Omaha Beach 4-1 Morning Line Favorite in Kentucky Derby
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ftboa.com • Thursday • May 2, 2019 FEC/FTBOA PUBLICATION FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION or to subscribe, please call Antoinette at 352-732-8858 or email: [email protected] In This Issue: Ms Headley is first winner for Ocala Stud’s Grade 1 winner The Big Beast DeSantis Huddles With Seminole Tribe, Pari-Mutuels Meeting comments and observa - tions by FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell. Jackson, Wildwood’s Beauty Top Florida Sire Stakes Omaha Beach gallops at Churchill/ COADY PHOTO Gambling Deal Off The Table in Final Days Sonneteer Romps in Champions Day Omaha Beach 4-1 Marathon Stakes Anyportinastorm Wins Lost in the Fog Stakes, Remains Hard to Beat at Morning Line Favorite Golden Gate Tampa Bay Downs Charts in Kentucky Derby Florida Stallion Progeny List Florida Breeders’ List Florida-bred Win Win Win 15-1 Wire to Wire Business Place BY CHURCHILL DOWN PRESS OFFICE ____ the Derby including victories at Oaklawn Park in a division of the Rebel (G2) on LOUISVILLE, KY – Fox Hill Farm’s Featured Advertisers March 16 and in the Arkansas Derby (G1) Omaha Beach has been installed as the 4-1 in his last start on April 13. morning-line favorite for Saturday’s 145th Ocala Stud Mike Smith, who has been aboard for running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby Pleasant Acres Stallions those two victories, will have the mount Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) that Saturday as he aims for his third triumph in Stonehedge Farm drew a field of 20 entries and one also-eli - the Run for the Roses. Smith previously gible Tuesday morning. Florida Department of Agriculture won in 2005 on Giacomo and last year on With 20 starters, the winner will earn a FTBOA Triple Crown winner Justify. $1,860,000 check from the race that has Six jockeys have won the Kentucky Seminole Feed scheduled post time of 6:50 p.m. EDT. Derby in consecutive years with the most First post time for Saturday’s 14-race pro - Ocala Breeders’ Feed & Supply recent being Victor Espinoza in 2014-15 on gram is 10:30 a.m. California Chrome and American Pharoah. Journeyman Stud Trained by Richard Mandella, Omaha Liberty Law Beach brings a three-race win streak into See DERBY on page 3 Back to Top Page 3 Derby Continued from COVER Omaha Beach will break from post position 12. “Perfect. I love it,” Mandella said about the post position. “[I] Didn’t want to be down inside. I think I’m in a great spot.” Mandella: “He’s happy [nodding toward jockey Mike Smith], so you know I’m happy. It’s good.” Omaha Beach is one of five Grade 1 winners in the field with five-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert having three of them. Topping the Baffert trio is three-time Grade 1 winner and champion 2-year- old of 2018 Game Winner who is the 5-1 second choice on the morning line. Owned by Gary and Mary West, Game Winner capped a perfect 2018 campaign with a two-and-a-quarter- length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill Downs in November. He also won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and American Pharoah Florida-bred Win Win Win at Churchill Downs/ COADY PHOTO (G1) last year. In 2019, Game Winner was beaten a nose by Omaha Beach in Winner of all three 2018 starts that included a victory in the the Rebel and second to stablemate Roadster in the Santa Anita Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) on Dec. 8 as well as the Street Sense Derby (G1) on April 6. Joel Rosario, who won the 2013 Kentucky here during Breeders’ Cup Weekend, Improbable was runner-up to Derby on Orb, has the mount on Game Winner who will break Omaha Beach in the Arkansas Derby. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount from post position 16. and will break from post position five. Speedway Stable’s Roadster has won three of four career starts “They’ll all be easy to watch,” Baffert said after the position with his only setback coming to Game Winner in the Del Mar draw Tuesday. “With Roadster I wanted the 16 so I got 16 and 17 Futurity. Florent Geroux will be aboard Saturday and break from [with Game Winner] and Improbable is a quicker horse. Anything post position 17. but the one or two I’m fine with that. I think the good horses all Baffert’s third entrant is WinStar Farm, China Horse Club drew well.” International and Starlight Racing’s Improbable, who, like “I think Improbable he’s the quickest of the three and he’s in the Roadster, is 6-1 on the morning line and