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The field for the Kentucky Derby firmed up on Saturday on the last day of major prep races and, despite some doubts, California will have a horse in the race.
Stronghold needed at least a third-place finish to get in the first leg of the Triple Crown but did even better with a stirring stretch drive that propelled the 3-year-old colt to a win by a neck in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby. The win was worth 100 qualifying points.
He had to get by heavy favorite Imagination, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Frankie Dettori. The 53-year-old Dettori was on a roll Saturday by winning six of his first seven races and combined with Baffert, Imagination looked like a sure thing.
Stronghold, the Sunland Derby winner, showed a determination to get by Imagination and Dettori. It will be the first trip to the Kentucky Derby for both trainer Phil D’Amato and jockey Antonio Fresu. It was Fresu’s first Grade 1 win. Stronghold paid $6.40.
“I was hoping we’d get that track and that trip,” D’Amato said. “It was a nice little speed battle back there and he handled it well. He didn’t really get the easiest trip coming around the turn but luckily he was able to squeeze through a small hole and prove that he can be the best when it comes down to the wire.
“I think this was a great education for him and a nice test that’s he going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby.”
Even though Imagination finished second, he is ineligible to run in the Kentucky Derby because he’s trained by Baffert, who is under a two-year ban from Churchill Downs, which was inexplicably lengthened to three years despite no violations. It followed the disqualification of Medina Spirit, who finished first in the 2021 Derby.
E J Won the Cup was third on Saturday, followed by Curlin’s Kaos, Tapalo, Wynstock, Mc Vay and Tessuto. The announced attendance was 32,089.
In what was thought to be the most competitive prep race, the $1-million Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, it seemed as if it would never get started as Sierra Leone refused to go in the gate. When the race started, he ran the first half of the 1 1/8-mile race race near the back of the pack. But once he got interested, he blew past the field to win by 1 ½ lengths. Just a Touch finished second. Sierra Leone paid $5.32 to win.
“I think it was just the crowd,” winning jockey Tyler Gaffalione said of the Chad Brown trainee. “We break right in front of them here. Everybody’s lined up against the rail and he was the last horse going in, so I think it just kind of got to him — got him a little nervous.”
The $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct gave both Resilience and longshot Society Man enough points to qualify for the Derby with a one-two finish.
“The second time I rode him, he kind of got shy away from the horses coming out and didn’t want to pass, then all of a sudden everybody passed him at the sixteenth pole,” winning jockey John Velazquez said of the Bill Mott-trained Resilience. “Then I said, ‘maybe blinkers will keep him smart and focused and running’ and it did today, so this is where to do it.”
Velazquez won’t be riding Resilience in Louisville, though, as he is also the jockey for Fierceness, the 13 ½-length winner of the Florida Derby and the presumptive favorite for the Kentucky Derby.
The Wood Memorial winner has not won the Derby since Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000.
Even though most of the field for the Kentucky Derby has been set there are still a few caveats. There is one more race on road to the Derby, the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland next Saturday. It can be used for horses that are just on the bubble of making the field and only need a few points. The race is worth 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points.
Another unknown is if the suit brought by owner Amr Zedan will allow Baffert horses into the Derby. Zedan is hoping to get a temporary order from the Louisville-based circuit court that would allow Baffert horses to run. Muth, winner of the Arkansas Derby, would be the recipient if the injunction is approved. Baffert is not a plaintiff. There is a procedural motion hearing on Monday.
And finally, there are the injuries and bumps in the road that crop up in the next four weeks. Generally, if a horse is on the bubble and among the top 24 there’s an outside chance of making the field. If in the top 22, chances are usually decent.
There are only 19 spots available in the 20-horse field. The winners of the Japan and Europe Road to the Kentucky Derby are given free passes into the Derby. T O Password won the Japan series and plans to come. The winner of the European circuit, Bracken’s Laugh, is not currently planning to travel to Churchill Downs, according to The Racing Post.
Here are the top 24 horses, with point totals: 1. Sierra Leone (155); 2. Fierceness (136); 3. Catching Freedom (125); 4. Stronghold (125); 5. Resilience (110); 6. Forever Young (100); 7. Endlessly (100); 8. Dornoch (75); 9. Just a Touch (75); 10. Track Phantom (70); 11. West Saratoga (67); 12. Just Steel (65); 13. Honor Marie (65); 14. Domestic Product (60); 15. Catalytic (50); 16. Deterministic (50); 17. Society Man (50); 18. Mystik Dan (46); 19. No More Time (45); 20. T O Password (Japan); 21. Grand Mo the First (40); 22. Common Defense (37); 23. Epic Ride (35); 24. Hades (30).
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