HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – O, for a horse with points!
Kentucky Derby qualifying points are what the owners of promising 3-year-olds crave seven weeks out from the Kentucky Derby, and plenty are at stake Saturday in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
The wait for fast 3-year-olds officially ended last Saturday when Destin improved on his 91 Beyer Speed Figure in the Sam F. Davis Stakes with a 100 while winning the Tampa Bay Derby. The place horse, Outwork, improved dramatically, from a 77 to a 98, with a big gap back to third. This is not typically a key Kentucky Derby prep, but these performances were excellent.
Add a ninth horse, Majesto, to the list of probable entrants Saturday for the Louisiana Derby on March 26.
Majesto, based in Florida with trainer Gustavo Delgado, won a two-turn dirt maiden race at Gulfstream on Feb. 27 in his fifth start and will be a longshot if he indeed comes for the $1 million Louisiana Derby.
The Oaklawn-based Dazzling Gem also could be entered, trainer Brad Cox told DRF’s Mary Rampellini.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – It would hardly feel like a Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park without the presence of a horse trained by Bob Baffert, who has won the Kentucky Derby prep race five times dating back to 2010, most notably last year with eventual Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Sam F. Henderson isn’t a newshound, says he doesn’t have the television on news channels 24/7, and there’s certainly nothing in the pedigree of a horse by Mineshaft out of an Afleet Alex mare that has any connotation to news. He just liked the name – Suddenbreakingnews.
Suddenbreakingnews
Mineshaft – Uchitel, by Afleet Alex
(Purchased for $72,000 by S.F. Henderson at the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale)
The champion Mineshaft, standing just across the aisle from his great sire, A.P. Indy, in the Lane’s End stallion barn, has quietly fashioned a solid stud career for himself. Carrying the banner is his Grade 3 Southwest Stakes winner, Suddenbreakingnews, who will take the next step on the Kentucky Derby trail in Saturday’s Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby, 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs, March 12, 2016
(50 Derby qualifying points for a win, 20 for second, 10 for third, 5 for fourth)
Winner: Destin, by Giant’s Causeway
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Owner: Twin Creeks Racing Stables, LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 100
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With a marquee matchup between Mohaymen and Nyquist likely, trainer Todd Pletcher is considering taking arguably his top Kentucky Derby prospect, Zulu, elsewhere rather than meeting the two division leaders in the $1 million Florida Derby here April 2.
