Derby Updates

WEST/STEVIE WONDERBOY OUT OF DERBY PICTURE - Merv Griffin's Stevie Wonderboy sustained an injury to his right front ankle following a Monday workout that will force the 2005 2-year-old champion and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner (GI) to miss the 2006 Kentucky Derby.

Stevie Wonderboy worked six furlongs Monday morning in 1:13.40 at Hollywood Park. Trainer Doug O'Neill said injury was detected after the work.

"He worked fantastic," O'Neill told Steve Haskin of the Blood-Horse. "While he was cooling out, his groom commented that his ankle was filling up. We've been blessed with the fact that he's always had the coldest ankles you could ask on a horse. We checked it out, and could see the ankle filling up as we spoke. X-rays showed the beginning of a condylar fracture that will require one screw and 90 days off."

In six lifetime starts to date, Stevie Wonderboy is 3-2-1 with $1,058,940 in career earnings, including a second-place finish on Jan. 14 in the San Rafael Stakes (GII) at Santa Anita.

Sham Winner Bob and John Salvages Baffert's Weekend -- Stonerside Stables' Bob and John made amends for a disappointing start on the weekend for three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert when he scored a 4 ½-length win in Saturday's $100,000-added Sham Stakes at Santa Anita.

The son of Seeking the Gold covered the 1 1/8-miles in 1:49.15. Baffert said the colt's competition will get stiffer now as Bob and John embarks on the road to Louisville.

"This will be the last powder puff race he gets," he said. "From here on out it's going to be all heavyweights."

The heavyweights include Cecil Peacock's Brother Derek, who defeated Stevie Wonderboy in the San Rafael (GII) on Jan. 14. Brother Derek breezed four furlongs in 49.40 on Sunday under Francisco Alvarado for trainer Dan Hendricks.

On Friday, Baffert's Point Determined and stablemate Royal Legacy were both upset victims at odds of 1-2 at Santa Anita. Herman Sarkowsky's One Union put himself on the Derby trail with his 2 ¼-length allowance score over Point Determined in the day's feature, covering a mile 1:36.13. That loss immediately followed highly regarded Royal Legacy's second-place effort to B. Wayne Hughes' Mister Triester in maiden company.

EAST/KEYED ENTRY AND BARBARO REMAIN UNBEATEN - Starlight Stable, Saylor and Lucarelli's Keyed Entry and Lael Stables' Barbaro stamped themselves as serious contenders for the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby with impressive performances in stakes company on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

The recently reworked Gulfstream strip was playing extremely fast despite considerable rainfall that left the track "sloppy" and kept most riders at least three-wide off the rail for most of the day. Two track records fell as Fred Bradley's 5-year-old gelding Brass Hat set a new mark at 1 1/8 miles (1:47.79) in the Donn Handicap (Grade I), while 3-year-old Keyed Entry toppled the track record (1:27.12) in the 7 ½-furlong Hutcheson Stakes (GII).

Bruce Lunsford and Lansdon Robbins III's First Samurai, a multiple Grade I-winner and favored individual horse in the opening pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager at odds of 7-1, was upset by Keyed Entry at odds of 3-5 in his season's debut in the Hutcheson. The chestnut son of Giant's Causeway broke alertly with new rider Edgar Prado in the irons for trainer Frank Brothers, but Keyed Entry, with John Velazquez aboard, was rushed to the front and a duel ensued. The latter, a dark bay son of Honour and Glory trained by Pletcher, repelled a game bid from First Samurai to win by 1 ¼-lengths, eclipsing the prior track record by more than a full second. For confirmation of just how impressive the pair's performance truly was: Courtlandt Farm's third-place Express News finished 16 lengths behind First Samurai.

Keyed Entry improved his career record to 3-for-3 in making a successful debut in stakes company. Pletcher was noncommittal on the next step for his lightly raced colt, but hinted that he could remain at Gulfstream for the March 4 Fountain of Youth, run at 1 1/8 miles.

"I was very pleased. This horse has been training exceptionally well since he got down here. Obviously it's a big step up to go from an 'a other than' (allowance) to run against a Grade I winner like First Samurai. The plan now is to gradually stretch him out. Whether or not we go in the Fountain of Youth, or somewhere else, I'll have to get him back and decide that later."

Despite the loss, Brothers was pleased with his colt's first attempt since finishing third in the Oct. 29 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park.

"I thought he ran well," he said. "That was a top class horse that he was running with, and you can't take anything away from him, but I thought my horse ran well for his first start off the bench in three months."

Immediately following the Hutcheson, Tropical Park Derby (GIII) winner Barbaro, making his first start on dirt after three easy victories on the grass, scored a sharp victory in the $150,000-added Holy Bull (GIII). The son of Dynaformer pressed the early pace set by Mike McCarty's Aventura Stakes winner Doctor Decherd, pulled away from that weakening rival nearing the eighth pole, and held off Robert V. LaPenta's late-charging Great Point for a ¾-length victory.

Barbaro, sent off as the 3-2 favorite for trainer Mike Matz and ridden by Prado, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.31. Great Point - who drew in from the also-eligible list for trainer Nick Zito following the late defection of J. Robert Harris, Jr.'s Rehoboth - closed with authority down the center of the track after being caught in light traffic in the far turn and galloped out alongside the winner. Centaur Farm Inc.'s My Golden Song was another 2 ½-lengths back in third for trainer Pletcher.

Prado said following the race that Barbaro had answered the questions regarding his ability to handle the dirt.

"He broke running and I had a lot of horse under me the whole way," he said. "I turned him loose and he just opened up. He was looking for some competition in the stretch. He saw that horse (Great Point) on his outside, but I wasn't ever worried. He proved today he could go either way.

