For all they’ve accomplished in their illustrious training careers at their hometown track of Fair Grounds, neither Tom Amoss nor Albert Stall Jr. has ever won the Louisiana Derby. The former roommates at Louisiana State University are hoping that changes Saturday when the Louisiana Derby is run for the 103rd time.
Amoss has the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the $1 million Louisiana Derby in Mo Tom, while Stall will saddle Forevamo, a 10-1 chance in the field of 11 3-year-olds.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Add Majesto to what is currently a very short list of 3-year-olds who will tackle division leaders Mohaymen and Nyquist a week from Saturday in the $1 million Florida Derby.
Majesto, a son of Tiznow, won his maiden going 1 1/16 miles on the Fountain of Youth card Feb. 27, earning a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure. The win came in his fifth start. Majesto, owned by the Grupo 7C Racing Stable, began his career last fall at Belmont Park, finishing third behind recent Tampa Bay Derby winner Destin.
Collected gave his trainer, Bob Baffert, and his rider, Martin Garcia, a sweep of the two richest races for 3-year-olds run over the weekend when he captured the $415,000 Sunland Park Festival of Racing Stakes on Sunday. The win came on the heels of Cupid’s victory in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Swipe, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall, and Texas Red, who won the Jim Dandy last summer, both moved closer to their 2016 debuts with demanding workouts on Saturday morning at Santa Anita for trainer Keith Desormeaux.
Swipe went six furlongs from the gate in 1:12.80 as the pace of his drills accelerates toward his first start of the year. He has not run since the Breeders’ Cup, and Desormeaux has said that if Swipe progressed to his satisfaction there was a chance he would try to run in one Kentucky Derby prep in a Hail Mary bid to get into the May 7 Derby.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Cupid caught a shuttle to the airport right after training hours ended on Sunday at Oaklawn Park, headed home to Santa Anita following his Saturday win in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel Stakes.
He could be back soon.
Trainer Bob Baffert said once Cupid gets home he'll evaluate him and then decide on a final prep for the Kentucky Derby on May 7, with a likely target the Arkansas Derby on April 16 because it gives Cupid an extra week compared with his other options, the Santa Anita Derby or Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, both on April 9.
When Cupid figures what this racing thing is all about, he’s going to be pretty darn good.
Truth is, Cupid is already darn good. He proved that by decisively beating 13 opponents in Saturday’s Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. But Cupid also did enough things wrong in the Rebel to create the tantalizing prospect of how good he might actually be when he finally does put it all together. As it is, however, that Cupid overcame difficulty in the Rebel of his own making in just his fourth career start, in his stakes debut, and off only a maiden victory, was impressive.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Cupid gave his Triple Crown-winning trainer, Bob Baffert, a record sixth win in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn on Saturday, when he turned back a bid from Whitmore to win the prep for 3-year-olds by 1 1/4 lengths. Whitmore held second by a comfortable 1 3/4 lengths over third-place finisher Creator.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With his trio of Kentucky Derby candidates bedded down at Belmont Park, trainer Chad Brown traveled from Florida to New York for a quick visit to oversee Saturday morning workouts for the three as they prepare for important final prep races.
Shagaf, the winner of the Grade 3 Gotham; Flexibility, the winner of the Grade 3 Jerome; and My Man Sam, an impressive maiden winner and allowance runner-up, all breezed at Belmont on Saturday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Adventist, the third-place finisher in both the Withers and Gotham stakes, and Cadeyrn, an 11-length maiden winner here last month, both put in workouts Friday morning as preparations for the Grade 1, $1 million Wood Memorial on April 9 began to pick up.
