Archarcharch
and Nehro, who were separated
by a neck in the Arkansas Derby, and narrow Toyota Blue Grass winner Brilliant
Speed earned their way in the prospective Kentucky Derby 137 field
Saturday.
Archarcharch,
who began the week at No. 25, jumped to No. 3 on the Kentucky Derby 137 Graded
Stakes Earnings List after the $600,000 Arkansas Derby first prize jumped his
graded stakes earnings to $780,000. The list will likely determine the field
for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on Saturday, May 7 at Churchill
Downs. Runner-up Nehro doubled his earnings to
$400,000 and went from No. 22 to No. 13.
In
the Blue Grass, Brilliant Speed hung a nose on Twinspired and earned
$450,000, which ranked No. 10. The second-place check of $150,000 pushed Twinspired’s
bankroll to $197,500 and put him on the outside looking in at No. 24. Both
horses needed to win to crack the Top 20, and Twinspired will need defections,
which could happen.
Here’s
the official Kentucky Derby 137 Graded Stakes Earnings Top 30 through Saturday,
April 16 (with last week’s ranking on the Graded Stakes Earnings List plus
graded stakes earnings, the trainer of the horse and the next race and/or
travel updates):
Rank
(Last Week) Horse, Graded Stakes
Earnings, Trainer (Possible Next Race)
- (1.)
Uncle Mo, $1,360,000, Todd Pletcher (May 7 Kentucky
Derby;
arrived Monday)
2.
(2.) Dialed In, $840,000, Nick Zito (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrives April 30)
3.
(25.) Archarcharch, $780,000, Jinks Fires (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrived Tuesday)
4
(3.) Comma to the Top, $671,000, Peter Miller (May 7
Kentucky Derby under consideration; arrival TBA)
5.
(4.) Toby’s Corner, $625,000, Graham Motion (May 7
Kentucky Derby; arrival TBA)
6.
(5.) Pants On Fire, $623,000, Kelly Breen (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrives Sunday)
7.
(6.) Midnight Interlude, $600,000, Bob Baffert (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrives Thursday)
8.
(7.) J P’s Gusto, $544,000, Joe Petalino (May 7 Kentucky Derby under
consideration; arrives in Ky.
Tuesday)
9.
(8.) Soldat, $540,000, Kiaran McLaughlin (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrives April 30)
10.
(New) Brilliant Speed, $450,000, Tom Albertrani (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
stabled at Keeneland and arrival TBA)
11.
(9.) Master of Hounds, $441,884, Aidan O’Brien (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrives May 3)
12.
(10.) Twice the Appeal, $400,000, Jeff Bonde (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrives Tuesday)
13.
(22.) Nehro, $400,000, Steve Asmussen (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrives Tuesday)
14.
(11.) Mucho Macho Man, $370,000, Kathy Ritvo (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrived Monday)
15.
(12.) Decisive Moment, $301,000, Juan Arias (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrived March 30)
16.
(13.) Animal Kingdom, $285,000, Graham Motion (arrives
Thursday, decision on Derby
after Saturday work on dirt)
17.
(15.) The Factor, $272,500, Bob Baffert (plans not firm
after displacing palate in Arkansas Derby; arrives Tuesday)
18.
(16.) Stay Thirsty, $260,000, Todd Pletcher (May 7 Kentucky Derby;
arrived April 7)
19.
(17.) Jaycito, $250,000, Bob Baffert (April 23 Coolmore
Lexington; arrives Thursday)
20.
(18.) Santiva, $242,397, Eddie Kenneally (May 7 Kentucky Derby
is possible; stabled at Keeneland)
21.
(19.) Watch Me Go, $235,500 Kathleen O’Connell (status
unknown after sixth in Illinois Derby)
22.
(20.) Shackleford, $212,000, Dale Romans (May 7 Kentucky Derby
or May 21 Preakness)
23.
(37.) Twinspired, $197,500, Mike Maker (May 7 Kentucky Derby
if he can get in)
24.
(23.) Silver Medallion, $184,334, Steve Asmussen (Coolmore
Lexington on Saturday; needs win to crack Top 20)
25.
(24.) Anthony’s Cross, $182,000, Eoin Harty (status unknown
after fifth in Santa Anita Derby)
26.
(26.) Brethren, $155,000, Todd Pletcher (plans not firm
after 11th in Arkansas Derby)
27.
(28.) Mr. Commons, $120,000, John Shirreffs (status unknown
after third in Santa Anita Derby)
28.
(35.) Sway Away, $111,500, Jeff Bonde (plans not firm after
fourth in Arkansas Derby; arrives Tuesday)
29.
(New) Dance
City, $100,000 Todd
Pletcher (status unknown after third in Arkansas Derby; arrives Tuesday)
29.
(29.) Norman Asbjornson, $100,000, Chris Grove (status
unknown after fourth in Wood Memorial)
31.
