Prime time now with few preps left
ARCADIA, Calif. -- Bob Baffert has won the Santa Anita Derby four times. He has won the Kentucky Derby three times. This is not the trainer's first rodeo. With both races fast approaching, Baffert knows what anyone connected with a promising 3-year-old is thinking one month out from the Kentucky Derby. One race to go, and it's off to Churchill Downs.
"Everybody's on pins and needles from here on out," he said.
The anxiety meter gets ratcheted up a few notches on Saturday, with three key Derby preps, all at 1 1/8 miles, spanning the continent.
Here at Santa Anita, Baffert will send out the stretch-running Pioneerof the Nile against the speedy The Pamplemousse in a compelling edition of the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.
At Aqueduct in New York, I Want Revenge and Imperial Council, the one-two finishers in last month's Gotham Stakes, have a rematch in the Grade 1, $750,000 Wood Memorial.
And at Hawthorne Race Course, Tampa Bay Derby winner Musket Man faces the hard-luck colt Giant Oak in the Grade 2, $500,000 Illinois Derby.
Pioneerof the Nile and The Pamplemousse have emerged as the two best Derby prospects in California, but this will be the first time they have met. Both are riding three-race win streaks. Both are 2 for 2 this meet at Santa Anita. Between them, they have accounted for the four major two-turn preps for the Santa Anita Derby.
But they are a contrast in styles. The Pamplemousse prefers to race on or near the lead, and has led from start to finish in both the one-mile San Rafael Stakes and the Sham Stakes, at 1 1/8 miles. Pioneerof the Nile prefers to sit back and blast home, but, based on his two efforts at 1 1/16 miles this meet, his rush is dependent on how much pace there is up front. He was far more visually impressive in the Robert Lewis, when the first half-mile on the Pro-Ride was run in 47.11 seconds, than last time out in the San Felipe, when he had to lay close to a 48.60 pace.
"That wasn't one of his best efforts," conceded Garrett Gomez, who rides Pioneerof the Nile. "There wasn't much pace."
The pace should be quicker this time. Ahmed Zayat, who owns Pioneerof the Nile, also entered Z Day, a recent arrival in trainer Mike Mitchell's barn. Z Day has raced five times, never beyond 6 1/2 furlongs, and has yet to run in a stakes race. He has won just once. But he does have speed, the kind that can go with The Pamplemousse.
The Pamplemousse, however, does not necessarily have to have the lead. He was never headed in either of his last two races, but that was because of a combination of his good early speed and the lack of speed of any of his rivals. He also drew outside of Z Day. When The Pamplemousse works, jockey Alex Solis frequently keeps him well off the rail in an attempt to get him to relax. He likely will utilize similar strategy on Saturday.
"He doesn't have to be on the lead," said Julio Canani, the trainer of The Pamplemousse. "We don't ask this horse for nothing. He does everything on his own."
A field of 10 was entered in the Santa Anita Derby, but no more than nine are expected to start. Take the Points was only entered in case something unforeseen befalls Pioneerof the Nile or The Pamplemousse. He is expected to instead run in the Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 11.
Chocolate Candy, who drew the rail, has won 4 of his last 5 starts, his only loss in that streak a third-place finish behind Pioneerof the Nile and I Want Revenge in the CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December. He has not raced since Feb. 14, when he won the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, but he has turned in a strong series of works over the past month at both Golden Gate and, more recently, at Santa Anita.
"We're trying to prove he belongs with the best 3-year-olds in Southern California," said Dan Ward, the local assistant to Chocolate Candy's trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer.
Mr. Hot Stuff has won just once in six starts, but he turned in an encouraging performance as a distant third behind The Pamplemousse and Take the Points in the Sham on Feb. 28. He is a full brother to Colonel John, who won the Santa Anita Derby last year.
"I've watched all three of the main competitors work this week," said Eoin Harty, the trainer of Mr. Hot Stuff, referring to Chocolate Candy, Pioneerof the Nile, and The Pamplemousse, "and we better have our running shoes on to beat these guys."
The Santa Anita Derby is the sixth race on an 11-race card that begins at noon Pacific time. Admission gates open at 10 a.m. The race will be seen live on NBC in a one-hour telecast that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific.
In addition to the Santa Anita Derby, there are four other stakes on the card, three of them graded.
* Early arrivals are advised to avoid Baldwin Ave. between 7:30 and 9 a.m. because of the Santa Anita Derby 5K Walk and Run. The preferred route for vehicles entering the track at that hour is Gate 5, at the northeast end of the track where Colorado Place and Huntington Drive meet.
