Derby Updates

By: Josh Abner

MIDWEST/LAWYER RON COMPLETES OAKLAWN SWEEP WITH ARKANSAS DERBY WIN - Lawyer Ron, owned by the Estate of James T. Hines Jr., has tackled and handled all of the top 3-year-olds that Arkansas can offer. With a 2 ¾-length victory in Saturday's $1 million Arkansas Derby (Grade II) added to his list of conquests, Lawyer Ron has now returned to Kentucky with the goal of winning the $2 million Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (GI) on May 6 at Churchill Downs.

The son of Langfuhr, trained by veteran Bob Holthus, made an early move to the lead on the backstretch in the Arkansas Derby and never faltered, turning back Robert and Lawana Low's late-running Steppenwolfer in front of a record crowd of 72,484 at the Hot Springs, Ark. track. Mike McCarty's Private Vow, who mounted a bid against the winner on the far turn, finished another 1 ½-lengths back in third.

The victory was the sixth straight for Lawyer Ron, who completed his sweep of Oaklawn Park's series of Kentucky Derby preps after scoring earlier wins in the Southwest Stakes and the Rebel (GIII). Ridden by John McKee, the Kentucky-bred chestnut improved his career record to 7-1-3 from 14 starts with the winner's purse of $600,000 pushed his earnings to $1,220,008.

"I'm glad Lawyer Ron didn't disappoint the people," Holthus said. "It was a little tight down there on the first turn, but once he made the lead, I was very confident, even though there were still five and a half furlongs to be run. And he wasn't taking any deep breaths when he came back. He's a dead-fit horse."

Lawyer Ron returned to Holthus' barn at Churchill Downs on Monday following a flight from Hot Springs.

Sinister Minister Sizzles to Run Away with Toyota Blue Grass - Saturday's $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) was billed as a showdown between highly touted Kentucky Derby contenders such as First Samurai and Bluegrass Cat and unbeaten newcomer Strong Contender, but former claiming horse Sinister Minister and three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert stole the show.

Sinister Minister grabbed the lead and the break and never looked back as he cruised to lopsided 12-¾ length victory at Keeneland. Owned by the Lanni Family Trust Mercedes Stable, Sinister Minister became the third Baffert-trained contender for the "Run for the Roses."

Mike McCarty's longshot Storm Treasure was the best of the rest as he rallied to finish second, 4 ½-lengths clear of John Oxley's Strong Contender. WinStar Farm's favored Bluegrass Cat finished four lengths further back in fourth, while Bruce Lunsford and Lansdon Robbins III's First Samurai was another nine lengths back in fifth in the strung out finish. The race was essentially over once Sinister Minister found his way to the lead under jockey Garrett Gomez, who guided the Old Trieste colt through swift early fractions of :22.91 for the opening quarter and :45.88 for the first half mile. Sinister Minister had plenty left for Gomez when he turned for home on the speed-favoring track and sped away from his rivals.

"I knew we were going pretty fast, I didn't know we were going that fast," said Gomez. "I thought he went like :46 and change. I was trying to rein him in a little around the first turn and I was actually taking a little too much hold of him. So when I headed up the backside, I went ahead and let him out a notch and let him do his thing."

Prior to his Toyota Blue Grass romp, Sinister Minister's only career win had come in a $65,000 maiden-claiming race at Santa Anita. Baffert privately purchased the colt after that victory and immediately tried him in stakes company, but Sinister Minister finished a distant sixth to stablemate Too Much Bling in Santa Anita's San Vicente (GII). The colt did much better next time out in the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields and appeared on his way to an upset win over Cause to Believe, but lost momentum when he bounced off the rail twice during the run through the stretch in what was ultimately a runner-up finish.

Saturday's Toyota Blue Grass victory ran his career record to 2-1-0 from four starts and improved his career earnings to $503,000.

While Sinister Minister and Storm Treasure appear Kentucky Derby-bound, the plans for Strong Contender and First Samurai are not as rosy.

Strong Contender languishes far down the list of graded stakes earnings required for a spot in the Kentucky Derby field and would need for several likely Derby starters to drop out to allow him to re-enter the Derby picture. Meanwhile, trainer Frank Brothers confirmed on Monday that First Samurai would not run in the Kentucky Derby. The connections of Bluegrass Cat remained noncommittal about the schedule for their colt.

Sinister Minister's victory margin was the third largest in the history of the Toyota Blue Grass, trailing only the 15-length romp by Arts and Letters in 1969 and Alydar's 13-length stroll in 1978. Both of those horses finished second in the Derby. Sinister Minister's final time of 1:48.85 was the fastest in the 1 1/8-mile race since Millennium Wind stopped the clock at 1:48.20 in the 2001 renewal.

BROTHER DEREK, OTHER CALIFORNIA HOPES DRILL - Cecil Peacock's Brother Derek, winner of the Santa Anita Derby (GI) and the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, tuned up for his Kentucky Derby bid with a five-furlong work on Monday at Santa Anita.

The California-bred son of Benchmark drilled the distance in 1:01.40 for trainer Dan Hendricks. The likely Kentucky Derby favorite will have one more work on the West Coast before he travels to Churchill Downs on April 25.

Also on Monday's California work tab were Stan Fulton's A.P. Warrior, third in the Santa Anita Derby, and Peter Abruzzo and Peter Redekop's El Camino Real Derby (GIII) winner Cause to Believe. The John Shirreffs-trained A.P. Warrior worked seven furlongs in 1:27.40 at Hollywood Park. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's Cause to Believe worked a half-mile over a "sloppy" Golden Gate Fields strip in :49.20.

« Back To Derby Updates