Sham Stakes Racing Roundup

A field of six 3-year-old Thoroughbreds will go to the starting gate Saturday in the $100,000 Sham Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park.

The Sham Stakes is the first qualifying race on the 2013 Kentucky Derby Trail. The winner will receive 10 points while second-place will yield 4 points, the third-place finisher will receive 2 points and the fourth-place finisher will receive 1 point.

Trainer Doug O’Neill has never won the Sham but he has two opportunities to score with the 4-5 morning-line favorite Goldencents and Greeley Awesome (20-1).

Goldencents looms as the horse to beat and he currently is ranked 2^nd with 14 points on the list of Kentucky Derby qualifiers. A win in the Sham would put him at the top of the list ahead of Shanghai Bobby who has 20 points.

Here’s a look at the top twenty Kentucky Derby qualifiers:

Individual Leaders ranking, total points, Trainer

1 = Shanghai Bobby, 20, Todd Pletcher

2 = Goldencents, 14, Doug O’Neill

3 = Violence, 10, Todd Pletcher

4 = Joha, 10, Mike Maker

5 = Overanalyze, 10, Todd Pletcher

6 = Uncaptured, 10, Mark Casse

7 = Power Broker, 10, Bob Baffert

8 = Steeler, 10, Mark Johnson

9 = River Seven, 10, Nick Gonzalez

10 = Tesseron, 5, Josie Carroll

11= Bern Identity, 4, Kelly Breen

12 = He’s Had Enough, 4, Doug O’Neill

13 = Capo Bastone, 4, Todd Pletcher

14 = Know More, 4, Doug O’Neill

15 = Fury Kapcori, 4, Jerry Hollendorfer

16 = Dynamic Sky, 4, Mark Casse

17 = Artigiano, 4, Mahmood Al Zarooni

18 = Normandy Invasion, 4, Chad Brown

19 = Frac Daddy, 4, Kenny McPeak

20 = Fortify, 3, Kiaran McLaughlin

Goldencents has been training well at Santa Anita and he’s never finished worse than second in three starts. Goldencents is one of the horses I profiled in my 2013 Kentucky Derby Outlook and I’m looking forward to see how he performs in his 3-year-old debut.

The Sham is contested at a mile and I’ll be looking for a time of 1:35 or better.

Trainer Bob Baffert is tied with trainer Eoin Harty for the most wins in the Sham Stakes with two wins each and he has an opportunity to take the lead Saturday with Den’s Legacy and Manando – both as the 3-1 morning-line second-choice.

Den’s Legacy is currently ranked 21^st on the Kentucky Derby qualifying list with 2 points and a finish in the top three would move him into the top twenty list. Manando has yet to earn any Derby points.

I look for Den’s Legacy and Manando to be competitive in the Sham but they will need to improve their game if they are going to beat Goldencents. Den’s Legacy has shown good speed on the turf finishing a half-length runner up to Gervinho in the one mile Zuma Beach Stakes in a time of 1:34.59. Den’s Legacy came home a half-length winner in the one mile Generous Stakes (G3) in a time of 1:36.32.

A recent bullet work out at Santa Anita could have Den’s Legacy ready to run a good race. If he can transfer his turf speed to the dirt, Den’s Legacy will be tough in the Sham Stakes.

JEROME STAKES

The $200,000 Jerome Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct is not a Derby qualifying race and the only reason I’m mentioning it is because a horse I’ve been following for some time – Amerigo Vespucci (12-1) – is entered in the race.

Amerigo Vespucci has yet to run in a route race and he’s never finished worse than second in four starts. He’s been consistently firing bullets at Laurel Park and I’m anxious to see how he performs in the stretch out in distance.

In addition to Amerigo Vespucci, Vyjack, who’s undefeated in two starts, and the recent maiden winners Long River (5-2) and Mudflats (3-1) have been receiving some buzz. A good performance Saturday by any of those competitors could earn them a shot in a Derby qualifying race.

 *****

Kentucky Derby 2013 Leaderboard

(Updated January 5, 2013)

Individual Leaders ranking, total points, Trainer

1 = Goldencents, 24, Doug O’Neill

2 = Shanghai Bobby, 20, Todd Pletcher

3 = Violence, 10, Todd Pletcher

4 = Joha, 10, Mike Maker

5 = Overanalyze, 10, Todd Pletcher

6 = Uncaptured, 10, Mark Casse

7 = Power Broker, 10, Bob Baffert

8 = Steeler, 10, Mark Johnson

9 = River Seven, 10, Nick Gonzalez

10 = Den’s Legacy, 6, Bob Baffert

11 = Tesseron, 5, Josie Carroll

12= Bern Identity, 4, Kelly Breen

13 = He’s Had Enough, 4, Doug O’Neill

14 = Capo Bastone, 4, Todd Pletcher

15 = Know More, 4, Doug O’Neill

16 = Fury Kapcori, 4, Jerry Hollendorfer

17 = Dynamic Sky, 4, Mark Casse

18 = Artigiano, 4, Mahmood Al Zarooni

19 = Normandy Invasion, 4, Chad Brown

20 = Frac Daddy, 4, Kenny McPeak

Goldencents moves up from 2^nd to 1^st place. Den’s Legacy, ranked 21^st, moves up to 10^th place.

Sham Stakes (G3), Santa Anita Park, January 5, 2013

1. Goldencents, 10

2. Den’s Legacy, 4

3. Manando, 2

4. Dry Summer 1