River Thames, who earned enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, will not race in the Run for the Roses, people connected to the horse announced Tuesday. After finishing third in the Blue Grass and second in the Fountain of Youth, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt will instead point to the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on May 17. Daily Racing Form had exclusive comments on River Thames skipping the Derby earlier today.
“[We] just felt like he would benefit from a little bit of extra time and would be live.”
Elliott Walden – president of WinStar Farm
One horse who wasn’t expected to run in the Derby but reversed course Wednesday is Tampa Bay Derby winner Owen Almighty. He finished tied for last in the Blue Grass after his Tampa score, at which point trainer Brian Lynch said that Owen Almighty would pass on the Derby.
But on Wednesday, Hunter Rankin, president of Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing, which owns Owen Almighty, decided to go to the Derby after all, saying, “We’re going to give it a shot. He’s earned a spot. We’re going to use it and take a shot as long as he’s doing well going into the race.”
Who’s hot, who’s not?
Rankin’s enthusiasm did little to freshen the opinion of Daily Racing Form’s “Who’s hot, who’s not” columnist Brad Free, who wrote, “Despite reservations by trainer Brian Lynch regarding the colt’s ability to stay 1 1/4 miles, and despite a subpar effort in the Blue Grass, Owen Almighty is back in the picture.”
Baeza working through easy workout
Owen Almighty’s participation in the Derby means Baeza, runner-up to Journalism in the Santa Anita Derby, will need some help to get in. As of Monday, Baeza ranked 24th in qualifying points, with room for only 20 horses in the Kentucky Derby field.
Nevertheless, John Shirreffs is training the rapidly improving colt as though he’ll be in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. After Baeza worked an easy half-mile in 50 seconds at Santa Anita on Monday morning, Shirreffs said he’d have one more workout before hopefully shipping to Louisville on April 24.
“We can get there and have a couple days before he has to work,” said Shirreffs, pointing to what would be Baeza’s last official workout before the Derby at Churchill.
Journalism returning to work
Journalism, DRF’s current 3-1 favorite for the Kentucky Derby, is scheduled to return to the work tab this coming weekend at Santa Anita, with trainer Michael McCarthy remarking that the son of Curlin is “in a pretty good groove at the moment.”
That could be putting it mildly, as Journalism has won his last four races and will enter the Derby with a field-best Beyer Speed Figure of 108.
Baeza and Journalism were purchased as yearlings for $1.2 million and $825,000, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum is Derby qualifier Chunk of Gold, who was bought by Chris Melton for a mere $2,500 at the same age.
Melton, who runs a training center in Columbia, Kentucky, eventually sold his stake in the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby runner-up to Terry Stephens for $100,000, with a pair of Derby tickets tossed in for good measure.
“If you don’t sell the good ones, you’ll be out of business,” explained Melton, who makes his living buying, breaking, and selling yearlings.
Daily Racing Form Derby package
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