Govenor Charlie sets track record in Sunland Derby

The lightly raced colt Govenor Charlie proved once again that sheer talent can overcome inexperience when he romped to a five-length triumph in the $800,000 Sunland Derby (gr. III) at Sunland Park, running nine furlongs in 1:47.54 seconds to establish a new track record.

Making only the third start of his career, Govenor Charlie got away to a good start under jockey Martin Garcia and soon settled into third place on the outside, tracking Saint Prado and Abraham through quick fractions of :22.74 and :46.22 seconds. Just Win Baby and Show Some Magic were racing as a pair in fourth, about two lengths off the lead, followed by Stormdriver, Dry Summer, Mudflats, and Shakin It Up.

Following three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.96, Govenor Charlie moved up to take the lead, and approaching the homestretch, he began to open up on his pursuers. Show Some Magic turned in a nice rally to briefly challenge, but Govenor Charlie easily turned him back, extending his advantage throughout the final furlong to reach the wire well in front.

Show Some Magic finished second by 3 1/4 lengths over Abraham, while Shakin It Up rallied mildly for fourth. Stormdriver, Mudflats, Saint Prado, Dry Summer, and Just Win Baby completed the order of finish.

The winner is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Mike Pegram. A son of Midnight Lute out of the Storm Cat mare Silverbulletway, Govenor Charlie has now compiled a record of two wins and a second from three starts, with earnings of $444,800.

-Keelerman

Sunland Derby entries: Shakin It Up tries two turns

Shakin It Up, sharp winner of the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita last month, will attempt to carry his vast talent around two turns for the first time in his career when he contests the $800,000 Sunland Derby (gr. III) at Sunland Park this Sunday.

Trained by Bob Baffert, the son of Midnight Lute is the 5-2 favorite on the morning line and will be ridden by  David Flores, who has been aboard the colt in three of his four races. Owned by Michael Pegram and Dennis Cardoza, Shakin It Up will start from post position four in a field of nine.

Abraham, winner of a one-mile maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park last month, ships in from Florida for trainer Todd Pletcher. A son of Distorted Humor, he is the 4-1 second choice on the morning line.

Dry Summer, Show Some Magic, and Stormdriver, the 1-2-3 finishers in the Mine That Bird Derby here at Sunland last month, are among the local contenders.

Post Positions
1 Just Win Baby
2 Abraham
3 Stormdriver
4 Shakin It Up
5 Saint Prado
6 Dry Summer
7 Govenor Charlie
8 Mudflats
9 Show Some Magic

-Keelerman

Shakin It Up very game in San Vicente victory

Shakin It Up showed a great deal of courage in the $150,000 San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita Park, splitting horses at the eighth pole and rallying clear to win the seven-furlong sprint by one length.

Making his first start since a third-place finish in the Hollywood Prevue Stakes (gr. II) last November, Shakin It Up settled back into fifth place during the early stages of the race, about three lengths behind the front-running trio of Belvin, Caballo Del Cielo, and Mudflats. War Academy was directly to Shakin It Up's outside in fourth place, while Treasury Bill was the trailer.

Through fractions of :22.88 and :45.62 Belvin continued to lead the way, but Caballo Del Cielo moved up to claim the advantage entering the homestretch and was in front by a half-length passing the eighth pole. But to his inside, Shakin It Up had found an opening, and the favorite surged through under jockey David Cohen to take command. Treasury Bill closed in late to secure second, but didn't have enough time to reel in the winner, who reached the wire in the excellent time of 1:22.48 seconds.

Caballo Del Cielo held third, three-quarters of a length behind Treasury Bill and a similar margin ahead of War Academy. The latter colt briefly lacked racing room approaching the eighth pole, but failed to mount a serious challenge once clear. Mudflats and Belvin completed the order of finish, with the latter beaten just 2 3/4 lengths.

The winner is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Mike Pegram and Dennis Cardoza. A son of Midnight Lute out of the Vindication mare Silver Bullet Moon, Shakin It Up has now compiled a record of 2-1-1 from 4 starts, with earnings of $139,600.

