Dornoch (inside pink cap) noses Sierra Leone at the wire for the win in the Remsen. (Susie Raisher)
Road To Kentucky Derby Championship Series winds down with Blue Grass, Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial
+ Catching Freedom, Endlessly, Honor Marie, Track Phantom scheduled to work at Churchill Downs
+ ‘Inside Churchill Downs’ Returns Friday For 10th Season
Kentucky Derby Update
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – One month remains until the first Saturday in May and there are only four remaining opportunities for horses to qualify for the 150thrunning of the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I).
Three of those races will be run Saturday: the $1 million Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland; $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (GI) at Santa Anita Park; and $750,000 Wood Memorial (GII) at Aqueduct.
All three races will award 100 points to the winning horse and a qualifying spot in the starting gate for the “Run for the Roses” should they be eligible to compete in the race.
While many possibilities remain to determine this year’s Kentucky Derby field of 20 3-year-olds, there are already four horses within the top 20-point earners that have arrived at Churchill Downs to prepare for a possible start in America’s greatest race: Catching Freedom, Endlessly, Honor Marie and Track Phantom.
Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook Smith’s Risen Star (Grade II) winner Sierra Leone will face a talented cast of 11 3-year-olds including West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing and Pine Racing Stables’ Fountain of Youth (GII) winner Dornoch in Saturday’s $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (GI) at Keeneland.
The Blue Grass is a major steppingstone for this year’s 150th running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI), awarding a total of 200 qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale.
Run at 1 1/8 miles, the Blue Grass will go as Race 12 on the 13-race program with a post time of 5:52 p.m. (all times Eastern).
Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown, is set for his fourth career start after closing from last-to-first in the Feb. 17 Risen Star at Fair Grounds. The former $2.3 million yearling purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale faced Dornoch at the conclusion of his 2-year-old campaign when he finished a game second in the Remsen (GII) at Aqueduct.
While Sierra Leone was tabbed as the 2-1 morning line favorite, Dornoch will attempt to defeat his rival once again as the 3-1 second choice. Trained by Danny Gargan, Dornoch made his 3-year-old debut on March 2 with a 1 ¾-length win in the Fountain of Youth. The talented son of Good Magic is the full brother to Kentucky Derby 149 winner Mage.
Another talented colt that entered the Blue Grass is Qatar Racing, Resolute Racing and Marc Detampel’s Just a Touch. Trained by 2021 Blue Grass-winning conditioner Brad Cox, Just a Touch didn’t debut until Jan. 27 when he defeated seven rivals by 4 ¼ lengths in a six-furlong maiden special weight contest at Fair Grounds. In his first stakes effort, Just a Touch finished runner-up to Deterministic in the one-mile Gotham at Aqueduct.
Here is the complete Blue Grass field
Brisnet Past Performances for the Blue Grass: http://www.brisnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BlueGrass24.pdf
Quotes
Brad Cox, trainer, Just a Touch and Encino: “Just at Touch is a very talented horse. He’s shown talent from Day One. He was a little late to get to the races but it was by design. He covers a lot of ground in his stride and is a very classy horse. I think we’re in a good spot with him for the Blue Grass.
“I targeted this race for a while. He raced a little wide in the Gotham and got some good experience only going a mile. I think he can build off that. (Dornoch and Sierra Leone) got to the races a little bit earlier so obviously they have more seasoning. I think this horse is one of our better 3-year-olds. I’m excited against running against these colts. Hopefully we can stack up against him. It’s a Grade I with very talented horses. It looks to be one of the better Derby preps to date. …
“Encino’s had a couple works on the dirt at Keeneland after the Battaglia at Turfway. We actually picked him up last fall and he went directly to Turfway. So, we never really saw him work on the dirt before but was training on it before we got him. He handed the dirt fine in those moves. He drew outside in the Blue Grass, but he drew outside in the Battaglia as well and was able to overcome that. He’s a horse that’s improved over the last couple months. He seems to get better as time goes on. He’s bred to handle the distance and the dirt, and we’ll see if he can on Saturday.”
John Ennis, trainer, Epic Ride: “I thought the extra two weeks between races (from the Battaglia Memorial to the Blue Grass) would help him. He’s definitely filled out and matured. He moved super over the track. He’s an ultimate professional horse. Mentally he is a complete pro.”
Danny Gargan, trainer, Dornoch: “I think post four is a good spot. He came out of the three-hole in the Fountain of Youth and Remsen. He will come out of there running and make his way through.”
St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Steven Duncker and Vicarage Stable’s undefeated Gotham Stakes (Grade III) winner Deterministic will attempt to stamp his spot in the 150th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) when he takes on 12 rivals entered in Saturday’s $750,000 Wood Memorial (GII) at Aqueduct.
The Wood Memorial, contested at 1 1/8 miles, will go as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 4:07 p.m. The Road to the Kentucky Derby “Championship Series” race will award the top five finishers qualifying points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale towards a spot in the starting gate for the $5 million Kentucky Derby.
Deterministic, trained by Christophe Clement, debuted on Aug. 12 at Saratoga when he gamely won a seven-furlong maiden special weight contest, earning a solid 90 Brisnet Speed Rating. The son of Liam’s Map was away from the races for nearly seven months until he returned in the one-mile Gotham where he made a bold, late run to defeat Just a Touch by a widening two lengths.
In the Wood Memorial, Deterministic will face some of New York’s top 3-year-old prospects including Withers (GIII) winner Uncle Heavy along with the ultra-consistent El Grande O, who finished a scant nose behind Uncle Heavy in the Withers and third in the Gotham.