co-third choices. five. There are speed horses outside of him, too. They still have to break. I like 16. The 17 has been 0-for-40, but it’s like American Pharoah had the 18 and there was a scratch and he had the 17 for a day then he went to the 16. At the end of the day, you have to have the horse. If your horse shows up, that’s more important. After watching Big Brown gallop from the 20 hole, it really doesn’t make a difference.” With a victory Saturday, Baffert would tie Ben Jones for the most Kentucky Derby triumphs with six and become the first trainer to win the race in consec - utive years twice. His first two Derby victories came with Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998. A win by Improbable would give his ownership consecutive Derby victories, a feat that has been accomplished four times and most recently by Meadow Stable in 1972-73 with Riva Ridge and Secretariat. Representing Florida is Live Oak Plantation’s homebred colt Win Win Win from the barn of trainer Michael Trombetta. The Florida-bred son of Hat Trick (Jpn) is the “trip” horse in the Derby having encoun - tered traffic trouble in his last two starts when second in the April 6 Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland Game Winner at Oaklawn/ COADY PHOTO See DERBY on page 5 Back to Top Back to Top Page 5 Derby page 3 Continued from March 24 at Sunland Park. Corey Lanerie has the mount and will and third in the March 9 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) at Tampa Bay break from post position 10. Downs. He lacked running room at the top of the stretch in the Wertheimer et Frere’s Spinoff, runner-up in the March 23 Blue Grass and was four-wide in the far turn in Tampa. Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds, will be ridden by Manny Win Win Win has drawn Franco and break from post post 14 and his regular ride, position 19. Julian Pimentel will be Lending an international aboard. presence to this year’s race “It was a lot less pressure is Japanese invitee Master this year than 2006 when we Fencer (JPN). were the favorite [with Owned by Katsumi and Sweetnorthernsaint who fin - Yasuyo Yoshizawa and ished seventh]. We had so trained by Koichi Tsunoda, many cameras and media Master Fencer has won two around us. [It is] more relax - of four starts on the dirt and ing this year. I’m happy with comes to Churchill Downs our post. We’re ready to go.” after spending his first few Trainer Mark Casse will days in North America train - also provide a Florida con - ing at Keeneland. nection in the Derby as the Julien Leparoux has the lifelong Ocala-resident trains mount and will break from War of Will, who encoun - post position 15. tered trouble in his most The field for the recent race. Kentucky Derby, with riders As the 4-5 favorite in the and morning-line odds from Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair War of Will at Churchill/ COADY PHOTO the rail out, is: War of Will Grounds on Mar. 23, War of (Tyler Gaffalione, 20-1), Will was knocked sideways coming out of the starting gate and Tax (Junior Alvarado, 20-1), By My Standards (Gabriel Saez, 20- suffered a minor injury in his hind-end and finished ninth. A win - 1), Gray Magician (Drayden Van Dyke, 50-1), Improbable (Irad ner of four-straight before that race including the Grade 2 Risen Ortiz Jr., 6-1), Vekoma (Javier Castellano, 20-1), Maximum Star Stakes on Feb. 16 and Grade 3 Lecomte on Jan. 19, both at Security (Luis Saez, 10-1), Tacitus (Jose Ortiz, 10-1), Plus Que Fair Grounds, he has trained well at Churchill Downs and appears Parfait (Ricardo Santana Jr., 30-1), Cutting Humor (Corey to have no lingering effects from the Louisiana Derby incident. Lanerie, 30-1), Haikal (Rajiv Maragh, 30-1), Omaha Beach (Mike War of Will will be ridden by Davie, Fla.-native Tyler Smith, 4-1), Code of Honor (John Velazquez, 15-1), Win Win Win Gaffalione from post one. (Julian Pimentel, 15-1), Master Fencer (Jpn) (Julien Leparoux, 50-1) , “Our horse is really on his game so he’ll come away from there Game Winner (Joel Rosario, 5-1), Roadster (Florent Geroux, 6-1), running,” Casse said. “We’ll probably be on the lead. I think we’ll Long Range Toddy probably be on the lead and play catch me if you can. And you know if we come away from there like he normally does, we’re going to come away from there running. At least we have the Ms Headley is first winner for Ocala shortest way around. I’ve thought I had great draws before and gotten wiped out so maybe this is the change.” Stud’s Grade 1 winner The Big Beast Gary and Mary West also own undefeated Maximum Security.