-Keelerman

Triple Crown Countdown 2-17-13

As promised, here is part two of this week's Triple Crown Countdown, covering the San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita and a couple of other noteworthy races at Santa Anita and Oaklawn.

Let's begin!

San Vicente Stakes (gr. II)

Seven furlongs at Santa Anita Park

Although this race does not offer any Kentucky Derby qualification points, it is nevertheless a starting point for a number of potential Derby candidates, including three -- Belvin, Shakin It Up, and War Academy -- from the barn of Bob Baffert.

Not surprisingly, Baffert's trio are the three morning line favorites, with Shakin It Up leading the way at 5-2. A son of Midnight Lute, the colt has not run since finishing a troubled third in the Hollywood Prevue Stakes (gr. III) at Betfair Hollywood Park last November. Note that he was beaten just a neck by Super Ninety Nine on that occasion; Super Ninety Nine being the favorite for the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) tomorrow afternoon. He's been training nicely for his return, having turned in a couple of sharp five-furlong works this month, and he appears to be the horse to beat.

Belvin flashed potential when second in his November debut to subsequent stakes winner Distinctiv Passion, and came right back one month later to romp in a 6-1/2 furlong maiden here at Santa Anita. Like Shakin It Up, he's been training very well, and will have leading rider Rafael Bejarano in the saddle. The interesting part is that he has shown so much talent sprinting, despite the fact that he is a son of Empire Maker out of a Storm Bird mare. With a pedigree like that, he should have no trouble stretching out further down the road.

War Academy has a similar profile, being by Giant's Causeway out of an A.P. Indy mare. There's little doubt that route races are in his future, but he still showed enough talent to break his maiden going 6-1/2 furlongs at Hollywood Park last November. He got sick shortly thereafter and didn't return to the work tab until late December, but he's trained well since then and should be in the mix today. I don't really expect him to win a race like this, as seven furlongs looks to be way short of his best distance, but a decent effort should set him up well for a two-turn graded stakes in the near future.

Moving past the Baffert trio, we find Caballo Del Cielo and Treasury Bill. Both colts are coming off of hugely impressive debut victories garnered through drastically different running styles. Caballo Del Cielo, who is trained by Steve Asmussen, broke his maiden sprinting 5-1/2 furlongs last month in gate-to-wire fashion. He ran the opening quarter mile that day in a blazing :21.86 seconds, which makes it clear that he could wind up the early leader in today's race. We know he's got class -- he was beaten just 3 1/4 lengths as a maiden in the Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) last fall -- but he was beaten 4 1/2 lengths by Shakin It Up two starts back, and it's hard to say if he's improved enough to turn the tables.

In contrast, Treasury Bill will be making his first start against winners after rallying from out of the clouds to break his maiden going 6-1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on January 27th. Like Belvin and War Academy, seven furlongs is undoubtedly too short for him -- he's got a regal pedigree that screams Kentucky Derby -- but don't be surprised to see him finishing strongly late. My lone concern is that his maiden winner came over a wet, sealed track; a track that seemed to be playing in favor of closers. It's possible that his late kick could be somewhat compromised by today's fast track.

Rounding out the field is Mudflats, who looked good breaking his maiden by 3 1/4 lengths two starts back at Aqueduct over a sloppy sealed track. Purchased privately thereafter and transferred to the care of Doug O'Neill, Mudflats disappointing greatly in his only start since, finishing seventh in the Jerome Stakes (gr. II) on January 5th. He's got the speed to be in contention from the start, but it looks as though he'll have to step up a few notches to beat this field.

Selections: Shakin It Up, Belvin, War Academy

Other Races of Note

At Oaklawn Park . . .

