Triple Crown Prospects Begin Run To Homestretch

For the top 3-year-old Visa Triple Crown prospects in Florida, Saturday will be D-Day. Florida Derby day, that is. Expected to go to the gate for the Grade I, $1,000,000 event are the state's premier stakes runners, BOOKLET and HARLAN'S HOLIDAY, who have finished one-two in both the Grade III Holy Bull Stakes and Grade I Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park. So the pair will be back at Gulfstream on Saturday for the rubber match, and despite the results of the earlier two battles, HARLAN'S HOLIDAY, owned by Starlight Stables and trained by prospect-rich Ken McPeek, has been getting a lot of support for overturning those outcomes at the longer distance — 1 1/8 miles — of the Florida Derby. BOOKLET, in turn, will try once again to carry his front-running style to victory over the Hallandale oval for owner John Oxley and trainer John Ward Jr., the pair that gave the $5 million Visa Triple Crown Challenge its Kentucky Derby winner for last year, Monarchos. The two won't be alone, however. A field of perhaps nine is expected for the Derby. Among the challengers, those given good grades as possible upsetters are Buckram Oak Stable's HIGH STAR, trained by two-time Kentucky Derby-winning conditioner Nick Zito, and Michael Tabor's NOKOMA, trained by Todd Pletcher. Also confirmed for the gate are BLUE BURNER, owned by George Steinbrenner's Kinsman Stable and trained by Bill Mott; Willmot Stable's STEPHENTOWN, trained by Anthony Reinstedler; PERSONAL REWARD, owned by Lee Lewis and trained by Mark Hennig; and Classic Contenders' PUCK, trained by William White. Listed as possible for the race is the C.R. McGaughey-trained D'Coach, owned by John Perrotta's Star Stable.

Saarland To Make 2002 Debut In Gotham -- McGaughey has a more solid prospect several hundred miles to the north in SAARLAND, owned by Cynthia Phipps. He'll be making his first start of the year, after several frustrating attempts at races that didn't fill at Gulfstream, in Sunday's Grade III, $200,000 Gotham Stakes on Aqueduct's main track. The New York facility ran its final races of the season on its inner track on Sunday. SAARLAND hasn't started since his victory in last November's Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct, and one of his main antagonizers in the Gotham will be Mayakovsky, who ships in from California to make his first start since the September 1, Grade I Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga. Mayakovsky runs in Tabor's colors as he tries to strengthen his Visa Triple Crown prospects with a victory in the one mile Gotham for trainer Patrick Biancone. Expected to offer plenty of competition are nominees SARATOGA BLUES, winner of Aqueduct's Whirlaway Stakes for owner Alvin Akman and trainer Anthony Dutrow; TANK'S EXPECTATION, who finished second in the Best Turn Stakes for owner William Sorokolit and trainer Dale Capuano; and MY MAN RYAN, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and trained by Richard Violette.

Competitive Swale Stakes On Florida Derby Undercard -- On the Florida Derby undercard Saturday, MONTHIR and GOVERNOR HICKEL figure to get a lot of support in the Grade III, $200,000 Swale Stakes at seven furlongs over the Gulfstream main track. MONTHIR is owned by Shadwell Stable and is trained by Mark Hennig, while GOVERNOR HICKEL runs for the Mary Lou Whitney Stable under the training of Zito.

Siphonic Tops San Felipe -- Topping the Sunday action will be the long-awaited second start of the year in Santa Anita's Grade II, $250,000 San Felipe Stakes of prime 3-year-old prospect SIPHONIC, who finished third in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile before winning the Grade I Hollywood Futurity to close out his 2-year-old campaign. He stumbled badly at the start of the January 19 Grade II Santa Catalina Stakes and still finished a solid second to LABAMTA BABE, who subsequently has gone to the sidelines with an injury. SIPHONIC, owned by Amerman Racing Stables and trained by David Hofmans, will have plenty of first-rate company in the gate for the 1 1/16-mile test. Expected to start are the Bob Baffert-trained duo of MOUNTAIN RAGE, a winner on the turf for owners George Jacobs and Natalie J. (Jill) Moss, and PUERTO BANUS, a second-place finisher in Santa Anita's Sham Stakes for The Thoroughbred Corp.; SHAH JEHAN, the Chelston and Orpendale-owned colt trained by D. Wayne Lukas; Sunday Break, owned by Koji Maeda and trained by Neil Drysdale; and U S S Tinosa, the winner of the Sham Stakes owned by Peter Abruzzo and Peter Thiriot and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer.

