Three Saturday Stakes Have Kentucky Derby Implications

Tampa Bay Downs, Santa Anita Park and Aqueduct Racetrack may be where the next winner of the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. 1) may be found Saturday as the three tracks each feature prep races for the American classic. Although the May 5 Derby is still more than three months away, several 3-year-old thoroughbreds will be running in three races and their connections are likely thinking roses.

All three stakes are graded, which means the top finishers in each race will be credited with their corresponding earnings in the quest to qualify for the Derby.

The Kentucky Derby is limited to 20 starters and gives preference to those entrants with the most earnings in graded races. Last year Derby Kitten was the last to qualify for the Kentucky Derby with $120,000 in graded earnings while the year before, eventual fourth-place finisher Make Music For Me needed a record $218,750 to earn a place in the Derby starting gate. In 2009, it took a record low $55,500 for Nowhere to Hide to complete the Kentucky Derby field.

Aqueduct will host the $200,000 Withers Stakes (gr. III), Santa Anita features the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. II) and Tampa Bay Downs presents the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes. All three races will be run over 1-1/16 miles.

It has been nearly 70 years since Count Fleet won both the Withers and Kentucky Derby, but the Withers used to be run in late April. The late Count Fleet was usually just one week before the Kentucky Derby and much too close to the Derby for most Withers winners. The race was not run last year, but the Withers has returned and is now part of Aqueduct’s lead-up to the Triple Crown. After the Withers, Aqueduct will offer the $400,000 Gotham in March and the $1 million Wood Memorial in April.

Named for the late California owner who won the Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm in 1997 and Charismatic in 1999, the Robert B. Lewis will be run for the 74th time at Santa Anita. Formerly the Santa Catalina Stakes, the last winner of this race to go on to take the Run for the Roses was Ferdinand in 1986. Although 2009 Robert Lewis winner Pioneerof the Nile was second to long shot Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby that year.

After the Lewis, the natural progression to the Triple Crown races for California-based horses is the Mar. 10 San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) and the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) April 7. There is also the seven furlong San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita Feb. 19 for Derby and/or Triple Crown hopefuls.

First run in 1991, the much younger Sam F. Davis Stakes has never had its winner also take the Kentucky Derby. General Quarters is the most recent Davis winner to start in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 10th in 2009. The Sam F. Davis is the main local prep race for the Mar. 10 Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) which produced 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.

Two contenders this weekend are on most “Derby Watch” lists including Alpha, the even money morning line favorite in the Withers; and Liason, the 9-to-5 morning line top choice in the Robert Lewis.

In his most recent start, Alpha won the $150,000 Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct Jan. 7 but trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is cautious when talking about the Kentucky Derby. “The Withers is an important race because it’s graded and you don’t get to run in the Derby unless you have those graded stakes earnings,” McLaughlin said. “When you look at the schedule, you start with the first Saturday in May (the traditional day of the Kentucky Derby), and work back from there. We are taking the Withers as an important step, and maybe, maybe, afterward we’ll talk about what we’re going to do.” Currently Alpha has $60,000 in graded earnings from finishing second to Union Rags in last year’s Champagne Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park.

Three-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert (photo left) will saddle the Liason and Sky Kingdom in an attempt to win his record fourth Robert B. Lewis Stakes which would tie him with Ron McAnally (1976, 1980, 1982, 1997) and Charlie Whittingham (1964, 1970, 1986, 1988) for the most victories in this race. Liason has won three consecutive races since finishing third in his first start last fall at Del Mar near San Diego. Since then, the son of Indian Charlie has won a maiden race at Santa Anita, the $100,000 Real Quiet Stakes and CashCall Futurity (gr. I) at Hollywood Park. Should he make it to the Kentucky Derby, Liason should be eligible with is $450,000 in graded earnings from winning the CashCall Futurity.

Sky Kingdom was fourth in the CashCall but was an impressive allowance winner at Santa Anita on Jan. 12, winning a mile and one-sixteenth test by 4 ½ lengths, “easily.”

“I just want them to have a good race,” Baffert said. “They’ve had a few starts now where they’ve got enough foundation and they’ve done well. You just want them to stay healthy.”

Gulfstream Park Derby winner Reveron is the 3-to-1 morning line favorite in the Sam Davis and is making his first start in a graded race. Trained by Agustin Bezra, Reveron too has won three straight including victories over maidens and against allowance company at Calder Race Course near Miami in November before winning the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year’s Day.

Gio Point To Fight History As Much As Rivals in Arlington Million

Gio Ponti, the Champion Older Male and Champion Grass Male of 2009, tries to make history Saturday at Arlington Park near Chicago. Should Gio Ponti (photo right) win the grade 1 Arlington Million on turf, he would become the first horse to win the 1-1/4 race in consecutive years in the 27 previous runnings of the race.

Horse of the Year John Henry won the inaugural Arlington Million in 1981 with a historically thrilling nose victory over The Bart (photo left), and again in 1984. But John Henry missed the second running of the Arlington Million due to injury and was upset by European invader Tolomeo in 1983.

