Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.
Skip to main content
Create Your DRF Account
New to DRF?
Everything you could possibly
need in one place
need in one place
Register
Don't have an account?
Register Here
DRF Past Performances
Romancing the Gold, who won a first-level allowance race at Aqueduct on Wednesday, could possibly make his next start in the $1 million Wood Memorial on April 7, trainer Jeremiah Englehart said Thursday.
Bouncing back from a sixth-place finish in this same condition on Feb. 3, Romancing the Gold won Wednesday by one length, running a mile and 70 yards in 1:44.73, and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 78.
Englehart said that Romancing the Gold came out of his previous race with a muscle strain.
ARCADIA, Calif. – A handicapping conundrum as old as the sport comes front and center Saturday at Santa Anita in the Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes, when the raw, yet untested talent of Bodemeister takes on stakes-proven runners such as Creative Cause and Liaison in this key prep for both the April 7 Santa Anita Derby and the May 5 Kentucky Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Brother Francis, third in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December, will be heavily favored to win a maiden race over a mile on turf in Saturday’s second race.
Trainer Jim Cassidy envisions Saturday’s maiden race as a prep for the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 7, whether Brother Francis wins or loses. Another option would have been the much tougher $300,000 San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-olds over 1 1/16 miles on Saturday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The winter hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as trainer Jonathan Sheppard had hoped for Ever So Lucky, but the Hall of Fame horseman will finally take the wraps off his top 3-year-old prospect when sending him out against nine rivals in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Swale at Gulfstream Park.
Less than a month ago, the undefeated but relatively inexperienced Spring Hill Farm was well down on the depth chart of trainer Todd Pletcher’s potent team of Kentucky Derby prospects. But after two of Pletcher’s principal players, Algorithms and Discreet Dancer, recently dropped off the Derby trail, Spring Hill Farm suddenly finds himself one of the starting five and hoping to impress his coach even further with another big performance in Saturday’s $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby.
NEW YORK – No matter where you look Saturday, you will find 3-year-olds competing in stakes events. The richest race in the country is the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs, but it is closely followed by the Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe at Santa Anita, which might be the deepest Kentucky Derby prep run so far this year.
Heavy Breathing, who remained perfect in two starts after winning a 1 1/16-mile allowance race here last weekend, will be pointed for one of the upcoming graded stakes for 3-year-olds later this spring, according to trainer Todd Pletcher. Heavy Breathing is owned by Jack Wolf’s Starlight Partners.
“I’ve sat down and talked to Jack and we’re knocking around a lot of options, including the Spiral at Turfway Park,” said Pletcher. “The synthetic surface makes a lot of sense for him since he’s by Giant’s Causeway and has worked well on the turf.”
More than anybody, trainer Mark Casse was anxiously awaiting Wednesday’s post position draw for Saturday’s Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby. After all, his Prospective had been parked out wide in each of his previous two starts this winter at Tampa, including the Grade 3 Sam Davis, in which he finished second after racing very wide throughout.
When informed Prospective had drawn the rail in a full field of a dozen 3-year-olds entered for the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby, all Casse could do was let out a little laugh.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Bodemeister has replaced Fed Biz on trainer Bob Baffert’s team for Saturday’s $300,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, a race that will clarify the Hall of Famer’s approach to the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 7.