Horse racing newsletter: Kentucky Derby rankings are back

Hello, my name is John Cherwa, and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we’re so sorry to see that Omaha Beach scratches in his last race.

Let’s get quickly to the news.

--We’ll start with Omaha Beach scratching out of the the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream on Saturday. It certainly was a consistent ending to a colt who has had more than his share of troubles. The Pegasus was supposed to be the race that showed how good he could have been by beating older horses. But it wasn’t to be. You can read more about it. Just click here.

--And then there was the Eclipse Awards. It was no surprise that Bricks and Mortar was voted Horse of the Year but what was shocking was how poorly California Horses did in the voting. Storm the Court was the only winner from here, winning the 2-year-old Male award after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. (Jon White gets more into it below.) Last year, locally based owners and horses won eight awards, and there were five the year before that. Prior to Thursday night, four of the last Horse of the Year winners were locally based. You can read more about it. Just click here.

--Finally, the CHRB held its January meeting in Sacramento and it postponed action on the type of riding crop it wants to February. Likely a smart move. You can read more about it. Just click here.

Jon White’s Kentucky Derby Top 10

Time for the good stuff. As always, we’re lucky to have top expert Jon White take a look at what’s happening on the Kentucky Derby trail. Jon makes the morning line at Santa Anita, he’s a licensed steward, and he’s the pre-eminent historian on racing. We’re lucky to have him. So, here’s his Kentucky Derby rankings, brought courtesy of Xpressbet.com.

“Storm the Court remains in the top spot on my Kentucky Derby Top 10 this week. And now he is a champion.

“As had been widely expected, Eclipse Award voters chose Storm the Court as the champion 2-year-old male of 2019.

“Now five of the last seven 2-year-old male champions have been based in Southern California — Shared Belief (2013), American Pharoah (2014), Nyquist (2015), Game Winner (2018) and Storm the Court (2019).

“Storm the Court has not started since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Nov. 1 at Santa Anita when racing with blinkers for the first time. He is scheduled to make his 2020 debut in Santa Anita’s seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 9.

“Peter Eurton trains Storm the Court. The Court Vision colt races for Exline-Border Racing, David Bernsen, Susanna Wilson and Dan Hudock.

“On Jan. 12, Storm the Court worked five furlongs at Santa Anita. Eurton had planned for it to be a solo workout, but it turned into a team drill. I wrote last week that ‘shortly after Storm the Court began the drill, two horses from a rival stable stormed up to join him.’ To set the record straight, Storm the Court actually began that workout alone on the backstretch before moving up along the inside rail to join a pair of horses from a rival stable turning into the stretch. Storm the Court completed that five-furlong workout in 1:00.60.

“Last Sunday at Santa Anita, Storm the Court had another five-furlong workout. But this time it went much more as Eurton had hoped. This time it was a team drill by design. Storm the Court worked in company with Ekklesia, a 3-year-old Eurton-trained colt who has raced twice, finishing eighth on the turf and fourth on the dirt.

“Last Sunday, with both colts wearing blinkers, Ekklesia began about five lengths in front of Storm the Court. Storm the Court cruised up to get within about a length of Ekklesia at the quarter pole. And then Storm the Court came on willingly to reach virtual even terms with his workmate in the vicinity of the sixteenth pole. At the finish line, Ekklesia was about a head in front, but Storm the Court received a faster 1:00.20 clocking than Ekklesia’s 1:01.20 owing to the gap between the duo when the workout commenced.

“Ekklesia is entered in Friday’s seventh race at Santa Anita. It’s a grass contest for maidens at 1 1/8 miles. Ekklesia is 15-1 on the morning line.

“Dennis’ Moment, who is ranked No. 2 on the Top 10, had his second recorded workout of 2020 last Saturday. He was timed in 48.38 seconds, which made it the 24th fastest of 123 four-furlong works that morning at Gulfstream Park. He previously had worked four furlongs there in 50.89 on Jan. 11.

“Trained by Dale Romans, Dennis’ Moment is gearing up for his 2020 debut in Gulfstream’s Fountain of Youth Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 29. In Dennis’ Moment’s final 2019 start, he stumbled badly at the start and finished eighth as the 9-10 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The Tiznow colt won the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs last Sept. 14 following a jaw-dropping 19 1/4-length maiden victory at Ellis Park on July 27.

