irish War Cry and McCraken ascending in the standings.
WHO’S HOT
Kentucky Derby-winning trainers Bob Baffert (American Anthem and Mastery), John Shirreffs (Gormley and Royal Mo), and Todd Pletcher (Always Dreaming, Battalion Runner, and Tapwrit) all have multiple runners on the top 20 list. Other Derby-winning trainers who have a runner on the list are Graham Motion (Irish War Cry) and Doug O’Neill (Iliad).
Classic Empire
Pioneerof the Nile-Sambuca Classica, by Cat Thief
(Bred in Kentucky by Steven and Brandi Nicholson; $475,000 purchase by John Oxley at 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale)
Classic Empire, who debuts as the favorite on Mike Watchmaker’s Kentucky Derby future line, became the second Eclipse Award champion juvenile in three seasons for sire Pioneerof the Nile.
Grade 3, $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes; 1 1/16 miles; Tampa Bay Downs; Feb. 11, 2017
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: McCraken, by Ghostzapper
Trainer: Ian Wilkes
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Owner: Whitham Thoroughbreds LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 95
ARCADIA, Calif. – The saddle towel may have been misspelled but there was nothing else out of place with the performance on Sunday of Iliad, who pressed a hot pace and then pulled clear to win the Grade 2, $200,000 San Vicente Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita, earning him a shot at a key Kentucky Derby prep next month.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – McCraken appears to be every bit as good as advertised. As the late NFL coach Dennis Green might say, he is who we thought he was.
McCraken used his come-from-behind style to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths over Tapwrit at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday, confirming his status as a top-tier Kentucky Derby prospect and keeping his record perfect with four wins in as many starts. McCraken set a track record for 1 1/16 miles at 1:42.45, breaking the mark of 1:42.82 set by Destin in winning the Tampa Bay Derby last year.
