There are less than four weeks until the Kentucky Derby, do you know who’s riding your horse?
For the connections of many of the top contenders, the answer as of Monday afternoon was no.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - West Hills Giant, the runner-up in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes here on March 2, appears fully recovered from the respiratory infection that forced him to miss a workout a few weeks ago and last Saturday’s $1 million Wood Memorial.
On Monday, West Hills Giant drilled five furlongs in 1:00.47 on the Belmont training track under exercise rider Simon Harris, and later that afternoon was put on a van bound for Lexington, Ky., and Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The first three finishers from the Wood Memorial all are set to head to Kentucky, and quite soon, but the Santa Anita Derby might have the victorious Goldencents as its lone representative in the May 4 Kentucky Derby, the result of injuries to two top West Coast contenders both before and after the Santa Anita Derby.
[DERBY WATCH: Top 20 Kentucky Derby contenders with odds and video]
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Chad Brown is swapping out Noble Tune in favor of Balance the Books for the Blue Grass Stakes, a move that changes up things in his own stable – but not the bulkiness of the field for the 89th running of the Keeneland showcase Saturday.
Keeneland officials are expecting more than the 14-horse limit when entries are drawn Wednesday at the annual media breakfast for the Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass, a situation that likely will necessitate having an also-eligibles list for the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race.
It’s possible the clock has already struck midnight for Footbridge’s Kentucky Derby dreams as the Darley homebred’s last-minute blitz on Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes may be denied because of the possibility of an overflow field. If the 100-point Kentucky Derby race is oversubscribed, maiden winner Footbridge could be excluded from the body of Keeneland’s signature event.
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
Flashback, who finished second to Goldencents in the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday, was found on Sunday afternoon to have a small chip in his right knee, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday night. He is off the Kentucky Derby trail, but is expected to make a full recovery after having surgery in Kentucky with Dr. Larry Bramlage.
"There was heat in his right knee and we took X-rays and had them sent to Bramlage," Baffert said Sunday night. "He's got a chip. It's small. It's fresh. When you take it out right away they can make a full recovery."
MANHASSET, N.Y. - Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez fractured a rib on his right side and chipped a bone in his right wrist as a result of being involved in a spill Sunday at Aqueduct.
While Velazquez will not be able to ride Horse of the Year Wise Dan in his seasonal debut in Friday’s Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland, Velazquez said he hopes to be back in time to ride the Kentucky Derby.
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Led by undefeated Verrazano, the top three finishers from Saturday’s $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct will all head to Churchill Downs early to begin preparing for the May 4 Kentucky Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Goldencents, who won the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday, emerged from the race “great,” trainer Doug O’Neill said Sunday morning, and will move on to the May 4 Kentucky Derby, a race O’Neill won last year with I’ll Have Another, who also won the Santa Anita Derby in his final prep.
“We’re flying high,” O’Neill said Sunday morning.
Goldencents was awarded a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his performance in the Santa Anita Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Doug O’Neill enjoyed winning the Santa Anita Derby last year so much he decided to do it again. Guess he said, I’ll Have Another.
Goldencents, now starting on the path O’Neill trod last year with I’ll Have Another, ran his way into the May 4 Kentucky Derby with a 1 1/4-length victory over favored Flashback on Saturday in the Grade 1, $750,750 Santa Anita Derby before an ontrack crowd of 33,005.