First Look: Kentucky Derby prep is 1 of 5 key stakes at 2 tracks
Photo:
Eclipse Sportswire – composite
The last points prep of the calendar year for Kentucky Derby 2025 and potential
previews of next month’s Pegasus World Cup card are among the six stakes in the spotlight
Saturday in New Orleans and South Florida.
Maiden winner Admiral Dennis leads the field of five 2-year-olds for the
$100,000 Gun Runner Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile event on Fair Grounds’ main track.
All the finishers will earn qualifying points toward the Derby on May 3.
Turf millionaire Grand Sonata and top-level victors Win for
the Money, Super Corinto and Bless My Stars are among the horses on Saturday’s
program at Gulfstream Park. They could be back there Jan. 25 for Pegasus World
Cup Invitational (G1) day.
The Derby prep, a Kentucky Oaks (G1) points race, three
graded tests and a listed stakes punching above its weight will be run Saturday in a 2
1/2-hour stretch.
Saturday
Gun Runner, Fair Grounds, 1 1/16 miles, 2-year-olds,
Kentucky Derby 10-5-3-2-1 points prep
Admiral Dennis more than made up for a troubled debut when
he drew away to a 3 1/2-length victory going a one-turn mile Nov. 7 at
Churchill Downs. The Albaugh Family Stable of Iowa paid $425,000 for the Constitution
colt who is trained by Brad Cox. Magnitude, a $450,000 Not This Time colt owned
by Winchell Thoroughbreds and trained by Steve Asmussen, book-ended a seventh-place
disappointment in the Iroquois (G3) with maiden and allowance wins at Churchill
Downs, most recently going 1 1/16 miles.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Built Hard Spun |
6.05 |
1st, KEE MSW (10/06/2024-R7) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, KEE MSW (10/06/2024-R7) |
|||||
| 2 |
|
Render Judgment Blame |
6.17 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 3 |
|
Magnitude Not This Time |
6.14 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 4 |
|
Chris’s Revenge Instagrand |
0.00 |
4th, CD STR (11/24/2024-R1) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
4th, CD STR (11/24/2024-R1) |
|||||
| 5 |
|
Admiral Dennis Constitution |
6.05 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
Untapable, Fair Grounds, 1 mile and 70 yards, 2-year-old
fillies, Kentucky Oaks 10-5-3-2-1 points prep
Golden Gamble returned from a competitive third in her
debut to win by nine lengths Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs. Those races each went 1
1/16 miles around two turns, so this test on the road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1)
represents a cutback. A $200,000 Laoban filly, Golden Gamble has the 2024 Oaks
and Derby-winning combination of trainer Kenny McPeek and jockey Brian
Hernandez Jr. working with her. Quality Road filly California Sunset, a closer
who was 14-1 when she beat Golden Gamble on Oct. 27, returns for Cox. Amarth, a
Green Lantern homebred filly by McKinzie, won her last two starts including a 1
1/16-mile allowance race last month at Churchill.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Stable Currency Audible |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 2 |
|
Prima Bella Cupid |
0.00 |
1st, FG MSW (11/29/2024-R7) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, FG MSW (11/29/2024-R7) |
|||||
| 3 |
|
Her Laugh Practical Joke |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 4 |
|
Golden Gamble Laoban |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
California Sunset Quality Road |
0.00 |
1st, CD MSW (10/27/2024-R5) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, CD MSW (10/27/2024-R5) |
|||||
| 6 |
|
Amarth McKinzie |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 7 |
|
Paris Lily City of Light |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Drexel Hill Bolt d’Oro |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
Tenacious, Fair Grounds, 1 1/16 miles, 3-year-olds and up
Of the eight stakes on Saturday’s card in New Orleans, this
looks the deepest and most talented. Track Phantom, victorious in last
winter’s Gun Runner and Lecomte (G3), came back from six months on Cox’s bench
to finish second in a Churchill Downs allowance on Nov. 9. His 4-year-old stablemate
Saudi Crown, the 2023 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner, had a summer
stakes victory at Ellis Park but then was empty finishing last in the Breeders’
Cup Dirt Mile. Four-time stakes winner Velocitor, a 4-year-old gelding, returns from a four-month break after placing second in the Charles Town Classic
(G2). Kinetic, a 3-year-old Street Sense colt bred and owned by Godolphin, has
won his last three starts for Cox.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Track Phantom Quality Road |
7.22 |
2nd, CD AOC (11/09/2024-R9) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
2nd, CD AOC (11/09/2024-R9) |
|||||
| 2 |
|
Kinetic Street Sense |
0.00 |
1st, CD AOC (11/09/2024-R7) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, CD AOC (11/09/2024-R7) |
|||||
| 3 |
|
Warrior Johny Cairo Prince |
4.12 |
1st, Turkey Trot |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, Turkey Trot |
|||||
| 4 |
|
Confidence Game Candy Ride |
6.44 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
Happy American Runhappy |
4.47 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 6 |
|
Velocitor Mor Spirit |
5.94 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 7 |
|
Saudi Crown Always Dreaming |
7.02 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Bo Cruz Creative Cause |
6.47 |
10th, Thanksgiving Classic |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
10th, Thanksgiving Classic |
|||||
Fort Lauderdale (G2), Gulfstream Park, 1 1/8 miles, turf,
3-year-olds and up
Grand Sonata, a Todd Pletcher-trained 5-year-old who has
earned $2,045,235 for Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm, followed his win in the 1
1/2-mile Turf Cup (G2) at Kentucky Downs with an 11th-place result in the 1
1/2-mile Breeders’ Cup Turf. Win for the Money, a 5-year-old gelding trained by
Mark Casse, scored at 13-1 in the Woodbine Mile (G1) before finishing 10th in
the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Lorenz, a 6-year-old gelding from the Saffie Joseph Jr.