(30.) Ruler On Ice, $96,000, Kelly Breen (April 30 The
Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial)
After
a string of stunning upsets in major preps (note: the average winning payoff
for the four Grade I Kentucky Derby preps was $35.45), it appears that Florida
Derby champ Dialed In will inherit the role as the Derby favorite. Others that figure to receive
support from the betting public include winter book favorite Uncle Mo,
Risen Star winner and Louisiana Derby third Mucho Macho Man,
Archarcharch, Nehro, Fountain of Youth champ and Florida Derby fifth Soldat,
Santa Anita Derby winner Midnight Interlude and Wood Memorial victor Toby’s
Corner.
The
status of several horses remains in a state of flux:
- Top-ranked
Uncle Mo (gastrointestinal infection), No. 18 The Factor (flipped
palate) and No. 20 Jaycito (bruised foot) are recovering from
recent setbacks, with the latter possibly contesting Saturday’s Grade III,
$200,000 Coolmore Lexington at Keeneland.
- The
connections for No. 4 Comma to the Top suggested that the gelding
would bypass the Kentucky Derby in advance of the Santa Anita Derby, but
are now considering the race after he finished a close second.
- The
status of No. 8 J P’s Gusto remains unclear after back-to-back
disappointing efforts at Oaklawn
Park. He is booked
on an Arkansas-to-Kentucky charter flight
Tuesday, but the plane reservation notes that he will then be vanned to New York. On
Tuesday morning, trainer Joe Petalino said the colt could go to an
area farm until owner Dr. John Waken makes his final decision about
the Derby,
which he expected to come sometime between Thursday and Sunday. “He’s
still in the mix,” said Petalino, who reported that the ridgling would
likely go to East Coast-based trainer Mike Hushion following the Derby.
- Ireland-based
No. 11 Master of Hounds, who was under consideration for the Qipco
English 2000 Guineas on Kentucky Derby Day, now appears on course for the
Derby as travel plans appear firm with his arrival scheduled for
approximately 11 a.m. on Tuesday of Kentucky Derby Week (May 3).
- Plans
for No. 16 Animal Kingdom, who has raced exclusively on turf and
synthetic surfaces, won’t be finalized until the colt has a workout over
Churchill Downs’ dirt oval Saturday.
- It
was announced Monday that Astrology, who would be ranked No. 17
with $281,893, would contest Saturday’s Grade II, $150,000 Jerome at
Aqueduct and, in all likeliness, bypass the Kentucky Derby. “We feel that
running him in the Kentucky Derby off one prep race is too much to ask of
him at this point,” trainer Steve Asmussen said in a news release.
The colt departed for New York
on Monday night, and he was removed from the list of possible contenders.
- No.
20 Santiva finished ninth in the Blue Grass as the 2-1 favorite but
is considered “possible” for the Derby
if he makes the field.
- There’s
been no word from the camp of No. 21 Watch Me Go about next-race
plans following his distant sixth in the TVG Illinois Derby. After the
race, trainer Kathleen O’Connell suggested the colt may not have
liked the Hawthorne
surface. He was made a late Triple Crown nominee after winning the Tampa
Bay Derby.
- Silver Medallion, who
begins the week at No. 24 with $184,334, will attempt to crack the Top 20
in Saturday’s Lexington.
The 1 1/16-mile race over Polytrack features a $120,000 first prize, which
would jump him to No. 16. A runner-up effort, worth $40,000, would only
move him up two spots ahead of No. 22 Shackleford and No. 23 Twinspired,
whose connections desire to make the field.
- No.
25 Anthony’s Cross, No. 26 Brethren, No. 27 Mr. Commons,
No. 28 Sway Away and others appear to need several defections
within the next two weeks to make the field.
Whew.
Outside
of Astrology, Jaycito and Silver Medallion, it does not appear that this
weekend’s races – the Lexington
and Jerome – can produce any other Kentucky Derby 137 starters.
The
final chance for those on the outside looking in to accrue coveted graded
stakes money will come Opening Night at Churchill Downs under the lights in the
Grade III, $200,000-added The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial. The one-turn mile race,
which will feature a first prize in excess of $124,000, will be run as Race 8
in prime time at 9:39 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 30 – one week in advance of
the Kentucky Derby.
The
$2 million guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) has
been restricted to 20 starters since 1975. Graded stakes earnings accumulated
in races on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” have determined the field for the
1 ¼-mile classic since 1986.
The
Kentucky Derby 137 Graded Stakes Earnings List only includes active 3-year-olds
that were made eligible to the Triple Crown. Also, their connections have
suggested that they’re considering a run in the 1 ¼-mile classic.
Twenty
horses have entered the Derby
every year since 2004, and 10 of the last 12 years. The 20th and
final spot in the starting gate – a.k.a. “the bubble” horse – has varied year
to year. Last year, it took a record $218,750 for eventual fourth-place
finisher Make Music for Me to make the field. In 2009, it took only
$55,500 for Nowhere to Hide to complete the 20-horse lineup. Over the
last five years, the final horse to make the field has earned an average of
$130,450 in graded stakes races.