Two other talented 3-year-olds that will be attempting to garner qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby are Risen Star (GII) fourth-place finisher Resilience and Tuscan Sky, who broke his maiden over stakes winner Nash on the undercard of the Risen Star.
Here is the Wood Memorial field
Brisnet Past Performances for the Wood Memorial: http://www.brisnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WoodMemorial24.pdf
Quotes
Christophe Clement, trainer, Deterministic: “He’s trained very well all year long and came back very well. All his works have been very good and he’s a very athletic kind of horse – the most beautiful mover. He barely touches the ground and moves like a cat. He’s good mentally, too. … The Gotham was a very good race and a good field over a wet track – he handled the whole thing well. It will be interesting to see him going two turns. We’ll just go one step at a time. You never know until you try but his style of racing and the way he trains makes you believe he should stay.”
Butch Reid Jr., trainer, Uncle Heavy: “He’s a natural route horse – a big, strong horse. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, and he doesn’t worry about anything. He doesn’t use a lot of energy except in his races. If anything, it did him good to have some time between races. He got away from the rigamarole of the racetrack and it really helped him. He looks great and is coming into the race real fresh. It was a blessing in disguise, and it forced us not to try and fit another race in there, which was the smartest thing.”
Linda Rice, trainer, El Grande O: “He’s doing well. He has experience, fitness and he’s won a couple stakes at a flat mile but maybe his best race was at a mile-and-an-eighth in the Withers when he got beat three inches. It’s a big field so I’m sure the experience of previously dealing with that will help him.”
Todd Pletcher, trainer, Tuscan Sky, Protective: “(Tuscan Sky) has done really well. It’s always a challenging situation in a short field with only three horses (when he broke his maiden) and generally those type of situations turn into a match race and the edge goes to the pacesetter. He was able to track Nash, who is a really nice horse, and beat him under those circumstances which I thought was really encouraging. We thought the Wood Memorial made sense for him. He broke his maiden over the track there and I like the mile-and-an-eighth for him.
“I’m hoping it all comes together. … We like the way Protective has been training. He was very good at Tampa. We’ve worked him with blinkers twice since then and it seemed to make a difference. I thought his last couple works were quite good. It’s ambitious but he’s shown talent all along and we think he’ll appreciate the mile-and-an-eighth.”
Dallas Stewart, trainer, Gettysburg Address: “He’s doing very well since he got to Belmont. He’s a real good-looking horse and he had a really good work at Churchill – it was push-button. We put the blinkers back on in the work and we’ll put them back on for the race. He’s won with them previously, so we’ll see how it plays out.”
Rick and Sharon Waller’s ultra-consistent Sunland Derby (GIII) winner Stronghold returns to his California base to take on seven fellow 3-year-olds that entered Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (Grade I), the final West Coast stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
The 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby will go as Race 10 of 12 with a post time of 7:30 p.m. The Road to the Kentucky Derby “Championship Series” race has six eligible runners who could garner a total of 200 qualifying points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale towards a spot in the starting gate for the 150th running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) on Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Stronghold, the 5-2 second choice on the morning line odds, began his career based in Kentucky and broke his maiden at second asking in a one-mile maiden special weight contest at Churchill Downs. Following that performance, trainer Phil D’Amato shipped the Ghostzapper colt to his California-based string where he finished second to Nysos in the Bob Hope (GIII) at Del Mar. Following his runner-up finish to fellow Santa Anita Derby contender Wynstock in the Los Alamitos Futurity (GII), D’Amato shipped Stronghold to Sunland Park where he gamely defeated seven rivals in the Feb. 18 Sunland Derby and earned 20 Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
Wynstock is one of two horses in the Santa Anita Derby field trained by Bob Baffert, who is ineligible to compete in the Kentucky Derby because of a Churchill Downs Incorporated suspension. Baffert’s other trainee, Imagination, is the 8-5 morning line favorite who enters the race after winning the San Felipe Stakes (GII) against three rivals.
Here is the field for the Santa Anita Derby
Brisnet Past Performances for the Santa Anita Derby: http://www.brisnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SADerby24.pdf
Catching Freedom, Endlessly, Honor Marie, Track Phantom scheduled to work at Churchill Downs
Kentucky Derby contenders Catching Freedom, Endlessly, Honor Marie and Track Phantom all have scheduled works between Friday and Sunday at Churchill Downs to begin their serious preparation for the first Saturday in May.
TwinSpires Louisiana Derby (GII) winner Catching Freedom, trained by Brad Cox, is slated to work Friday at 5:30 a.m.
On Saturday at 7:30 a.m., Jeff Ruby Steaks (GIII) hero Endlessly will have his first work over the Churchill Downs surface. And, 24 hours later, Louisiana Derby runner-up Honor Marie along with Risen Star runner-up Track Phantom have scheduled works.
At this time, no other Kentucky Derby contenders have arrived at Churchill Downs.
‘Inside Churchill Downs’ Returns Friday For 10th Season
“Inside Churchill Downs” will launch its 10th season on ESPN Louisville’s ESPN 680/105.7 with a 32-week run starting Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
The weekly one-hour, live, commercial free, horse racing radio show will be co-hosted by Churchill Downs Racetrack’s Communications Team: Darren Rogers and Kevin Kerstein. They will be joined each week by members of Churchill Downs Racetrack’s handicapping team: Joe Kristufek, Kaitlin Free, Tony Calo and Kevin Kilroy. The program will feature a variety of guests including jockeys, trainers, well-informed handicappers and other industry experts.
Friday’s show will highlight this weekend’s Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks Championship Series events.
Listeners outside the Louisville radio market can listen live online at www.espnlouisville.com or via podcast on the station’s website.
