Grade 3, $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks, March. 25, 2023
[100 qualifying points for first, 40 for second, 30 for third, 20 for fourth, and 10 for fifth]
Winner: Two Phil’s, by Hard Spun
Trainer: Larry Rivelli
Jockey: Jareth Loveberry
Owner: Patricia’s Hope and Phillip Sagan
Distance / time: 1 1/8 miles Tapeta, 1:49.03
Win margin: 5 1/4 lengths
Beyer Speed Figure: 101
$1 million Louisiana Derby, March. 25, 2023
[100 qualifying points for first, 40 for second, 30 for third, 20 for fourth, and 10 for fifth]
Winner: Kingsbarns, by Uncle Mo
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Owner: Spendthrift Farm
Distance / time: 1 3/16 miles / 1:57.33
Win margin: 3 1/2
Beyer: 95
Sunland Park Derby winner Wild On Ice has been made eligible for the Triple Crown, but his status for the Kentucky Derby is to be determined, trainer Joel Marr said Monday.
Wild On Ice won the Grade 3, $600,000 Sunland Derby at 35-1 on Sunday and picked up 50 qualifyinh points for the Kentucky Derby. Late nominations for the Triple Crown closed Monday at a cost of $6,000.
“The money was paid today,” Marr said Monday. “He’s on the list.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Like just about everyone else, trainers Danny Gargan and Tim Yakteen were caught off guard when a full field of 12 3-year-olds was drawn for Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby. And neither was pleased when his horse drew an outside post position for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby prep. Dubyuhnell, trained by Gargan, and Fort Bragg, trained by Yakteen, drew posts 12 and 10, respectively.
Prominent U.S. runners have played a key role in the development of the Japanese breeding and racing program into an international superpower. Chief among those, of course, is Horse of the Year Sunday Silence, with the 1989 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner becoming a breed-shaping sire in Japan.
Sunday Silence appears in the pedigree of all four Japanese-bred colts who are considered potential Kentucky Derby candidates. However, other American expatriates figure prominently in this quartet, as well.
Wild On Ice upset the Grade 3, $600,000 Sunland Park Derby at 35-1 on Sunday and, while he picked up 50 Kentucky Derby points, his status for the race is to be determined, according to trainer Joel Marr.
Wild On Ice is not currently nominated to the Triple Crown. Late nominations for the race close Monday at a cost of $6,000. Marr said in a post-race interview broadcast by Sunland that he did not know yet whether the horse would advance to the May 6 classic at Churchill Downs.
“We weren’t thinking about any of that until a few minutes ago,” Marr said.
When the principals of Spendthrift Farm sent Kingsbarns to Todd Pletcher last October, they weren’t necessarily thinking he was going to have time to develop into a Kentucky Derby horse.
Kingsbarns, a son of Uncle Mo, was purchased for $800,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream auction after breezing a quarter in 20.60 seconds, and needed some time to get over some seemingly minor issues.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The road to the Kentucky Derby got a little trickier for the undisputed division leader Forte early Saturday afternoon after the reigning 2-year-old champion drew post position 11 in a surprisingly full field of 12 3-year-olds entered for next Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby.
Horses breaking from post position 11 in races run at the Florida Derby distance of a mile and one-eighth over the main track at Gulfstream Park have won just 2 of 49 starts, due in large part to the short run to the first turn since the track was reconfigured in 2006.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dirt racing is a second-class citizen in Japan, where turf is king, but Japanese dirt horses are doing just fine in Dubai. A year after Japan-based Crown Pride won the UAE Derby, Japan-based Derma Sotogake dominated the 2023 renewal, breaking from the rail and leading from start to finish under Christophe Lemaire en route to a 5 1/2-length victory.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The complexion of the starting lineup for next Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby took a turn for the better Friday with confirmation that Fort Bragg and Mage are now both being pointed to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby prep.
Fort Bragg was one of seven 3-year-olds entered in Sunday’s Sunland Park Derby before his connections called an audible and decided to re-route him to Gulfstream Park six days later. Fort Bragg is coming off a fifth-place finish behind stablemate Practical Move in the Grade 2 San Felipe at Santa Anita in his only start this season.