Local Hero Bunk N Ted Looks To Shine In Tampa Bay Derby -- Heading a competitive field in Sunday's Grade III, $200,000 Tampa Bay Derby are several horses who might be just a notch below the Florida Derby caliber but nevertheless top prospects on the Visa Triple Crown trail. Topping the prospective field are EQUALITY, a maturing son of Mt. Livermore who is owned by Pin Oak Stable and trained by Graham Motion; POLITICAL ATTACK, who won the Grade III Tropical Park Derby when it was taken off the soaked turf at Calder Race Course on January 1 and is owned by Brereton C. Jones and trained by John Hennig; and the local Tampa Bay Downs hero BUNK N TED, if he runs. Owner-trainer Danny Hutt is wavering between the Tampa event and the Grade II, $600,000 Lane's End Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park over 1 1/8 miles on March 23.

Though It Was A Bit Ugly, Repent Scores In Louisiana Derby -- It wasn't pretty, but as they say in team sports, “A ‘W’ is a ‘W’.” And so it was for REPENT on Sunday as he captured the Grade II, $750,000 Louisiana Derby, in spite of a zig-zag trip down the long Fair Grounds stretch as the 2-5 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile stop along the Visa Triple Crown Trail. The winner, owned by Feye and Jerry Bach's Select Stable and trained by Ken McPeek, was running for the first time under multiple Eclipse Award winner and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who replaced the colt's regular rider, Tony D'Amico, following REPENT's victory in the Fair Grounds' Risen Star Stakes on February 17. The time for Sunday's race was 1:43.86 as the winner outnodded EASYFROMTHEGITGO, owned by James Cassels and Bob Zollars and trained by Steve Asmussen, at the wire by a nose. While the winner, a son of Louis Quatorze, ran erratically through the stretch, first drifting out then sharply veering in and then out again, it appeared that the runner-up, coming smoothly down the inside might reprise the big upset his owners and trainer laid on last year's Louisiana Derby crowd when Fifty Stars bounded to victory at 20-1. But Bailey finally gathered the winner and hit the wire an eyelash to the good. It'sallinthechase, not nominated to the Visa Triple Crown, finished third and CHARIOTEER was fourth. The biggest disappointment in the race came from BOB'S IMAGE, who was the runner-up in the Risen Star but finished off the board in the New Orleans classic after setting a slow pace under Hall of Fame rider Pat Day. The pace and the failure of REPENT to change leads until late in the stretch were blamed by McPeek and Bailey for the close finish. Scratched from the original field of eight was FRENCH ASSAULT, who came up with an intestinal illness on the eve of the race. Trainer Keith Desormeaux doesn't know what the future holds for the son of French Deputy who finished sixth in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Yougottawanna Beats Baffert Again -- Far to the west on Saturday, a fresh face appeared on the Visa Triple Crown horizon as YOUGOTTAWANNA, all but given up for dead following a couple of disappointing efforts in his first outings as a 3-year-old, ground down Danthebluegrassman as the two barreled down the stretch and won the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields. The margin of victory was three-quarters of a length and the winning time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:43.48. The winner, who had shown a lot of promise with a victory over the highly talented OFFICER in last year's California Cup Juvenile, hadn't lived up to those expectations in the early stages of his 3-year-old season — perhaps because of a rash that developed. The rash appears to be under control now and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer warned before the race that he expected the chestnut son of Candi's Gold, owned by Ted Aroney's Halo Farms and Sid and Jenny Craig, to turn in a big effort. Hollendorfer said there's a strong possibility the winner could be in the April 6 Santa Anita Derby. No announcement was made on the next start for Danthebluegrassman, owned by Mike Pegram and trained by double Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert, but the Santa Anita Derby appears possible for him, also. Finishing third and fourth in the El Camino Real were a pair of non-nominees to the Visa Triple Crown, Lusty Latin and Arsen, respectively. The race might have closed the Triple Crown curtain on nominees DIAL A HERO, FEBRUARY STORM, CAPTAIN SQUIRE and CAPPUCHINO. The last mentioned, also trained by Hollendorfer, may be pointed toward the California Derby on April 13 at Bay Meadows.

You, Habibti 1-2 in Santa Anita Oaks -- In another California race that held possible significance for the Visa Triple Crown, nominees YOU and HABIBTI ran 1-2 in the Grade I, $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. The winner was clocked in 1:42.70 for the 1 1/16 miles, making them faster than the males in the weekend's two other graded events for 3-year-olds. However, trainers Robert Frankel (YOU) and Baffert (HABIBTI) say they'll be priming the pair for the Kentucky Oaks on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

New Owner, Trainer For Smooth Jazz --, recent winner of the Best Turn Stakes at Aqueduct has been sold by owner-trainer Anthony Dutrow to Tabor and now lives on the shedrow of trainer Pletcher at Gulfstream Park in Florida. No next start has been set for the son of Storm Boot who is undefeated in his only two lifetime starts, both this year.

« Back To Derby News