©2018 Calvin L.
Carter. All rights reserved.
The
Road
to the Kentucky Derby takes us to the Empire State Saturday where MAXIMUS MISCHIEF
will go to the starting gate as the 6-5 morning line favorite in the 103rd
running of the $250,000 Remsen
Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack. Post time is 3:12 p.m. ET.
Undefeated
in two starts, Maximus Mischief comes into this race for trainer Robert Reid,
Jr. off an impressive allowance win at Parx on October 20. Here’s the video
and chart
call of that race:
MAXIMUS MISCHIEF ducked
out while breaking like a bullet, bore out and was rank in the opening furlong
while under a stout hold, settled nicely as he was steered closer to the rail
on the backstretch, remained in hand, easily shook loose of ABSENTEE entering
the stretch and extended his lead through the stretch in another eye-catching
performance.
Maximus
Mischief was just two much the best as he cruised to an easy six-length victory
to run his combined total win margin to 14¾ lengths in two starts.
Into
Mischief, the sire of Audible, was a
precocious colt and multiple graded stakes winner that compiled a 3-3-0 record
in six starts with $597,080 in career earnings.
As a two-year-old, Into Mischief
easily won his maiden debut by 2½ lengths at Santa Anita Park on October 21,
2007. He went on to finish second in the Hollywood Prevue Stakes (G3) and
followed that with a win in the 8½-furlong CashCall Futurity (G1). His finish
time of 1:40.82 was just a few ticks off of the record time of 1:40.74 set by Afternoon
Deelites and the second fastest time of
1:40.78 set by Valiant
Nature.
In his debut as a three-year-old
in February 2008, Into Mischief finished second to Georgie Boy
in the San Vicente Stakes (G2). He came out of that race with an injury
to his right-hind foot and he was taken off the Triple Crown Trail.
After an extended break, Into
Mischief returned to racing in October winning the Damascus Stakes by two
lengths. In December, Into Mischief finished his racing season with a
second-place finish in the Malibu Stakes (G1).
Into Mischief’s best runners on
the Kentucky Derby Trail have been Audible,
Goldencents,
Practical
Joke, Vyjack
and Vicar’s
in Trouble. Audible won the Holy Bull
Stakes (G2) and Florida Derby (G1) en route to a third-place finish in the
Kentucky Derby (G1). Goldencents won the Santa Anita Derby and finished 17th
in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Practical Joke finished second in the Toyota Blue
Grass Stakes (G2) and fifth in the Derby. Vyjack finished third in the Wood
Memorial Stakes (G1) and 18th in the Derby. Vicar’s in Trouble won
the Louisiana Derby and finished 19th in the Kentucky Derby (G1).
Harlan’s
Holiday, the grandsire of Audible, won
the Florida Derby (G1), Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and finished seventh in
the Kentucky Derby (G1).
Maximus Mischief has a low H Classic
Champion Thoroughbred Profile®
but his Behavior
Index
potentially makes him competitive in this race. Time will tell if he can if he
can successfully stretch out to nine furlongs like previous Into Mischief colts
have on the Kentucky Derby Trail.
A
long shot I like is GLADIATOR KING
(15-1) who ships in from Gulfstream Park West with a 2-1-0 record in four
starts for trainer Jaime Mejia. Here’s the video
and chart
call of his last race which he won by a nose.
GLADIATOR KING vied
three wide for early lead and then lost some ground on CAROTARI when inside
rival checked at three eights pole, re-challenged rival approaching quarter
pole then lost some ground on out of the turn, roused back to duel outside path
of CAROTARI, foe held slight edge then pair exchanged noses nearing wire and
got nose up in time.
I
like the way Gladiator King kept running with determination to finally prevail
by a nose at the wire.
Curlin, the sire of Gladiator King, was an outstanding
racehorse that compiled an 11-2-2 record in 16 career starts with $10,501,800
in career earnings.