stable, has won two in a row but has not raced since the $75,000 Remington
Green going 1 1/8 miles Sept. 29 at Remington Park.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Cash Equity Toronado |
6.14 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 2 |
|
Grand Sonata Medaglia d’Oro |
7.07 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 3 |
|
Saratoga Flash Laoban |
0.00 |
1st, GP AOC (10/18/2024-R6) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, GP AOC (10/18/2024-R6) |
|||||
| 4 |
|
Major Dude Bolt d’Oro |
6.24 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
Win For The Money Mohaymen |
6.85 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 6 |
|
Lorenz Forestry |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 7 |
|
Siege of Boston War Front |
6.10 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Fort Washington War Front |
6.38 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 9 |
|
Emmanuel More Than Ready |
6.32 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
Harlan’s Holiday (G3), Gulfstream Park, 1 1/16 miles,
3-year-olds and up
Steal Sunshine, who finished fourth in last year’s Harlan’s Holiday, has an affinity for Gulfstream. The
5-year-old Constitution horse won a one-mile allowance race Nov. 22, upping his
record at the Florida track to 17: 6-2-5. Tumbarumba, a 4-year-old gelding who won last year’s Fred W.
Hooper (G3) at Gulfstream, was a bumpy fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Stakes-winning
3-year-old Tuscan Sky was a close second in the Discovery last month at
Aqueduct. Vitality won the 2024 Prince of Wales, a Canada classic, and was second
last out in a Churchill Downs allowance race. Super Corinto, a 6-year-old who was a Group
1 victor in his native South America, has not won since an allowance score two
years ago at Gulfstream.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Tuscan Sky Vino Rosso |
6.35 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 2 |
|
Tumbarumba Oscar Performance |
6.64 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 3 |
|
Cape Trafalgar Lord Nelson |
4.45 |
1st, KEE AOC (10/19/2024-R6) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, KEE AOC (10/19/2024-R6) |
|||||
| 4 |
|
Digital Ops Nyquist |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
Vitality Street Boss |
0.00 |
2nd, CD AOC (11/24/2024-R4) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
2nd, CD AOC (11/24/2024-R4) |
|||||
| 6 |
|
Steal Sunshine Constitution |
6.47 |
1st, GP AOC (11/22/2024-R8) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, GP AOC (11/22/2024-R8) |
|||||
| 7 |
|
Rocket Can Into Mischief |
6.49 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Super Corinto Super Saver |
5.12 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
Suwannee River (G3), Gulfstream Park, 1 mile, turf, fillies
and mares, 3-year-olds and up
Ocean Club is a three-time stakes winner who stepped up to a
Grade 3 score last out in the Noble Damsel on the turf at Aqueduct. Bred and
owned by Craig Bernick’s Glen Hill Farm, the 4-year-old Curlin filly currently trained
by Jack Sisterson also has stakes triumphs on the grass and synthetic tracks at
Gulfstream. Be Your Best won the 1 3/8-mile Long Island (G3), the first
graded victory for the 4-year-old filly trained in her last two starts by Joseph.
Last-out stakes runner-up Breath Away, lightly raced Grade 3 runner-up Saffron
Moon and 5-year-old South Africa natives Bless My Stars and Golden Hostess are
among the 12 entrants. Bless My Stars finished first in a Group 1 race nearly two years ago
in her homeland.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Ocean Club Curlin |
6.58 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 2 |
|
Hollywood Walk Animal Kingdom |
5.84 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 3 |
|
Ribaltagaia Blame |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 4 |
|
Papilio Starspangledbanner |
6.23 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
Swoonatra Paynter |
4.12 |
6th, GP AOC (11/02/2024-R7) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
6th, GP AOC (11/02/2024-R7) |
|||||
| 6 |
|
Charlie’s Wish First Dude |
4.12 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 7 |
|
Be Your Best Muhaarar |
6.55 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Saffron Moon Malibu Moon |
4.12 |
2nd, KEE ALW (10/17/2024-R8) |
Entered | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
2nd, KEE ALW (10/17/2024-R8) |
|||||
| 9 |
|
Golden Hostess Gold Standard |
5.84 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 10 |
|
Be My Sunshine Frosted |
5.87 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 11 |
|
Breath Away Bated Breath |
6.06 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 12 |
|
Bless My Stars Gimmethegreenlight |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Next Race |
||||||
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