“The only race last week offering points toward the May 2 Kentucky Derby was the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course. The Lecomte had a total of 17 points (10-4-2-1) to the top four finishers. Enforceable, far back early, rallied to win by 1 1/2 lengths at 6-1 for trainer Mark Casse. Silver State finished second, Mr. Monomoy third and one-eyed Finnick the Fierce fourth. Scabbard, the 3-1 favorite, had a troubled trip and came in fifth.

“This was Enforceable’s first stakes victory. The Tapit colt now has won two of seven career starts. I gave serious consideration to putting him on this week’s Top 10, but he didn’t quite make it. The fact that Enforceable’s final time of 1:43.72 was not even the fastest by a 3-year-old on the day at that track was one reason he did not quite make this week’s Top 10. Earlier on the card, Blackberry Wine, an Oxbow colt conditioned by Joe Sharp, posted a 1:43.22 clocking when he won an allowance/optional claiming race by one length.

“Next up for Enforceable probably will be the Risen Star Stakes at 1 1/8 miles in New Orleans on Feb. 15. The Risen Star offers 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby points. The Casse-trained War of Will won both the Lecomte and Risen Star last year before going on to win the Preakness Stakes.

“The one newcomer on this week’s Top 10 is Nadal, who made quite a splash with his impressive debut win in a maiden race at Santa Anita last Sunday. The $700,000 auction purchase ‘scorched 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.82 to emerge as a potential 3-year-old start for [trainer] Bob Baffert,’ Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free wrote. ‘Impressive recent works supported the idea Nadal had much potential, and his debut erased any doubt. Nadal broke a half-step slow from the rail, zoomed inside to duel through fast fractions of 21.88 and 44.91, and kicked away by 3 3/4 lengths over highly regarded Exaulted.’

“Baffert said he considered Nadal to be one of his better 2-year-olds last year. However, the colt did not race in 2019 due to a leg injury sustained due to acting up and kicking when traveling in a horse trailer.

“After Nadal’s terrific performance last Sunday, he debuts on the Top 10 this week all the way up at No. 3. Baffert indicated Nadal likely will go out of town for his next race, probably to Oaklawn Park.

“Keep in mind that Nadal’s debut win came on Jan. 19. That essentially puts him one month ahead of the Baffert-trained Justify, whose career debut came on Feb. 18 in 2018. Justify would go on to win the Santa Anita Derby and sweep the Triple Crown.

“Nadal is one of three 3-year-olds trained by Baffert on this week’s Top 10. The other two are No. 5 Thousand Words and No. 8 Authentic.

“Thousand Words, winner of the 1 1/16-mile Los Alamitos Futurity on a wet track Dec. 7, is scheduled to make his next start in Santa Anita’s Robert B. Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 1. Authentic won Santa Anita’s one-mile Sham Stakes by 7 3/4 lengths on Jan. 4.

“Meanwhile, Friday’s opening-day program at Oaklawn Park is headed by the Smarty Jones Stakes, a one-mile race for 3-year-olds named in honor of the 2004 Arkansas Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner.

“Friday’s Smarty Jones Stakes has attracted a field of nine and offers 10-4-2-1 points toward a Kentucky Derby berth. Four of the nine--Silver Prospector (the 5-2 morning-line favorite), Shoplifted (3-1), Gold Street (5-1) and Jungle Runner (20-1)--hail from the Steve Asmussen barn.

“Silver Prospector is coming off a win in Churchill’s Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last Nov. 30. The Declaration of War colt won that 1 1/16-mile affair by three-parts of a length on a sloppy track.

“Shoplifted is coming off a narrow victory in Remington Park’s Springboard Mile at one mile on Dec. 15. The Into Mischief colt prevailed by a head. Jungle Runner finished fourth, 14 lengths behind Shoplifted.

“Gold Street found a sloppy track to his liking when he splashed home a 3 1/2-length winner in the six-furlong Sugar Bowl Stakes at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds on Dec. 21. He needs to show that he can win on something other than a wet track. He’s two for two when racing on a wet track. He is winless in three starts when competing on a track that wasn’t wet.

“Another Smarty Jones contender is Three Technique. Trained by Jeremiah Englehart, Three Technique is making his stakes debut and first 2020 start. The Mr Speaker colt lost his first two races before winning by 5 1/2 lengths at Saratoga last Aug. 31 and by 4 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct on Nov. 20.

“Casse scratched Lynn’s Map from the Lecomte after the Liam’s Map colt had the misfortune to get post 14. The Liam’s Map colt fared better in the post-position draw for Friday’s Smarty Jones by getting post 8. He is 6-1 on the morning line.

