Derby Points

Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael B. Tabor's Plutarch (c, 3, Into Mischief--Stellar Wind, by Curlin) was bred to be a star--he is out of 2015's champion 3-year-old filly turned $6-million Keeneland-topping mare Stellar Wind--and he made good on that promise Saturday in the $101,000 GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita. The race was worth 20-10-6-4-2 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert won his eighth consecutive Bob Lewis and 14th overall, going back to 1999. In 2007, the race,...

For the majority of the previous century Aggies tried to gig'em some Horns, Bears attempted to boil the Owls, Red Raiders fired at Horned Frogs, and the Coogs, the Stangs and 'dem Hogs rounded out what were some raucous match-ups in the bygone era of the Southwest Conference. As the saying went for those Texas college sports teams who were joined by the University of Arkansas, "If you're going to compete, you might as well win." Well, the old conference may have broken up back in the 90s, but you...

Neither the Suncoast Stakes nor the Sam F. Davis Stakes, both run at Tampa Bay Downs, are graded stakes races, but that doesn't seem to bother trainer Todd Pletcher. He has made it no secret that he loves to put some of his best 3-year-old candidates on the Tampa route to Churchill Downs, and he will be doing so again on Saturday. Zany (American Pharoah), currently ranked No. 1 in the TDN's Top 10 poll for the GI Kentucky Oaks, will make her 3-year-old debut in the Suncoast, where she...

At 34-1, Cal-bred Express Kid outran his odds in the Springboard Mile to close out Remington Park's Thoroughbred meet and in the process the colt took home 10 Kentucky Derby points on Saturday evening. The $2,000 buy out of the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association Fall Mixed sale broke his maiden at first-asking at Canterbury in early July and was the runner-up in the Prairie Meadows Freshman Stakes in mid-August. Express Kid shipped to Oklahoma City to contest the Clever Trevor Stakes, but was well-beaten Sept. 28. Switching to the local...

Sent off as the 39-10 third choice in a field of six for Saturday's Gun Runner Stakes at the Fair Grounds, Leland Ackerley Racing LLC's Chip Honcho (Connect) prompted the early pace and kept plugging away down the long stretch to be up on the wire and earn 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The $210,000 Fasig-Tipton July yearling--with blinkers added off a Churchill one-mile maiden win Nov. 20--broke to his right, causing a bit of a chain reaction, but he showed speed enough to track the...

GI Curlin Florida Derby and GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes third Neoequos (Neolithic) breezed a half-mile Thursday morning at Gulfstream Park, getting the distance in a bullet :48.43. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee worked in company with stablemate Mr Narcissistic (Signature Red). A video of the work can be seen here. "It went good," said Joseph. "He worked in company. He was inside his workmate. It was his last breeze and we were just looking for maintenance. It went well. He's in good form." Racing for C2 Racing Stable...

Top 3-year-old Journalism (Curlin) returned to the work tab Sunday at Santa Anita following his victory in the GII San Felipe Stakes Mar. 2. Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli hit the track together under darkness at about 6:30 a.m. PT. The colt, trained by Michael McCarthy, was clocked working four furlongs in :48.20. He is targeting the GI Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles Apr. 5. "Very good," McCarthy said of the drill. Rispoli reacted with a wide grin and a thumbs up. In the San Felipe, Journalism ran...

'TDN Rising Star' Sand Devil (Violence) had his first work back since a runner-up effort in the GIII Gotham Stakes Mar. 1, covering a half-mile in 49 seconds flat in company on Saturday over the Belmont Park dirt training track. Trained by Linda Rice, Sand Devil is targeting the nine-furlong GII Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Apr. 5--a 100-50-25-15-10 qualifier for the GI Kentucky Derby. "He went nice, went out five-eighths in 1:01 and 2, galloped out three-quarters in 13 and 3--we were very happy," Rice said of the...

The English polymath John Ruskin, who was always hard at work scribbling a well-timed observation for some future generation to co-opt, said when it came to the weather, "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." Well, bully for you Mr. Ruskin! Send him a going stick and put him to work on the nearest turf course. Some might care to offer quite a different observation after recent events. What...

Fair Grounds has bumped purses for the GII Risen Star Stakes and the GIII Lecomte Stakes--both "Road to the Kentucky Derby" points races--in advance of the track's 153rd season. The Risen Star will be increased from $400,000 to $500,000 and the Lecomte upped from $200,000 to $250,000. With eight existing stakes getting a $25,000 boost, a total of $325,000 in increases is scheduled for the track's 63-race stakes program, totaling $8.875 million in purses during the 76-day Thoroughbred meet. "The Louisiana Road to the Derby and Oaks has established itself...

It's early, but maybe not too early to start dreaming of the GI Kentucky Derby. At least it's not for owner Richard Rigney. Rigney is the owner of 'TDN Rising Star' Jonathan's Way (Vekoma), the winner of last Saturday's GIII Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, the first of many races that award Derby points to the top five finishers. Making his second career start after overcoming trouble to win a maiden at Saratoga, Jonathan's Way was an impressive winner, suggesting there could be bigger and better triumphs in his future....