Hot Rod Charlie

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 under Flavien Prat at 7:45 a.m. at Santa Anita Saturday morning in preparation for the June 5 GI Belmont S. The colt worked in tandem with SW Liam's Pride (Liam's Map). "I was very happy with the breeze," said trainer Doug O'Neill. "I got him in 1:01 and out [six furlongs] in 1:13 and change." The winner of the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 20, the dark bay most recently finished third at 5-1 odds in the May 1 Kentucky Derby. Prat,...

LOUISVILLE, KY - Despite heavy overnight rain leaving the Churchill Downs main track a sloppy mess, there was still plenty to take in during Thursday's GI Kentucky Derby/Oaks training session, including an appearance by the horse that has the big bulls-eye on his back. Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}), Soup and Sandwich (Into Mischief) and Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) drew a nice crowd of admirers by the Lukas gap as the track was being sealed beneath ominous skies and humid conditions just a tick before 7:30 a.m. With his...

LOUISVILLE, KY - With the Churchill Downs backstretch and apron buzzing with socially distanced and mask-wearing fans, you could feel the excitement building during training hours on a steamy Wednesday morning. Cloudy skies and humid conditions greeted the GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks contenders during the special, 15-minute training period beginning at 7:30 a.m. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert held court by the main gap and posed for a quick photo-op holding the lead shank of his overachieving $35,000 OBS July 2-year-old Medina Spirit (Protonico) as the main track was...

LOUISVILLE, KY - With the first Saturday in May just days away, TDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack caught up with the connections of leading GI Kentucky Derby contenders to get some of their 'Early Impressions.' In this edition, we check in with Hermitage Farm General Manager Bill Landes and Ocala, Florida, horseman Eddie Woods. Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) found another gear in the stretch to punch his ticket to Louisville in the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. Last year's 94-1 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up, a $17,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February yearling...

LOUISVILLE, KY - Unbeaten champion Essential Quality (Tapit) was assigned post 14 in a full field of 20 assembled for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby at Tuesday's post position draw held at Churchill Downs. The Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star,' tabbed as the 2-1 favorite on Mike Battaglia's morning line, made it a perfect five-for-five for trainer Brad Cox with a hard-fought, neck decision over Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) in the GII Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 3. Luis Saez, disqualified from first aboard Maximum Security in 2019, has...

Jake Panus will not be at his father's side Saturday watching the GI Kentucky Derby. His life ended at an all-too-young 16 last August when he was a passenger in a car involved in a DUI accident on Block Island, just off the coast of Rhode Island. But his friends, his family and a Kentucky Derby trainer have made sure that he will not be forgotten this week at Churchill Downs. Derby contender and GII Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) has been equipped with a special blanket honoring...

The man lying in the hospital bed silent and completely still was a good man and led a good life. A loving husband, amazing father and a relentless provider for his family was slipping closer to death. My dad was a man of conviction, integrity and faith and I try every day to be the man he was. I won't get there, but I try. It's all about trying. He lived a full life and gave up a lot of the freedoms of his youth when he got married, which...

Three Santa Anita-based sophomores headed to the GI Kentucky Derby tuned up Saturday morning over their home track. Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), who will have his fair share of backers off his front-running victory in the GII Louisiana Derby, went three-quarters of a mile in :1.14.20 for two-time Derby-winning conditioner Doug O'Neill. Flavien Prat, who was tabbed earlier this week for the ride, was aboard. "He looked solid. So far, so good," said O'Neill. Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}), who remained perfect in three starts with his front-running success...

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), front-running winner of the GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby in his most recent trip to the races, prepped for the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby with a five-furlong breeze Saturday morning over the Santa Anita main track. The half-brother to champion Mitole (Eskendereya) stopped the clock in 1:01.20 to the satisfaction of trainer Doug O'Neill. "'Charlie' had company with a horse named Hammering Lemon (Square Eddie) [clocked in 1:01.60] who broke off in front of him," the two-time Derby-winning trainer commented. "They both finished up good, but...

On a brisk spring morning, Juddmonte Farm's Mandaloun (Into Mischief) began his serious preparation toward the GI Kentucky Derby with a half-mile breeze in :49.80 under jockey Florent Geroux Saturday. The GII Risen Star S. winner worked outside of stakes winner Australasia through a moderate :25.40 opening quarter-mile fraction. The duo galloped out together through five furlongs in 1:02.60 and completed the work with a six-furlong time of 1:16.40, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. Trained by Brad Cox, Mandaloun was the 6-5 favorite in the Mar. 20 GII...

What do Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), and Knicks Go (Paynter) have in common? For one, they've cumulatively won three of the four most lucrative dirt races contested in North America so far this year. Hot Rod Charlie won the $1 million Gll Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds last weekend; Mystic Guide was first in the $600,000 Glll Razorback H. at Oaklawn Feb. 27; and Knicks Go took the $3 million Gl Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream Park Jan. 23. The other big-money race was the...

It's not what you would think. Not the invincible, fist-pumping, chest-bumping days. No, the real bond is forged exactly where the rest of us would least imagine—in the moments of disappointment, moments of doubt. That's where you really learn about each other. "Honestly, thinking back, what I remember most is those bus rides back from games we lost," says Patrick O'Neill. "And that's crazy to say. We were very competitive. Second or third, pretty much every year we played in the Ivy League. But it's those losses where you really...