“SoCal racing fans are familiar with Smarty Jones entrant Nucky, who is 10-1 on the morning line. The son of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper won the Del Mar Futurity last year. However, in his two subsequent starts, he lost Santa Anita’s American Pharoah Stakes by 38 1/4 lengths and Laurel’s Heft Stakes by 27 1/4 lengths.

“Honor A.P. had an important workout this past Monday at Santa Anita for trainer John Shirreffs, three furlongs in 39.20. ‘It was a very good work and he galloped out strong,’ Shirreffs told Ed Golden of Santa Anita.

“While Honor A.P.’s 39.20 clocking was not fast, it was significant for the son of Honor Code to have a workout of any sort after he had missed the Jan. 4 Sham when reported to have been ‘off his his right fore.’

“Honor A.P. finished a fast-closing second when debuting in a six-furlong maiden race at Del Mar last Aug. 17. He registered a front-running 5 1/4-length victory in a one-mile maiden race at Santa Anita on Oct. 13 when last seen under silks.

“Here are this week’s Kentucky Derby rankings, courtesy of Xpressbet:

1. Storm the Court (1)

2. Dennis’ Moment (2)

3. Nadal (NR)

4. Honor A.P. (4)

5. Thousand Words (3)

6. Maxfield (5)

7. Tiz the Law (6)

8. Authentic (7)

9. Independence Hall (8)

10. Untitled (9)

NOTE: Last week’s rankings in parentheses”

Santa Anita preview

We’re not going to spend much time on Friday’s card because it may even be worse than last week’s Friday offering. There are eight races starting at 1 p.m. Three of them are on the turf. There are a couple of $55,000 maiden special weights in the first and second races. Since the second is for Cal-breds that means the price tag is a little over-inflated. So, we’ll pick the first race for filies and mares 4 and up as the feature. The favorite is Unicorn for trainer Richard Baltas and jockey Umberto Rispoli at 9-5.

Here are the field sizes, in order: 8, 6, 6, 7, 11, 7, 9, 11.

Ciaran Thornton’s SA pick of the day

RACE THREE: No. 1 Uno Trouble Maker (6-1)

Uno Trouble Maker has Tiago Pereira riding for trainer William Spawr. This horse is six for 14 at this distance and six of 12 at Santa Anita. Tiago has ridden this horse every time. First start since October, the horse races protected on Friday. Uno has some sharp workouts for the comeback and trainer Spawr is 23% off the layoff. This horse dominated this time last year with four straight wins and drops in class for Friday’s race. Tiago also rides Uno instead of trainer Brian Koriner’s horse priced lower, another positive angle for me as he is Koriner’s main go to jockey.

Sunday’s result: Reem drifted out to 11-1 as the “other” Baffert and ran third behind the odds-on Baffert who ran second.

Ciaran Thornton is the handicapper for Californiapick4.com, which offers daily full card picks, longshots of the day, best bets of the day.

Golden Gate weekend preview

Here’s our weekly look at the best racing going on at Golden Gate Fields. As with the last meeting, we’re delighted to have race caller and all-around good guy Matt Dinerman as our host for previews and other musings. So, take it away, Matt.

“Live racing resumes Friday with first post set for 12:45 p.m. Leg D of the Stronach 5 wager will be the third race at Golden Gate. The morning line favorite is 2-1 shot Text Don’t Call, coming off a length win at this level for leading trainer Jonathan Wong. In that race, she set extremely soft fractions on the lead and coasted early. She won by a length late, and this time, she is projected to get more pace pressure on the lead. I don’t feel she is a lock by any means, despite being the one to beat. A field of 10 will go about 1:48 p.m.

“Friday’s feature is the seventh, a salty group of sprinters going six furlongs. Lost in the Fog Stakes third-place finisher Sequentially is the 9-5 morning line favorite for trainer Reid France and draws the rail. Also in the race is hard knocker Midnight Ming, synthetic specialist Pure Comedy and class dropper Skidoo.

“The Saturday feature is an allowance for 4-year-olds and up routing on the Tapeta. This race has plenty of early speed: Ernie Banks, Shot of a Lifetime and Sith Lord are all front runners that need the lead. Wesphire is also a stretch out sprinter that is projected to set up shop close to the pace. I’m going to look for an off the pace horse as a pace collapse could very well occur.

“Well done to trainer Steve Specht, who saddled Sacred Rider to a runner-up finish in the California Cup Derby at odds of 36-1 last Saturday. He lost the 1 1/16-mile dirt contest by a neck to the Rafael Becerra trained Fast Enough, but the effort put forth was certainly a winning effort. The Bill Delia trained Bettor Trip Nick, winner of last year’s Gold Rush Stakes and Golden Nugget Stakes at Golden Gate, ran a better-than-looked third after off slowly from the gates and rushing to the lead.