'Saint' Stretches Out to Easy Win in Miracle Wood - Joseph J. Balsamo & Ted Theos' Sweetnorthernsaint cruised tp an easy 10-length win in Saturday's $75,000 Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel Park.

Trainer Micheal Trombette's gelded son of Sweetsouthernsaint covered the mile over a sealed track rated as "sloppy" in 1:38.69. It was the first effort around two turns for Sweetnorthernsaint. Vegas Play was second with Sierra Quorum three lengths back in third.

Florida Worktab Full to Start Week- With relief from the weekend's wet weather, work tabs at Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows Training Center were busy on Monday morning.

At Gulfstream Park, notable workers included the Nick Zito-trained Hesanoldsalt, who covered four furlongs in :48.20; Flanders Fields, who breezed a half-mile in :49.20 for trainer Dallas Stewart; and Laity, the Frank Brothers-trained Cradle Stakes winner who breezed five furlongs in 1:01.20.

At Palm Meadows: Exclusive Quality (48.00 handily for four furlongs), Three Chimneys Juvenile winner Half Ours (49.40 breezing four), Reining Court (51.40 breezing four furlongs); Remsen winner (GII) Bluegrass Cat (1:02.80 breezing five furlongs); Iroquois (GIII) and Kentucky Jockey Club runner-up High Cotton (1:02.80 for five furlongs), and Barbican (1:15.00 breezing six furlongs) Belmont Futurity (GI) and Ky. Jockey Club (GII) winner Private Vow worked five furlongs in 1:03.60 on Sunday over a "fast" track at Gulfstream for trainer Steve Asmussen.

MIDWEST/MUSIC SCHOOL RETURNS WITH ALLOWANCE WIN - Will Farish and James Elkin, Jr.'s Music School returned to racing for the first time in nearly eight months with a three-quarter length allowance win on Sunday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. A three-quarter brother to 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, Music School won in his debut at Churchill on June 11, but has been sidelined since due to injury. Sunday's win at a mile after the long layoff bodes well for the Neil Howard-trainee's chances on the Triple Crown trail.

Howard's first call jockey, Robby Albarado, could be pushed into a tough decision should Music School point toward the $250,000 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 20. Albarado rode Robert and Lawana Low's Steppenwolfer, to a comfortable 4 ½-length allowance win on Friday. Trainer Dan Peitz will likely send Steppenwolfer to the one mile Southwest.

Mill House's Brilliant, also trained by Howard,breezed four furlongs in 49.40 on Sunday at Oaklawn. William A. Carl's Mark of Success, second in the Risen Star (GIII) at Fair Grounds at Louisiana Downs, breeze five furlongs in 1:01.

Warrior Within Takes WEBN - David A. Ross' Warrior Within led throughout en route to a 5 ¼-length victory over Mark H. Stanley's Malameeze in Saturday's $50,000 WEBN Stakes at Turfway Park.

Favorite Final Copy was another 2 ½-lengths back in third. The 3-year-old son of Catienus covered the mile for trainer Daniel Smithwick in 1:38.99.

Warrior Within will head next to the March 4 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes. The WEBN and Battaglia are preps for the $500,000 Lane's End (GII), the Florence, Ky. track's major Derby prep on March 25.

TRIPLE CROWN NOMINATIONS UP NEARLY 20 PERCENT FROM '05 - With juvenile Eclipse Award headliners Stevie Wonderboy and Folklore leading the way, a total of 426 3-year-olds are early nominees to the 2006 Triple Crown of racing that kicks off with the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

The total reflects a dramatic increase from the 2005 early figure of 358, which ranked among the lowest numbers since the creation of Triple Crown Productions in September 1985. The 2006 figure is the fourth best in TCP history, with the record being the 446 horses made eligible for the three-race series in 2003.

The 2005 decline was attributed to the impact of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, which took the lives of an estimated 1700 foals in 2002, the birth-year for that crop of Derby contenders.

15 international horses have been nominated early to the series. Bob and Beverly Lewis top the owners' list with 10 nominees, followed closely by the team of Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Mrs. John Magnier, and West Point Thoroughbreds each with nine. Todd Pletcher, winner of the last two Eclipse Awards as America's top trainer, is the runaway leader in nominations by a trainer for the third consecutive year. He posted a personal high by nominating 38 classic prospects, three more than his previous high in 2004 and four more than last year. Second on the list are Zito and Richard Mandella with 15 each, followed by Bob Baffert's 14, and D. Wayne Lukas and Steve Asmussen with 13.

For the first time in three years, A.P. Indy was surpassed as the top sire of nominees, bowing this year to the young and impressive Giant's Causeway, who is already a major sire in the Storm Cat line. Giant's Causeway leads the sire list with 17 of his offspring on the roster of Triple Crown nominees. The former leader had to settle for a second-place tie with Storm Cat and the deceased Saint Ballado with 11 each.

More information, including a list of nominees and valuable statistics on the early 2006 Triple Crown nominations, can be found at www.thetriplecrownchallenge.com.

ROAD TO THE ROSES GAME OPENS THIS WEEKEND - Registration for the popular "Road to the Roses" Kentucky Derby Fantasy Game begins Feb. 5 at www.roadtotheroses.com.

Participants in the online fantasy game can win great prizes that include a VIP trip to the Derby or one of three qualifying spots for the Daily Racing Form/ NTRA National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas in Jan. 2006. The first scoring race in the "Road to the Roses" Fantasy Game is the $75,000 Turf Paradise Derby on Saturday, Feb. 11.

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