WHO’S HOT
Reagan’s Honor validated his front-running maiden victory on Jan. 17 at Fair Grounds with an even faster and more eye-catching front-running allowance score on Feb. 19. This son of Honor A.P. trained by Cherie DeVaux will take his Derby shot against pro-tem Derby favorite Paladin in the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 4.
WHO’S NOT
Trainer Kenny McPeek is still perplexed over what happened regarding Blackout Time on the last Friday of October. It hasn’t deterred him from trying to get the now 3-year-old colt to the grandest stage on the first Saturday in May.
Blackout Time has not raced since his runner-up finish to Ted Noffey in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 4. He will return to the races Sunday in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park as McPeek tries to get him to the May 2 Kentucky Derby.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – John C. Oxley is dealing with a slight cold this week. He wouldn’t mind if it developed into a fever by late afternoon Sunday.
That would be Derby Fever.
Oxley has Silent Tactic and Strategic Risk on deck for the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on Sunday at Oaklawn Park. The Mark Casse trainees have won the first two Kentucky Derby points races at the meet, with homebred Strategic Risk taking the $250,000 Smarty Jones in January and Silent Tactic winning the Grade 3, $1 million Southwest in February.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Although his speed figures might be a little light and he’s yet to test stakes company, Jackson Hole has one item on his résumé that puts him in the conversation when talking about leading contenders for Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth: He’s the only member of the field to have won a race around two turns.
Blackout Time
Colt by Not This Time – Beauty Parlor, by Elusive Quality
Bred in Kentucky by Newstead Corp ($230,000 Keeneland January short yearling purchase by Quinns Ride; $210,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling purchase by Kenny McPeek, agent)
Great White, winner of the John Battaglia Memorial on Saturday night at Turfway Park, will make his next start in a major Kentucky Derby prep race in the Bluegrass State, but which race and track will be determined by how he trains over the next month.
“We’ll see. We’ll train him how he looks,” said trainer John Ennis, who also co-owns the gelding with Three Chimneys Farm.
Ennis noted that the massive Great White, a May foal, is still developing and building strength.
WHO’S HOT
Paladin came off a 10-week layoff to run down a loose-on-the-lead Chip Honcho and win the Grade 2 Risen Star, his second win at 1 1/8 miles, and improve his record to 3 for 3. David Aragona, who last week installed Paladin as the 10-1 favorite on his Derby Watch line, has lowered him to 6-1.
While it is certainly the road less traveled, the synthetic path to the Kentucky Derby has proven quite effective the last several years, with at least one horse finishing in the top four in three of the last four Derbies.
In 2022, Rich Strike made three consecutive starts over Turfway Park’s synthetic surface – not winning any – before pulling off an 80-1 shocker in the Kentucky Derby. The following year Two Phil’s – who had plenty of dirt form – won the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway prior to finishing a strong second to Mage in the Run for the Roses.
Two California-breds are Kentucky Derby-dreaming following last Sunday’s $500,000 Sunland Park Derby.
Pavlovian and Express Kid, who finished a nose apart in the race, have both emerged from the Sunland Derby in good order and are bound for another Kentucky Derby points race, their respective trainers, Doug O’Neill and Justin Evans, said Monday.
Pavlovian picked up 20 points for his win at Sunland and sits ninth on the Kentucky Derby standings list administered by Churchill Downs. He was to arrive back at his Santa Anita base Wednesday, according to O’Neill.
