Hawthorne Derby is Anyone’s Race

The GIII Hawthorne Derby always seems to attract a full and evenly matched field, and Saturday’s renewal–the first since 2013–is no exception. Saham (Lemon Drop Kid) gets the tepid 4-1 morning-line nod off the strength of his win in Churchill’s GIII Jefferson Cup Sept. 26. Seventeen days before that, the Brendan Walsh trainee was a close fourth in Indiana’s Centaur S. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Granny’s Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) was second, and Net Gain (Include) was seventh. The third and fifth-place finishers from that heat also returned to score. Flaxman homebred Nucifera (More Than Ready), Group 3-placed against strong competition last season in France for Jonathan Pease, makes his second Stateside start for Graham Motion. He rallied from last to third in a slow-paced running of the Better Talk Now S. at Saratoga Aug. 31. Lucky Lindy (Harlan’s Holiday) invades from Woodbine and has a major chance to contend. Beaten a nose when trying turf for the first time July 5, he settled for second again three weeks later after being blocked when attempting to rally in the Toronto Cup at a similar distance. A somewhat dull and distant third in the historic Breeders S. over 12 furlongs Aug. 16, the George Strawbridge homebred shortened up to nine furlongs and switched to the main track to post a decisive tally in the GIII Ontario Derby Sept. 20.