©2017 Calvin L.
Carter. All rights reserved.
The
first qualifying race of the season for three year old Thoroughbreds on the Road to the Kentucky Derby takes us to the Empire State, Monday,
January 2, where Takaful will go the starting gate as
the even money, morning-line favorite in the 147th running of the $150,000
Jerome Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack. Post time for the race will be 3:50
p.m. ET.
Takaful
comes into this race with a 1-0-1 record in two starts for trainer Kiaran
McLaughlin including a third-place finish in the Remsen Stakes (G2) last
November. Here’s the video and chart call of the Remsen:
TAKAFUL spurted
away from the competition after the start, cut over to the rail, held his
largest advantage between calls on the backstretch, was joined up by the top
one at midpoint, continued to be rated along showing the way, with the winner
in attendance two wide, had that rival close in after more than halfway around
the second bend, made a stern bid shortly after stepping into the stretch, succumbed
then weakened into the show slot.
Despite his third-place finish, Takaful ran
pretty good in just his second start, leading all rivals almost to the eighth
pole until giving way for the show. With an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® he should get better during
his three year old racing season.
Bernardini, the sire of Takaful, did not
race as a 2-year-old but at the age of three, he was a fast colt that won races
from a mile to 10-furlongs.
He
broke his maiden on his second start running a mile at Gulfstream Park in
1:35.57. That’s the kind of time I like to see a young colt run in a mile.
Bernardini went on to become a Classic Champion Thoroughbred, compiling a 6-1-0
record in eight starts with $3,060,480 in career earnings.
Notable
races won by Bernardini in route to becoming the 2006 Eclipse Champion
Three-Year-Old Male include: Withers Stakes (G3, 8-furlongs), Preakness Stakes
(G1, 9½-furlongs), Jim Dandy Stakes (G2, 8½ furlongs), Travers Stakes (G1, 10
furlongs), Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1, 10 furlongs) and he finished
second, a length behind Invasor, winner of the 2006 Breeders’
Cup Classic (G1, 10 furlongs).
Takaful
has room to improve in just his third start. He’s been training well at Belmont
Park since the Remsen and a recent bullet work could have him ready to earn
graded stakes honors.
Win With Pride (6-1) is one of
two young colts trainer Todd Pletcher has in this race. Pletcher also trains Bonus Points. Win With
Pride also has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and he comes into
this race with a 1-0-1 record in three starts including a fourth-place in the
Remsen. Here’s the
video and chart call of the Remsen:
WIN WITH PRIDE, raced three wide on both turns, altered course
towards the center of the strip in mid-lane, made no headway.
Win
With Pride was in the race until the stretch and he may not have been ready for
the increased nine furlong distance. The cut back in distance may help him in
his effort to earn black type.
Distorted Humor, the sire of Win With Pride, made his first start
in February of his three-year-old racing season and he did not run in the
Kentucky Derby. Overall, he compiled an 8-5-3 record in 23 starts and his most
notable stakes wins were in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2), Salvator Mile Handicap
(G3), Commonwealth Breeders’ Cup Stakes (G3), Churchill Downs Stakes (G2) and
the Ack Ack Handicap (G3).
As
a stallion, Distorted Humor has sired numerous graded stakes winners, including
the classic champions Funny Cide, winner of the 2003 Kentucky
Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) and Drosselmeyer, winner of the 2010 Belmont
Stakes (G1). Distorted Humor also is the grandsire of I’ll Have Another, winner of the 2012 Kentucky
Derby (G1).
Another
step forward can make Win With Pride competitive in this race.
A
long shot I like is Everybodyluvsrudy (8-1) who broke his maiden in
his last race and comes into the Jerome with a 1-3-0 record in five starts for
trainer Rudy Rodriquez. Here’s the video and chart call of his maiden
win:
EVERYBODYLUVSRUDY
broke out at the start and was corrected, chased three to four wide down the
backstretch in mid pack, advanced into the turn stacking out five wide between
foes moving into contention, ranged up under light coaxing to take command near
the quarter pole and swung three wide at that station, edged away under a drive
shying out a bit under a near side stick inside the eighth pole and held clear
kept to task to the wire.
Union
Rags, the sire
of Everybodyluvsrudy, was a competitive colt on the trail to the 2012 Kentucky
Derby (G1), compiling an overall 5-1-1 record in eight career starts with
$1,798,800 in earnings.
As
a two year old, he won the Three Chimneys Saratoga Special (G2) and Champagne
(G1) stakes and finished second in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1)
stakes.
At
the age of three, Union Rags won the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) stakes
and finished third in the Florida Derby (G1) en route to a seventh-place finish
in the Kentucky Derby (G1). He finished his career with a narrow win by a neck
over Paynter in the Belmont (G1) stakes.
Everybodyluvsrudy
has room to improve as a three year old and I look for him to be competitive.
Honorable
mention goes to El Areeb (3-1) who’s stepping up in
class and has yet to run in route race. Here’s the video of his last race, the James F
Lewis III Stakes. With an A profile, he has the potential to be a factor in the
exotics.
*****
The
Jerome Stakes (G3) is the first qualifying race of the 2017 racing season.
Under the points system implemented by Churchill Downs to determine which
horses will qualify to enter the Kentucky Derby starting gate, the winner of
the Jerome Stakes (G3) will receive 10 points, the second-place finisher will
receive 4 points, the third-place finisher will receive 2 points and the
fourth-place finisher will receive one point. Here’s a look at the current top
twenty Derby qualifiers:
2017 KENTUCKY DERBY LEADERBOARD
Ranking, total points, Trainer,
Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Classic
Empire, 30, Mark Casse, $1,459,520
2. Practical
Joke, 14, Chad Brown, $690,000
3. Gunnevera, 10,
Antonio Sano, $738,600
4. Lookin At Lee,
10, Steve Asmussen, $275,600
5. Mastery, 10,
Bob Baffert, $240,000
6. Gormley, 10,
John Sherriffs, $200,000
7. Mo Town, 10,
Tony Dutrow, $180,000
8. McCraken, 10,
Ian Wilkes, $165,048
9. Wild Shot, 6,
Rusty Arnold, II, $87,200
10. No Dozing, 5,
Arnaud Delacour, $85,000
11. Klimt, 4, Bob
Baffert, $380,000
12. Hot Sean, 4,
Bob Baffert, $180,000
13. Dangerfield,
2, Doug O’Neill, $168,500
14. Syndergaard,
4, Todd Pletcher, $160,000
15. Irap, 4, Doug
O’Neill, $60,000
16. Straight
Fire, 2, Keith Desormeaux, $96,000
17. Favorable
Outcome, 2, Chad Brown, $50,345
18. Recruiting
Ready, 2, Horacio DePaz, $43,750
19. Takaful, 2,
Kiaran McLaughlin, $30,000
20. Warrior’s
Club, 2, D. Wayne Lukas, $18,600
In
addition to the current top 20, Churchill Downs has partnered with the Japan
Racing Association to feature the Cattleya Sho Stakes and Hayacinth Stakes as
two qualifying races in the Japan Road to the Kentucky
Derby. The
horse with the most points from those races will receive an invitation to
compete in the 2017 Kentucky Derby.
2017 JAPAN ROAD TO KENTUCKY
DERBY LEADERBOARD
Ranking, total points, Trainer
1.
Mont Saint Legame (JPN), 40, Koji Maki
2.
Caucus (JPN), 16, Hideaki Fujiwara
3.
Blane Eclat, 8, Ryo Takei
4.
Lavapies (JPN), 4, Ryuji Okub
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