Those following the Kentucky Derby preps have a week during which they can turn their eyes away for a few days. A coincidence on the calendar? Not sure, but this week happens to kick off March Madness.
Can’t look away from the thoroughbreds? Then focus on three NCAA tournament qualifiers representing horses. The 12th-seeded Wyoming Cowboys kick into gear against Indiana on Tuesday night with the hopes of joining the Field of 64 on Thursday.
The seventh-seeded Murray State Racers — with a charging racehorse featured as their logo — face San Francisco, and the eighth-seeded Boise State Broncos meet Memphis on Thursday. Only the Racers (-1.5) are favored; the Cowboys (+4) and Broncos (+2.5) are looking to pull upsets.
Last weekend featured one Derby prep. Classic Causeway won again on the Tampa Bay Downs course to claim the Tampa Bay Derby. His wire-to-wire effort earned 50 points, vaulting him atop the points standings board with 66.
The 100-point Derby preps start March 26 with the Louisiana Derby and UAE Derby abroad followed by the Grade 3, 50-point Sunland Derby at Sunland Park in New Mexico the following day.
The following week is the Arkansas Derby. We learned this week that trainer D. Wayne Lukas will enter his filly, Secret Oath, in that race and run against the boys. A first- or second-place finish there would likely be enough to get in the gate on the first Saturday in May.
The Derby Dozen, week 6
- (No Change) Epicenter (trainer Steve Asmussen): Epicenter’s next scheduled race is the Louisiana Derby on March 26, back at the Fair Grounds, where he is already 2-for-3.
- (NC) Smile Happy (Kenny McPeek) is the Kentucky Derby Futures Wager favorite at 6-1 and remains a prime prospect for the Florida Derby (G1) on April 2 at Gulfstream Park.
- (NC) Zandon (Chad Brown): He’s expected to go next at the Blue Grass Stakes on April 9 at Keeneland.
- (NC) White Abarrio (Saffie Joseph Jr.): Last month’s Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes (G2) winner at Gulfstream Park, White Abarrio continued to train sharply for a scheduled start April 2 in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, breezing five furlongs Sunday morning at Gulfstream in the fastest clocking recorded among the 15 that day at the distance.
- (NC) Classic Causeway (Brian Lynch): For winning the Tampa Bay Derby, Classic Causeway earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure. When he won the Sam F. Davis in February, he earned an 88, marking a Beyer figure regression. “There was a very strong headwind going up the backstretch, and he was geared down late (by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., with the victory assured),” Lynch said Sunday morning. “I thought his Beyer might have been a little higher, but he did it so nicely it’s not something I’m worried about.” He’s now listed as the top selection in Kentucky Derby futures wagering at Circa at 9-1 (he was 16-1 prior to the Tampa Bay Derby) going into his final Kentucky Derby prep next month at Keeneland in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes.
- (NC) Forbidden Kingdom (Richard Mandella) is the Caesars at William Hill futures wagering favorite at 6-1.
- (NC) Morello (Asmussen): The undefeated winner of the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes on March 5 cruised an easy half-mile in 52.55 seconds on Monday over the training track at Belmont Park. Morello is preparing for a start in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 9 at Aqueduct. Working nine days after a race is typical for horses trained by Steve Asmussen, and the slow time in that work also is par for the course.
- (NC) Simplification (Antonio Sano): Simplification remains in Florida, prepping for the Florida Derby on April 2.
- (NC) Emmanuel (Todd Pletcher): April and May can only get better for Pletcher, it would appear. In March, through Saturday, he was 1-for-28 and 0-for-10 as a favorite. With trainer you-know-who on the outside looking in at the moment, the current top four horses on the Countdown to the Crown list of prospects represent trainers who are 0-33 in the Kentucky Derby, plus a guy who’s never had a horse in the race. It’s not until No. 9 (Pletcher) that you find a Derby-winning barn.
- (NC) Early Voting (Brown): A few feathers were added to Early Voting’s cap this week when the Beyer Speed Figure for the Withers Stakes was upped to 87 (it was originally 78). Early Voting won that Grade 3 race wire-to-wire.
- (NC) In Due Time (Kelly Breen): As his moniker suggests, we’ll soon find out what’s next for this horse. You can still get 16-1 on him in the Derby, according to Caesars-William Hill.
- (NC) Un Ojo (Ricky Courville): He’s no better than 36-1 in any of the three Kentucky Derby futures pools.
