HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Michael Matz had two objectives when sending his Kentucky Derby prospect Union Rags out to work early Monday morning at Palm Meadows – beat the rain and give his Grade 1 winner the opportunity to get a little bit of a blow from what otherwise would have been a routine half-mile breeze.
And in the end, Matz was able to accomplish both his goals.
ARCADIA, Calif. – I’ll Have Another, the upset winner of the Robert Lewis Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, came out of the race well and will await the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 7 for his next and final prep for the May 5 Kentucky Derby, his trainer, Doug O’Neill, said Monday morning.
O’Neill said that he and owner Paul Reddam, along with Reddam’s wife, Zillah, and O’Neill’s brother, Dennis – an advisor to Reddam – met at Santa Anita’s Frontrunner restaurant on Sunday afternoon and decided it was prudent to not jam in another prep race.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With $180,000 of graded stakes earnings in the bank, Alpha has given his connections the luxury of planning the 3-year-old’s path to the May 5 Kentucky Derby how they see fit.
While Alpha will likely remain on the New York road to the Triple Crown, it remains to be seen whether he will make his next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes on March 3 or take a detour and await the $1 million Wood Memorial on April 7.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Alpha passed another test - okay call it a quiz if you like - on the road to the Kentucky Derby with a good-looking 3 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.
The win came one month after Alpha won the $100,000 Count Fleet Stakes here and confirmed his status as the top 3-year-old Derby prospect stabled in the Northeast. While the field Alpha defeated was not very strong, the performance was viewed as a step forward from the Count Fleet by both trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and jockey Ramon Dominguez.
After a dip in early nominations to the Triple Crown last year, the numbers came roaring back this year, with 397 3-year-olds – led by champion 2-year-old colt Hansen - announced on Saturday as nominees to the 2012 Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.
Exclusive to DRF.com. 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.
3 things you won’t read anywhere else
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - King and Crusader, who won two races over Aqueduct's inner track in four days including the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes, could make his next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes on March 3, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said Thursday.
King and Crusader, a son of Lion Heart, won a restricted optional claimer on Jan. 13 going a two-turn mile and then came on Jan. 16 to take the six-furlong Jimmy Winkfield.
The Experimental Free Handicap is a weight-based assessment of the previous year’s leading 2-year-olds for a hypothetical race at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, the exact conditions of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies. It has been published by the Jockey Club since 1935. Read article »
Algorithms, a runaway winner of the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes here Sunday, had his Beyer Speed Figure for the race elevated from a 98 to 105. That’s the highest number earned by any 3-year-old to this point of the season.
Andrew Beyer of Beyer Associates said the change was made due to what he believes is a problem with the timing system.
In a little more than a minute and a half this past Sunday, the Kentucky Derby picture changed.
Hansen, the 2-year-old champion, was beaten for the first time in the Grade 3 Holy Bull, and the horse who did the beating – Algorithms – went from being promising recent allowance horse to suddenly one of the favorites for the Derby.
It wasn’t without reason. Algorithms did everything right, rating kindly behind a blistering pace set by Hansen and cruising to an easy victory in fast time over off going.[bc_video_id:243134:]