Race 7: Bob Baffert's Title Contender, who finished last in both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) and CashCall Futurity (gr. I) after breaking his maiden sharply in September, has shipped out for this 1 1/16th miles allowance optional claiming race and should win without trouble if at his best. Midas Dancer ran second to Gulfport and Fear the Kitten in a pair of allowance races at Churchill last fall, and has never finished worse than third in six starts. He looms the most likely winner if Title Contender fails to bring his best race. Hornet finished next-to-last in a strong renewal of the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes last December, then returned to finish third behind Southwest Stakes (gr. III) entrant Channel Isle in an allowance race here at Oaklawn. Another good effort today would bode well for Channel Isle's chances tomorrow. Red Wings, from the barn of D. Wayne Lukas, lost his first six starts before claiming a narrow victory last time out. He's got a determined running style, but may not be quite as good as the favorites in this spot.

At Santa Anita . . .

Race 3: This is the first division of a one-mile maiden special weight that drew enough entries to be run as two races. The favorite is Wine List, who has finished second in a pair of one-mile maiden races on the turf. However, the colt I have my eye on is Misdeed, who finished second by nearly eight lengths to the promising Tiz the Truth in a race similar to this one two weeks ago. A victory by Misdeed today would, of course, further stamp Tiz the Truth as a colt of high quality. Aleander, a troubled seventh in his debut for Baffert on December 26th; and Handsome Dennis, third in his debut sprinting three weeks ago, are other prominent contenders.

Race 5: The second division of this maiden race has drawn arguably the stronger field, for it includes names like Footbridge and Syndicated (2nd and 3rd to Curly Top in a recent one-mile MSW), Pure Loyalty (2nd to Treasury Bill in that one's maiden victory), Govenor Charlie (2nd to Let Em Shine in a 6f MSW; finished ahead of subsequent winner Salutos Amigos), Major Affair (4th to the Demonic and Tiz the Truth in a 7f MSW), and Colburn (4th to Tiz the Truth in that one's maiden victory.) Don't be surprised if the winner of this race goes on to contest a major Derby prep race in the near future!

-Keelerman

San Vicente Stakes: Bob Baffert enters three

Trainer Bob Baffert will have an excellent chance at winning Sunday's  $150,000 San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita, as he trains three of the six entrants.

His runners are Belvin, Shakin It Up, and War Academy. All three showed promise as two-year-olds, with Belvin breaking his maiden second time out; Shakin It Up finishing a close third in the Hollywood Prevue Stakes (gr. III); and War Academy romping to victory in the lone start of his career. All three have been training sharply for their returns, and it wouldn't be out of the question for them to sweep the trifecta.

Their main opposition is expected to come from Cabello Del Cielo, who was brilliant in breaking his maiden here at Santa Anita last month; and Treasury Bill, who turned in an eye-catching rally to break his maiden on January 27th. Mudflats, who broke his maiden sharply two starts back before finishing seventh in the Jerome Stakes (gr. II), completes the lineup.

Post Positions:
1 Belvin
2 Shakin It Up
3 War Academy
4 Cabello Del Cielo
5 Mudflats
6 Treasury Bill

-Keelerman

Hollywood Prevue Stakes Entries: Bob Baffert enters four runners

The $100,000 Hollywood Prevue Stakes, a local prep for the $750,000 CashCall Futurity (gr. I) here at Betfair Hollywood Park next month, has drawn five entrants -- four of which are trained by Bob Baffert.

The master trainer has won the Prevue Stakes on five occasions, and the odds are stacked in his favor to add another -- even ignoring the talent of his runners, there is an 80% chance that Baffert will win the race.

His starters include Super Ninety Nine, who scratched from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint earlier this month after becoming cast in his stall. The son of Pulpit broke his maiden first time out sprinting seven furlongs and figures to be the favorite in today's seven-furlong affair. The super-impressive debut winner Shakin It Up is also expected to be well-bet, while Z Big Apple and Really Mr Greely are the two longer-shot Baffert entrants.

Heir Kitty, a daughter of Wildcat Heir trained by Peter Miller, is the lone runner in the race not trained by Baffert. Coming off of a fifth-place finish in the Del Mar Debutante (gr. I), she is expected to be one of the longer shots in the race.

Post Positions:
1 Heir Kitty
2 Shakin It Up
3 Z Big Apple
4 Really Mr Greely
5 Super Ninety Nine

-Keelerman