Curlin did not
start as a two-year-old. But, at the age of three, Curlin was 6-1-2 in nine
starts with $5,102,800 in earnings including wins in the Rebel Stakes (G3) and
Arkansas Derby (G2) en route to a third-place finish in the 2007 Kentucky Derby
(G1). He went on to win the Preakness Stakes (G1) and he finished second in the
Belmont Stakes (G1).
Other important
stakes wins include the Breeders'
Cup Classic (G1), Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), twice, Dubai World Cup (G1), Stephen
Foster Handicap (G1), Woodward Stakes (G1), and the UAE Jaguar Trophy Handicap.
In
six crops as a stallion, Curlin has sired the 2013 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Palace Malice and the 2016 Preakness Stakes
(G1) winner Exaggerator. In addition, Curlin produced
the classic-placed runners Good Magic (second, 2018 Kentucky Derby), Tenfold (third, 2018 Preakness), Ride On Curlin (second, 2014 Preakness), Keen Ice (third, 2015 Belmont) and Irish
War Cry
(second, 2017 Belmont).
Gladiator
King has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and he’s the best-bred
colt in this herd of runners. He has good speed and his breeding indicates that
he should be able to extend his speed in the stretch out to nine furlongs.
I
look for Gladiator King run another good race and, perhaps, upset at a nice
price.
JUNGLE WARRIOR (8-1) comes into this race for
new trainer James Jerkens off a fifth-place finish in the Summer Stakes (G1) at
Woodbine. Here’s the video and chart call of that race:
JUNGLE WARRIOR, rated
off the pace, came four then three-wide through the turn, chased into the
stretch and rallied gamely.
Jungle
Warrior ran at the back of the herd until the stretch when he made a move to
improve position and get up for fifth-place at the finish.
Animal
Kingdom, the sire of Jungle Warrior, was
a multiple-graded stakes winner and Classic Champion Thoroughbred that compiled
a 5-5-0 record in 12 starts with $8,387,500 in career earnings. In my December
2010 Kentucky Derby Outlook blog I wrote that Animal Kingdom
would perhaps be my 2011 Derby favorite.
As a two-year-old, Animal Kingdom
only made two starts, breaking his maiden on the second start. As a
three-year-old, he compiled a 2-2-0 record in five starts with wins in the
Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes (G3) and Kentucky Derby (G1). He finished second in
the Preakness Stakes (G1) and sixth in the Belmont Stakes (G1).
Animal Kingdom made only two
starts as a four-year-old and he finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile
(G1). As a five-year-old, Animal Kingdom made three starts finishing second in
the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1) and winning the Dubai World Cup
sponsored by Emirates Airlines.
Animal Kingdom was a versatile,
world-class runner that won on dirt, turf and artificial surfaces and he won
races on two continents.
Jungle Warrior has an A+ Classic
Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and his finish time in the Summer Stakes (G1) is
what I like to see young colts run on the Kentucky Derby Trail.
He’s been training well at
Belmont Park and has room to improve in his third start of the season.
I look for Jungle Warrior to run
a good race.
TAX (15-1) comes into this race off
a maiden claim for $50,000 for new owners Hugh Lynch and Corms Racing Stable.
To date he’s compiled a 1-1-0 record in two starts and in his last race he broke
his maiden at Keeneland Racecourse. Here’s the video and chart
call of that race:
TAX tracked the
pace early, shifted into the three path in the far turn then drove past the
leader down the lane and cleared the field in the final stages.
Tax
tracked the leader in second place until the far turn when he made a move and took
the lead in the stretch to win by two lengths.
Arch, the sire of Tax, was a multiple
graded stakes winner that compiled a 5-1-0 record in seven starts with $480,969
in career earnings.
Arch
made only one start as a two-year-old easily winning a maiden special weight at
Keeneland in October 1997. As a three-year-old, Arch won an allowance race at
Keeneland in April 1998 and compiled a 4-1-0 record in six starts including
wins in the 10-furlong Super Derby (G1) and the 9½-furlong Fayette Breeders'
Cup Stakes (G3).
