Southwest Stakes Winner Speed King returns for $1.25 Million Rebel Stakes. (Coady Media/Renee Torbitt)
Rebel, Battaglia, Hyacinth On Deck
Derby Dispatch/Edited
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dramatic shifts can happen in an instant on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Just two days after Magnitude surged into early Derby favoritism with a dominant 9 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes (Grade II), earning a 105 Brisnet Speed Rating, trainer Steve Asmussen announced the colt will miss the Triple Crown trail because of a bone chip in his left ankle that requires surgery.
As Magnitude exits the Derby scene, the journey toward the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) presses on with three key prep races this weekend—two in the U.S. and one abroad—despite challenging winter weather conditions.
At Oaklawn, the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (GII), originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed to Sunday due to wintry conditions in Hot Springs, Ark. The full field of 14 is headlined by Southwest Stakes (GIII) runner-up Sandman, California shippers Madaket Road and Bullard, along with local standouts Speed King, winner of the Southwest, and Coal Battle, who captured the Smarty Jones Stakes in early January.
Meanwhile, Turfway Park will host the $175,000 John Battaglia Memorial (Listed) on Saturday night. The 1 1/16-mile race attracted an oversubscribed field of 14 3-year-olds, including Godolphin’s First Resort, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII), making his seasonal debut.
Internationally, the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby resumes Sunday with the Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse. Likely favorite Luxor Cafe, owned by Koichi Nishikawa, will be ridden by Australian-based jockey Rachel King for trainer Noriyuki Hori.
With Derby qualifying points on the line and new contenders emerging each week, the Road to the Kentucky Derby continues to evolve with every race.
Southwest Stakes Winner Speed King Returns For $1.25 Million Rebel Stakes
Triton Thoroughbreds’ Speed King, fresh off a front-running win in the Southwest Stakes (GIII), heads a full field of 14 3-year-olds entered in Sunday’s $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (GII) at Oaklawn.
Run at 1 1/16-miles, the race originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed due to winter weather in Hot Springs, Ark. The Rebel offers qualifying points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale toward the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI). Carded as Race 11 of 12, the Rebel Stakes field will go to post at 6:23 p.m. (all times Eastern).
Trained by Ron Moquett, Speed King secured 20 points with his Southwest score under jockey Rafael Bejarano. The son of Constitution also finished second in Remington’s Springboard Mile in December, beaten a half-length by Coal Battle, who re-opposes in the Rebel. Bejarano will have the mount on Speed King from post No. 11.
One of Speed King’s chief rivals in the Rebel is D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables’ Sandman, who enters off a troubled trip in the Southwest. Ridden by Cristian Torres for trainer Mark Casse, Sandman was tabbed as the lukewarm 4-1 morning line favorite and will break from post 3.
Trainer Bob Baffert, an eight-time Rebel winner, ships in Madaket Road following a third-place effort in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Fellow West Coast-based conditioner Michael McCarthy’s Bullard, who defeated Madaket Road in the Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar, will try to rebound after finishing third in the San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita.
The field for the Rebel Stakes
*Brereton’s Baytown and Hot Gunner were not made early Triple Crown nominees but can do so with a $6,000 late payment due by Monday, April 7.
How To Watch The Rebel
> “America’s Day At The Races” will feature live, on-site coverage of Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes Day from 3-6 p.m. on FS2
> FanDuel TV
> Stream live on TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated and the Kentucky Derby.
Rebel Quotes
Admiral Dennis (trainer Brad Cox): “I hope to see a really hot pace that he can close into. Two back in the Gun Runner, he didn’t get away well, he sat behind a soft pace. There was not a lot of change in position in that race. We ran him last time trying to get him a confidence booster. It was a very similar pace scenario. He did range up four wide around the turn, ran well enough.”
Coal Battle (trainer Lonnie Briley): “I want him to come from off the pace. He’ll break pretty sharp, he always does, and then you’ll have to grab him. I’m sure they’ll go 46 and change, low 47, they’ll be hummin’ pretty good. I hope it plays out for him so he can make his run.”
Sandman (trainer Mark Casse): “He got a good post. The weather’s been a little hit and miss. Hopefully, we get a good racetrack. We’re in these preps, trying to figure out where we fit in. And when you get a bad racetrack, it kind of skews all that. As a horse trainer, you can take winning or losing. It’s just you want a fair shot, a good assessment. … I went in saying to everybody, we’re going to find out whether he’s a man or a boy. And overcoming what he overcame and to be able to run as well as he did, I think he showed he’s a man. But that was only one test. We still have a few more.”
Speed King (co-owner Ted Bowman): “I think there’s a lot of speed on the inside. We were in the 9 (hole) last time looking at the speed and we went ahead and went. Still don’t feel like we have to go to the lead. We think he’ll rate, and we’ll just see how it develops. If no one goes, we’ll go.”
