OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With several 3-year-olds of 2016 in his barn, trainer Chad Brown has the luxury of spotting them judiciously. According to the company he’s kept, Flexibility looks well spotted to kick off his 3-year-old campaign successfully in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct.
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DRF Past Performances
As I was getting ready to check out Saturday’s Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, I was expecting a B- or C-level race. That is not what we have here. There are four horses who hit 90 on the Beyer Speed Figure scale late in their 2-year-old seasons, suggesting that this is a race that deserves more than casual attention.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though entered in Friday’s $125,000 Lost in the Fog Stakes at six furlongs, Condo King is likely to scratch from that spot and attempt two turns in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct.
The Jerome is the first of four races on this circuit for 3-year-olds with Kentucky Derby aspirations. The Jerome, at a mile and 70 yards, awards 17 qualifying points (10-4-2-1) to the top four finishers to the May 7 Derby.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Blane Servis didn’t accompany his father to Aqueduct on Jan. 3, 2004, when the John Servis-trained Smarty Jones won the Count Fleet Stakes, kicking off a 3-year-old campaign that would include victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but a kick-in-the-gut one-length defeat in the Belmont Stakes.
Back then, there were other things more appealing for a 16-year-old kid to do than spend a day at the Big A.
Nyquist and Songbird – both undefeated, both Breeders’ Cup winners, and both undoubtedly to be named Eclipse Award winners – are the marquee names among the 3-year-olds of 2016 based this winter at Santa Anita, the track where three of the last four Kentucky Derby winners have trained during winter months.
Grade 1, $350,500 Los Alamitos Futurity, 1 1/16 miles, Los Alamitos, Dec. 19, 2015
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Mor Spirit (sire: Eskendereya)
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Gary Stevens
Owner: Michael Lund Petersen
Beyer Speed Figure: 88
Sat, 12/19/2015 - 20:18
CYPRESS, Calif. – It can’t be easy to replace a Triple Crown winner, but trainer Bob Baffert is doing his best to stock up anew on Kentucky Derby prospects.
Mor Spirit on Saturday stamped himself as a potential serious contender for the 2016 Derby by running down stablemate Toews On Ice to win the Grade 1, $350,000 Los Alamitos Futurity, a race Baffert won last year with Dortmund.
Grade 3, $150,000 Iroquois Stakes; 1 1/16 miles; Churchill Downs; Sept. 12, 2015
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Cocked and Loaded (Sire: Colonel John)
Trainer: Larry Rivelli
Jockey: Manny Esquivel
Owner: Richard Ravin and Patricia’s Hope LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 82
Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes, one mile, Belmont Park, Oct. 3, 2015
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Greenpointcrusader (Sire: Bernardini)
Trainer: Dominick Schettino
Jockey: Joe Bravo
Owner: St. Elias Stable, MeB Racing Stables LLC, Brooklyn Boyz Stables
Beyer Speed Figure: 94
Grade 1, $300,750 FrontRunner Stakes; 1 1/16 miles; Santa Anita; Sept. 26, 2015
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Nyquist (Sire:Uncle Mo)
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Jockey: Mario Gutierrez
Owner: Reddam Racing LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 79