Powerscourt remains the only horse to cross the finish line first in consecutive years, but his 2005 victory came a year after being disqualified from first and placed fourth for interference in the stretch of the Arlington Million. Ironically, Powerscourt is not the only horse to be disqualified from the Arlington Million winner's circle after being the first to cross the wire. In fact, in happened in two consecutive runnings.

In 2003, Storming Home hit the wire in front, but without carrying jockey Gary Stevens. Just moments before the wire - looking as if he was a sure winner, Storming Home ducked sharply, unseating Stevens. Stevens suffered several injuries, including a collapsed lung, and second-place finisher Sulamani was given the victory.

The Arlington Million has a solid history through it’s 28 runnings (the race was not run in 1998 or ’99) with 19 Champions representing 23 year-end honors after racing in the Million. The most celebrated of those, of course, is John Henry who garnered two Horse of the Year honors, three Champion Grass Male and two Champion Older Horse Eclipse Awards at the end of the three years he competed in the Arlington Million. John Henry was also the Champion Grass Horse in 1980, the year before the first Arlington Million.

Hall of Fame trainers Charlie Whittingham and Ronald McAnally have won the Arlington Million three times and jockeys Laffit Pincay Jr., Gary Stevens, Cash Asmussen, Jerry Bailey and Jose Santos have each won two. Manila, Estrapade, Steinlein, Star of Cozzene and Golden Pheasant are among the thoroughbreds who have stood in the Arlington Park winner’s circle following the million.

Yet with all of that history, the Arlington Million has never produced a winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. 1) in the same year. Manila is the only horse to win both races having won the Breeders’ Cup Turf in 1986 before going to Chicago win the million the next year. Breeders’ Cup Turf winners Theartical (1987) and Northern Spur (’95) lost the Million in the same year as their Breeders' Cup victories; and English Channel won the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Turf after finishing 4th in the ’06 Arlington Million.

Last year Gio Ponti rattled off consecutive grade 1 victories on turf on his way to his championships. This year he is hoping to win his second consecutive major after winning the grade 1 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park and begin a new streak. He has endured losses this year with a runner-up finish in the Manhattan (gr. 1) on Belmont Stakes day and fourth in the Dubai World Cup (gr. 1UAE) in March in Dubai.

This year Gio Ponti will be facing a field of nine others including European Invaders Summit Surge, Tazeez and Debussy. Although most of the competition figures to come from Just As Well and General Quarters from the domestics. Just As Well was second in the Arlington Million last year and more recently runner-up in the the local Arlington Handicap (gr. 3T) while General Quarters counts the Woodford Reserve (gr. 1T) at Churchill Downs among his recent wins.

At 7-5 in the morning line, Gio Ponti certainly looks like the most probable winner. But if history teaches us anything, normality is not to be counted on in the Arlington Million.

History Continues In Hollywood Gold Cup

While this, perhaps the final edition of the TVG/Betfair $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup may not feature any iconic runners, it is packed with plenty of story lines of interest and a full and evenly matched field of 13. The two favorites alone provide plenty of fan fodder with the 6-year-old gelding Parading shipping in from New York and the 4-year-old filly Life is Sweet moving out of the distaff division to take on the older boys.

Life is Sweet, who is trained by John Sherriffs and is a stablemate of the undefeated Zenyatta, is trying to become only the fourth female to win the Gold Cup which will be run for the 70th time Saturday. Princessnesian became the third female to win the Gold Cup in 1968, joining Happy Issue (1944) and Two Lea (1952). Not many have tried in the last three decades. Life Is Sweet, who will be ridden by two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Garrett Gomez, will be the first to start in the Gold Cup since Kilijaro finished seventh in 1981.

But the sentimental favorite may be Mast Track trained by Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who has been recovering from an undisclosed illness at his home near Los Angeles and is one of the more popular trainers in horse racing. Mast Track is also the defending champion in the Hollywood Gold Cup having won the race last year for Frankel. Frankel will be going for his third Gold Cup havig first won with Marquetry in 1991 and Aptitude in 2001.

Trainer Doug O'Neill will be trying to win his fifth Gold Cup since 2002 when he won with Sky Jack. He then took three consecutive Gold Cup from 2005-07 with Lava Man and has Informed for this year's edition. Informed. who was racing at the $25,000 claiming level a year ago, won the grade 2 Californian at 14-1 at Hollywood Park June 14 over Rail Trip, who also comes back in the Gold Cup.

O'Neill is still far from trainer Charlie Whittingham's record of eight wins in the prestigious 1-1/4 mile event. His list of Gold Cup victors reads like a Thoroughbred racing history book after winning with Ack Ack (1971), Quack ('72), Kennedy Road ('73), Tree of Knowledge ('74), Exceller ('78), Perrault ('82), Grienton ('85) and Ferdinand in 1987.

Seabiscuit and jockey George Woolf won the first Hollywood Gold Cup in 1938. Since then winner have included Citation in 1951, Swaps ('56), Round Table ('57), Gallant Man ('58), Native Diver won three times from 1965-'67, Affirmed ('79), Best Pal ('93) and Cigar in 1995.

Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. has won the race nine times and Bill Shoemaker eight times.