Airoforce
By Colonel John – Chocolate Pop, by Cuvee
($350,000 purchase by East West Stable at 2015 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. April sale of 2-year-olds in training)
Airoforce proved his versatility last year, winning two-turn graded stakes on turf, in the Bourbon at Keeneland, and dirt, in the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. It remains to be seen what the colt’s best surface is.
Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes; 1 1/16 miles; Oaklawn Park; Feb. 15, 2016
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Suddenbreakingnews, by Mineshaft
Trainer: Donnie Von Hemel
Jockey: Luis Quinonez
Owner: Samuel F. Henderson
Beyer Speed Figure: 93
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Suddenbreakingnews remains a candidate for the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel next month at Oaklawn Park after emerging from his win in the track’s Southwest Stakes in good order, trainer Donnie Von Hemel said on Tuesday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Nyquist came out of his victory on Monday in the San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita in good order and will target the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream on April 2 for his final prep for the May 7 Kentucky Derby, trainer Doug O’Neill said Tuesday morning.
Nyquist, the champion 2-year-old male of last year, remained perfect in six starts with his victory in the San Vicente, in which he earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 100.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Suddenbreakingnews closed from last for a 2 3/4-length win over Whitmore in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes in his 3-year-old debut Monday at Oakawn Park. It was another half-length back to American Dubai in third.
Collected, the favorite, finished fourth in the field of 14.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Nyquist, last year’s champion 2-year-old male, showed Monday at Santa Anita that he will continue to be a force at age 3. He returned from a 3 1/2-month layoff and staved off a quality colt in Exaggerator to win the Grade 2, $200,000 San Vicente Stakes, remaining unbeaten after six starts and a top prospect for the May 7 Kentucky Derby.
Those zeroing in on the unbeaten Mohaymen and champion Nyquist will have a difficult time finding value as early wagering on the Kentucky Derby continues. But the savvy pedigree players participating in Churchill Downs’s inaugural Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager last November may have locked in the best value by looking to their sires.
The mutuel field was a lukewarm favorite over Mohaymen when Pool 2 in the 2016 Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday.
The field, the 24th or “all others” option, closed at 5-2, followed closely by Mohaymen at 4-1. Then came Nyquist (7-1), Mor Spirit (12-1), Brody’s Cause (15-1), Airoforce (16-1), Smokey Image (19-1), and Exaggerator (22-1).
No individual wagering interest has ever been favored over the field in a February pool since Churchill Downs first began offering parimutuel futures in 1999.
Grade 3, $200,800 El Camino Real Derby, 1 1/8 miles (Tapeta), Golden Gate Fields, Feb. 13, 2016
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Frank Conversation, by Quality Road
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Jockey: Mario Gutierrez
Owner: Reddam Racing LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 86
After the first two days of betting, Mohaymen was a slight favorite over the mutuel field in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
No individual wagering interest has ever been favored over the field in a February pool since Churchill Downs first began offering pari-mutuel futures in 1999.