As
a stallion, Arch’s best Top Lifetime Runners include: Blame, Grand
Arch, Arravale, Hymn Book,
Art
Trader, Les Arcs, Archarcharch
and Pine
Island.
Tax
has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and the breeding to finish in
the money or hit the board. However, his finish time last out was a bit slower
than what I like.
Tax
has been training well at Belmont Park and has room to improve in his third
start of the season. A recent bullet workout could have Tax ready to run a good
race and only time will tell if he can step up to earn graded stakes honors.
Honorable
mention goes to maiden winner Bourbon War (5-1). He also
has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and the breeding to finish in
the money or hit the board. However, his final time for the mile
in his maiden debut was slower than what I like, and, stretching out to nine
furlongs in his second start may be a bit much too soon.
*****
A
total of 35 prep races comprise the USA Road to the Kentucky Derby. In
addition, there are seven races on the European road and four races on the
Japan road to Derby glory.
2018/2019 KENTUCKY DERBY
LEADERBOARD
Ranking, total points, Trainer,
Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Game Winner, 30, Bob Baffert, $1,460,000
2. Knicks Go, 18,
Ben Colebrook, $656,085
3. Signalman, 18, Ken McPeek, $392,840
4. Complexity, 10,
Chad Brown, $275,000
5. Cairo Cat, 10, Ken McPeek, $86,490
6. Gunmetal Gray, 4, Jerry Hollendorfer, $120,000
7. Code of Honor, 4, Shug McGaughey, $100,000
8. Tight Ten, 4, Steve Asmussen, $67,900
9. Plus Que Parfait, 4, Brendan Walsh, $36,400
10. Call Paul, 2, Jason Servis, $194,000
11. Mr. Money, 2, Bret Calhoun, $100,000
12. Rowayton, 2, Jerry Hollendorfer, $96,000
13.+Standard Deviation, 2, Chad Brown,
$50,000
14. Limonite, 2, Steve Asmussen, $18,200
15. Pole Sitter, 2, Brad Cox, $17,950
16. Sombeyay, 1, Todd Pletcher, $158,500
17. Tobacco Road, 1, Steve Asmussen, $63,400
18. +Aurelius Maximus, 1, Chad Brown,
$30,000
19. Jefe, 1, Keith Desormeaux, $18,000
20. King for a Day, 1, Todd Pletcher, $9,100
+ = Horses picked as yearlings on our
2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sales list.
EUROPEAN ROAD LEADERBOARD
Ranking, total points, Trainer,
Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1.
Royal Marine (IRE), 10, Saeed bin Suroor, $264,968
2. Magna Grecia
(IRE), 10, Aidan O’Brien, $185,000
3. Mohawk (IRE),
10, Aidan O’Brien, $128,702
4.
Japan (GB), 10, Aidan O’Brien, $75,316
5.
Phoenix of Spain (IRE), 4, Charlie Hill, $157,944
6.
Broome (IRE), 4, Aidan O’Brien, $140,871
7.
Sydney Opera House (GB), 4, Aidan O’Brien, $40,956
8.
Mount Everest (IRE), 4, Aidan O’Brien, $24,254
9.
Anodor (FR), 2, Freddie Head, $99,215
10.
Western Australian (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $43,084
11.
Cape of Good Hope (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $41,515
12.
Power of Now (IRE), 2, Michael O’Callaghan, $11,489
13.
Boitron (FR), 1, Richard Hannon, $44,917
14.
Victory Command, (IRE), 1, Mark Johnston, $35,108
15.
Circus Maximus (IRE), 1, Aidan O’Brien, $24,368
16.
Sovereign (IRE), 1, Aiden O’Brien, $5,106
JAPAN ROAD LEADERBOARD
Ranking, total points, Trainer
1.
f-Make Happy, 10, Koichi Shinkai
2.
Kingen (JPN), 4, Kunihide Matsuda
3.
Johaan (JPN), 2, Yasuyuki Takahashi
4.
Romantico (JPN), 1, Kazuo Fujisawa
