Final two prep races on Saturday; Several horses on the bubble for the top 20
Shug McGaughey relayed in a phone call to DRF’s Jay Privman that Greatest Honour will be sidelined for 60 days with the first 30 days turned out at the farm.
Because McGaughey was concerned with Greatest Honour’s third place finish in the Florida Derby he had the 3-year-old colt examined by noted equine veterinarian Larry Bramlage. There was no report of any injury just that the 3-year-old colt needed some rest after his last race.
The son of Tapit had won the Holy Bull and the Fountain of Youth to collect 80 Kentucky Derby Points along with his third in the Florida Derby to be number 8 on the leaderboard.
Greatest Honour is Don and Donna Adam’s homebred and campaign him under their nom de course Courtlandt Farms.
Several other horses who had sufficient points to be in the top 20 are now out including early Derby favorite Baffert’s Life Is Good, as well as Rebel’s Romance, winner of the United Arab Emirates Derby, along with Chiefswood Stables Limited’s Weyburn, the surprise winner of the Gotham.
BBN Racing LLC’s Hidden Stash will move up into the top 20 spots. Another Baffert trainee Hozier, who already carries 20 points, is slated to start in the Arkansas Derby on Saturday and could earn additional points. The Arkansas Derby will award 100, 40, 20 and 10 points for first, second, third and fourth places, respectively.
Peter Eurton-trained Dream Shake with 30 points at number 22 and O Besos under trainer Greg Foley with 25 points at number 23 will have to hold tight until after the weekend shakes out. And how the next few weeks roll as well.
Also slated to start on Saturday are: Super Stock (Dialed In) with 9 points; Caddo River (Hard Spun) with 10 points; Get Her Number (Dialed In) with 10 points; Concert Tour (Street Sense) with 50 points; and, Last Samuri (Malibu Moon) who has yet to get any points but could surprise everyone and get right up there on the leaderboard with a first or second place.
The other last Derby prep running Saturday is the the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland also awarding Kentucky Derby Points. 20, 8, 4 and 2 points will be awarded for first, second, third and fourth places, respectively, and are enough to push a horse into the top 20.
Horses on the bubble starting in that race are Godolphin’s Proxy with 34 points; Reddam Racing’s Hockey Dad with 20 points who was supplemented in with the $6,500 late nomination fee; and, Whisper Hill Farm’s Unbridled Honor with 5 points. While it’s unlikely the latter will get enough of a bump even with a win the others could just make it in the group of 20.
The Current Leaderboard sort of looks like this:
1. Essential Quality ~ 140
2. Hot Rod Charlie ~ 110
3. Like the King ~ 104
4. Known Agenda ~ 102
5. Rock Your World ~ 100
6. Bourbonic ~ 100
7. Medina Spirit ~ 74
8. Midnight Bourbon ~ 66
9. Mandaloun ~ 52
10. Concert Tour ~ 50
11. Highly Motivated ~ 50
12. Helium ~ 50
13. Panadol ~ 40
14. Soup and Sandwich ~ 40
15. Dynamic One ~ 40
16. Crowded Trade* ~ 40
17. Sainthood ~ 40
18. Rombauer ~ 34
19. Proxy ~ 34
20. Hidden Stash ~ 32
*Crowded Trade is rumored to be “iffy” but he is still on the board.
Past The Wire Staff
Photo: Greatest Honour winning the Holy Bull at Gulfstream (Coglianese)