“Trainer Ari Herbertson saddles Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes third-place finisher Bay Muzik in the Clockers Corner Handicap this Sunday at Santa Anita. Abel Cedillo rides the son of City Zip, who is considered Northern California’s top turf sprinter. Herbertson said Bay Muzik posted a solid half-mile morning drill last week and ‘is coming into the race well. We’re looking forward to the race and equally excited that Abel is riding him.’

“Finally, we congratulate trainer Wong, who picked up his 500^th career win as a thoroughbred trainer in Sunday’s sixth race with Ailish’s Buttercup. Wong has been a mainstay in the Bay Area training colony for the last few years and continues to win at a solid clip with runners at various levels.”

Los Alamitos weekend preview

It’s time to turn things over to marketing and meda guru Orlando Gutierrez, who will tell us about the upcoming weekend at Los Alamitos. Orlando, the floor is yours.

“A Pick-6 carryover of $8,593 highlights Friday’s racing program at Los Alamitos, which once again will have an earlier starting time of 5:05 p.m. Eight races are on tap with the Pick 6 starting in the third race at about 6 p.m. With the new money expected to be wagered, the total pool should be more than $30,000. The opening leg of the Pick 6 sequence will feature a very competitive cast of thoroughbreds racing 870 yards. The field has won a combined 52 races with multiple stakes winner Justamitch being the win leader with 13. He’s won a pair of stakes races at this distance including the Catalina Handicap and the Truly A Pleasure Handicap at Los Alamitos.

“Dreams Divine will make her first start since finishing second by a whisker in the $1,070,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity on June 23 when she headlines the running of the $15,000 AB What A Runner Handicap for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday night. There are eight races with a 6 p.m. post.

“Cartel Jess Rockin finished the year as the top 2-year-old filly of 2019 but it was Dreams Divine who was the top filly on the grounds during the first part of the year. She finished third by a half-length in the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity and then had the early lead before Flokie caught her late to win the Ed Burke by a nose. Dreams Divine finished her freshman campaign with three wins from five starts and with $227,189 in earnings for trainer Mike Robbins. She’ll enter her sophomore debut after posting a solid 12.20 second work at 220 yards on Jan. 4. Veteran jockey Oscar Peinado will ride her from post four.

“On Sunday, 40 quarter horses will take part in the trials to the $109,500 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes for 3-year-olds. Those with the 10 fastest times will return for the 350-yard final on Feb. 16. Nine are no longer maidens and that’s because eligibility for the trials depends on whether a horse is a maiden on Dec. 1 of their 2-year-old year. The field will include Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity finalist Leonel Bugatti and Governor’s Cup Futurity finalist Come Forth.

“The Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Assn. recognizing California’s best for 2019. Not surprisingly, newly named AQHA World Champion He Looks Hot was PCQHRA Horse of the Year on the strength of his wins in the Champion of Champions and Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship. Ed Allred was owner of the year, Chris O’Dell was the trainer of the year, and Jesus Rios Ayala was the jockey of the year. Steve Burns was breeder of the year. Oscar Andrade, Jr. won the Val Tonks Award as young rider of the year. Special achievement awards went to owner Ron Hartley, breeder Martha Wells, trainer Scott Willoughby, and jockey Vinnie Bednar. Flokie and Runforyourlife were named the co-champion 2-year-old geldings.

Cartel Jess Rockin was champion 2-year-old filly, and Pitbull was champion 2-year-old colt. Among 3-year-olds, Flash And Roll was the top filly, Powerful Favorite the top gelding, and Red Hawk Cartel was the top colt. In older horses division, Tarzanito repeated as the champion stallion and Thermonuclear Energy and Tough To Figure were co-champion mares. Run Raging Rhino Run won the title of top distance horse. Ballast Point was the most improved quarter horse of the year.”

Chris Wade’s LA pick of the day

RACE EIGHT: No. 4 A Mere Bail (6-1)

She comes from the shed-row of trainer Jorge Farias, who often pops with nice price winners, and this filly has shown a lot of talent in previous starts. She exits a troubled start where she became fractious prior to breaking and was then bumped several times while losing more than a length to the leaders. After the tough start, A Mere Bail showed a nice turn of foot past the gap and was a close fourth even while still facing tight quarters. She’s well drawn for her return and is facing some quality opposition, but I really like the price.

Now, here’s the star of the show, Friday’s entries.