Derby trail: Journalism soars to Derby berth
Several more runners punched Kentucky Derby tickets Saturday in the last round of major prep races of the season.
There is one more 100-point race to go. The Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland was postponed from Saturday to Tuesday, a victim of the rains that soaked Kentucky this weekend.
But in the Wood Memorial, Santa Anita Derby, and UAE Derby, several runners impressed.
Wood Memorial top five: Rodriguez, Grande, Passion Rules, Captain Cook, McAfee
Bob Baffert’s top runners stayed home, but that worked out just fine as Rodriguez, an Authentic colt he trains for a sizable partnership including SF Racing and others, registered a front-running score under Mike Smith.
Second in the Robert B. Lewis and third in the San Felipe, Rodriguez notched his first victory against winners and secured his spot in the Kentucky Derby by upping his point total to 121.25, currently third most.
Also likely Kentucky-bound is runner-up Grande, who earned his first 50 points for trainer Todd Pletcher, owner Repole Stable, and jockey Dylan Davis.
Santa Anita Derby top five: Journalism, Baeza, Westwood, Citizen Bull, Barnes
Journalism wore down Baeza to score his fourth consecutive victory. He will likely be the favorite in Louisville after earning 122.5 points. An $825,000 auction purchase, he is trained by Michael McCarthy for another sizable partnership and had Umberto Rispoli in the irons.
Baeza, a McKinzie colt trained by John Shirreffs, ran a game race in defeat in his first start since breaking his maiden. The 50 points he earned are enough to start in the Kentucky Derby if his connections decide to move forward.
The major disappointments were the Bob Baffert trainees, last year’s two-year-old champion Citizen Bull and $3.2 million auction purchase Barnes. Barnes was eager early and empty late, finishing fifth and last; while Citizen Bull led into the stretch before flattening out to finish fourth, nearly 10 lengths behind the winner.
Citizen Bull has 75 points, enough to head to Louisville if his connections want. With Barnes, however, it’ll be back to the drawing board.
UAE Derby top five: Admire Daytona, Heart of Honor, Don In the Mood, Shin Forever, Queen Azteca
Admire Daytona ran a terrific race to score by a head to win the UAE Derby. Heart of Honor was second.
The Japanese-bred and -based Admire Daytona was ridden by Christophe Lemaire for trainer Yukihiro Kato and owner Junko Kondo.
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