Pants
On Fire, the more lightly regarded of
two starters owned by George and Lori Hall, surged to the lead at the
head of the stretch under sizzling jockey Rosie Napravnik, turned back
favored Mucho Macho Man in mid-stretch and held off longshot Nehro
to win Saturday’s $1 million Louisiana Derby (Grade II) by a neck.
The
victory in New Orleans earned the Kelly Breen-trained son of Jump Start
a trip to Churchill Downs for the 137th
running of the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) on
Saturday, May 7. The win by
Napravnik, who rode Pants On Fire for the first time, could make her the first
female jockey to compete in the Run for the Roses since Rosemary Homeister
Jr. piloted Supah Blitz to a 13th place finish in 2003.
“He
ran with as much heart as a horse can run with down the lane,” said Napravnik,
who rode four other winners Saturday. “Mucho Macho Man came up next to us and
he just dug in and he really finished with all heart.”
The
victory improved the career record for Pants On Fire to 2-3-1 in eight races
with earnings of $678,100. Pants On Fire covered 1 1/8 miles over a fast
track in 1:49.92.
“This
horse is really blossoming,” Breen said. “You know it was like going to Disneyland, that sort of thing. We stamped our
ticket. Hopefully the horse comes out of the race in good order and we’ll be on
to Churchill.”
The
other half of the Breen-trained entry, Nacho Business, finished eighth.
The
race was a disappointment for Mucho Macho Man, who was favored off his strong
debut victory at Fair Grounds in the Risen Star (GII), but he could have an
excuse for his sub-par run. Mucho Macho Man lost a shoe just after the start of
the race, but trainer Kathy Ritvo said her colt was fine Sunday and
still Kentucky Derby-bound.
“We
can’t win all the time,” Ritvo said. “We’d like to, but we can’t. We’ll just
put what happened (Saturday) down as a learning experience, but you would think
that when a horse loses a shoe right out of the gate it probably costs him two
lengths, or at least one length.”
Trainer
Steve Asmussen said surprise runner-up Nehro could run next in
the $1 million Arkansas Derby (GI).
Elite
Alex closed from last to finish
fourth, and was followed by Machen, Wilkinson, Left, Nacho
Business, Majestic Harbor, Le
Mans, Mavericking and Liondrive.
Earlier,
Courtlandt Farm’s Prime Cut and jockey Edgar Prado rallied
to upset highly-regarded Bind in an allowance race at a mile and 70
yards. The
latter dazzled local fans with a 9-1/2 length win in a Feb. 19 maiden race.
MIDWEST
(Illinois, Kentucky)
/ ANIMAL KINGDOM RALLIES IN VINERY RACING SPIRAL, EARNS DERBY SHOT
Team
Valor International’s Animal
Kingdom, making just the fourth start of his career, rallied from last in a
field of 11 to win the $500,000 Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes (GII) at Turfway
Park and appeared to earn a spot in the starting gate for Kentucky Derby
137.
Jockey
Alan Garcia positioned the Graham Motion-trained Animal Kingdom
well behind a strong three-way pace duel that softened up early leader and
favorite Positive Response. When the favorite faltered at the top of the
stretch, Decisive Moment assumed the lead and spurted clear, but the
eventual runner-up could not hold off Animal Kingdom, who surged in the middle
of the track to win by 2 3/4 lengths.
“I’m
very excited,” Garcia said. “Wherever they want to go with this horse, I want
to be there.”
Twinspired ran late to finish third, while John Battaglia
Memorial winner Positive Response finished eighth.
The
winner covered 1 1/8 miles on the synthetic Polytrack course in 1:52.32.
Both
Animal Kingdom and Decisive Moment will apparently train up to their next
starts in the May 7 Kentucky Derby. Team Valor International President Barry
Irwin told Daily Racing Form’s Marty McGee that
Animal Kingdom, who has yet to run on the traditional dirt he’ll see in the Derby, would train over the synthetic Polytrack surface at
Keeneland and travel to Churchill Downs to work over its dirt surface prior to
the Derby.
Trainer
Juan Arias said Decisive Moment would ship from Turfway Park
to Churchill Downs early Monday. He will be the first Kentucky Derby
contender to arrive on the grounds of the historic Louisville track.
Earlier
at Turfway, Swift Warrior led throughout under jockey Javier
Castellano to defeat Crimson China by two lengths in the $100,000
Rushaway Stakes. The winner was not an early Kentucky Derby nominee.
WEST
(Arizona, California,
New Mexico) / LONGSHOT TWICE THE APPEAL UPSETS
ASTROLOGY IN SUNLAND PARK DERBY
Longshot
Twice the Appeal, dismissed at odds of 25-1, rallied past favored Astrology
in the stretch and inched away to a 1 ½-length upset in Sunday’s $800,000
Sunland Park Derby.
The
victory under jockey Christian Santiago Reyes probably put the son of
Successful Appeal in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, which uses
earnings in graded stakes races to determine the maximum field of 20 horses for
America’s
greatest race. The $400,000 earned by the previously obscure Twice the Appeal
in Sunday’s race vaulted trainer Jeff Bonde’s colt into the Top 10 in
graded earnings by Kentucky Derby nominees.
Astrology,
who was making his first start since late November for trainer Steve Asmussen,
held on to edge Ruler on Ice for the runner-up spot..
Twice
the Appeal, who is owned by Edward Brown Jr.,
Victor Flores and Henry Hernandez,
covered 1 1/8 miles over a fast track in 1:50.91 for Bonde, who has never
started a horse in the Kentucky Derby. Bonde also trains San Vicente (GII)
runner-up Sway Away.
DUBAI / KHAWLAH BECOMES FIRST FILLY TO WIN UAE DERBY
Godolphin’s Dubai-based Khawlah became the first
filly to win the $2 million UAE Derby
(GII) when the 3-year-old filly rallied late to edge the Irish-based Master
of Hounds by a nose on Saturday at Meydan Racecourse.
French
teenager Mickael Barzalona was in the saddle as the daughter of Cape Cross
caught the Aidan O’Brien-trained Master of Hounds and jockey Ryan
Moore in the final jump to become the first filly to sweep the UAE Oaks and
Derby. The race
was run over Meydan’s synthetic Tapeta surface.
Trainer
Saeed bin Suroor, who won the UAE Derby for a seventh time, said Khawlah
would be sent to England
and pointed toward the Group 1 Epsom Oaks.
Immediate
plans for Master of Hounds, who made his first start of 2011, have not been
finalized.
FLORIDA / UNCLE MO, STAY THIRSTY WORK FOR PLETCHER
Repole Stable’s Gotham (GIII) winner Stay
Thirsty worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 in the company of a stablemate on
Sunday at Florida’s
Palm Meadows training center. Trainer Todd Pletcher worked Stay Thirsty
in blinkers and indicated the colt would likely be wearing that piece of
equipment when he runs in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby (GI).
Pletcher
also worked Repole’s Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo a half-mile in an
easy :49.40 in the company of two workmates. Uncle Mo
will run next in the $1 million Wood Memorial (GI) on April 9 at Aqueduct.