WHO’S HOT
Sierra Leone went from tepid favoritism on Derby Watch to clear-cut chalk following his solid comeback victory Feb. 17 in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. Sierra Leone’s price was trimmed from 12-1 to 8-1 by Derby Watch linemaker David Aragona.
David Whitworth Beckman has helped many horses get to Triple Crown races. He worked with Uncle Mo and Eskendereya, both scratched in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, and with Super Saver, who won the 2010 Derby. Beckman also laid hands on Good Magic, second in the 2018 Derby, and Cloud Computing, winner of the 2017 Preakness.
WHO’S HOT
Sierra Leone is the updated Derby Watch favorite, at least until he runs Saturday in an outstanding edition of the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. Derby Watch linemaker David Aragona lists Sierra Leone as the tepid 12-1 choice after downgrading Locked, who missed his scheduled comeback last week after spiking a fever.
WHO’S HOT
Locked spiked a fever, which delays his comeback, but the Grade 1 winner opens as the 8-1 Derby Watch favorite by Daily Racing Form linemaker David Aragona. Locked, who won the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland prior to finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, was aiming to the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs. The postponement is believed minor.
Having started more horses in the Kentucky Derby than any other trainer, and attempted to get even more to the race who didn’t make it, Todd Pletcher knows the pitfalls of the Triple Crown trail as well, if not better, than most.
A year ago, things appeared to going perfectly for Forte, right up until 72 hours before the race when a foot bruise developed. It would lead to three days of drama and ultimately a scratch of the Derby favorite the morning of the race.
“It was a trainer’s worst nightmare,” Pletcher, a two-time Derby winner, recalled recently.
Led by 54 horses from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher and a record 47 Japanese-based horses, a total of 346 3-year-olds were nominated to this year’s Triple Crown, it was announced Tuesday.
The figure is down from last year’s number of 369.
INDIANTOWN, Fla. – Though he has already won a Triple Crown race in his career, trainer Christophe Clement is not a name one typically associates with the Triple Crown trail.
Saturday, Clement will see if he has a potential Kentucky Derby contender in Otello, the Mucho Macho Man Stakes winner who starts in the Grade 3, $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. It will be Clement’s first starter in a traditional Derby prep at this track, though he did run By George (sixth) in the Grade 3 Swale Stakes in 2021.
