The Puma

With Further Ado (Gun Runner) crushing his rivals in Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, Irad Ortiz Jr. continued one of the most spectacular runs through the preps for the GI Kentucky Derby that any jockey has ever had. It was his fifth win in a Derby prep, including three races that award the maximum 100 points to the winner. Of the five horses atop the point leaderboard for the Derby, Ortiz had ridden four of them at some point this year. They are Commandment (Into Mischief), Fulleffort...

Following his victory in the GI Arkansas Derby, Renegade (Into Mischief) has been tabbed the 4-1 morning-line favorite for the sixth and final pool for the GI Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Thursday at noon and closes Saturday at 6 p.m. Other top interests in Pool 6 include GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Commandment (Into Mischief) at 6-1; GIII Tampa Bay Derby winner and Florida Derby runner-up The Puma (Essential Quality) at 8-1; and GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth runner-up Chief Wallabee (Constitution) at 10-1. To see the complete...

by T.D. Thornton-Last Saturday's news that the No. 1-ranked Paladin (Gun Runner) will miss the GI Kentucky Derby with a non-displaced condylar fracture of his right front ankle created a vacancy atop this list. Any set of Derby rankings abhors a vacuum, but it wasn't easy deciding which of several worthy candidates out of the GI Florida Derby and GI Arkansas Derby would take over the kingpin slot.   1) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief-Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg...

Wathnan Racing's Commandment (Into Mischief) appeared no worse for wear a day after eking out a win over The Puma (Essential Quality) in the GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. "He looks really good this morning," said trainer Brad Cox, who joined Woody Stephens and Todd Pletcher in garnering wins in the Florida Derby and Gulfstream Park Oaks (Bonnie Miss) in the same year. On the Florida Derby undercard, Cox won the Oaks with Prom Queen (Quality Road). "That's obviously a great accomplishment," said Cox. "We have a great...

1) We still have one more Saturday of nine-furlong qualifying stakes for the GI Kentucky Derby, but it's a safe bet the GI Florida Derby will be the odds-on choice for being the prep race most likely to yield the winner on the first Saturday in May. Commandment (Into Mischief), The Puma (Essential Quality), and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee (Constitution) each overcame different aspects of in-race adversity to arrive at the Gulfstream finish wire separated by one nose and half a length. All three will be...

Wathnan Racing's Commandment (Into Mischief) came with a late surge to nail The Puma (Essential Quality) by a nose in a heart-stopping renewal of Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. It was a half-length back to 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee (Constitution) in third. Favored Nearly (Not This Time) tired to fourth. The Diamond Anniversary of the Curlin Florida Derby offered 200 qualifying points for the GI Kentucky Derby on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10 to the first five finishers. The first jewel of the Triple...

It's what keeps everyone going: the chance that somewhere out there may be a single horse capable of transforming your whole career. For most, of course, the quest yields no more than near-misses: horses that don't quite work out, for one reason or another, but that hopefully show enough to get you noticed, keep you in the game. Every now and then, however, somebody turns up a real game-changer. Every now and then, along comes Mage. Before turning up the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby winner, Ramiro Restrepo's eligibility to describe...

This coming weekend's nine-furlong stakes at Oaklawn and Gulfstream have the potential to usher in a major shake-up within the rankings, with seven of the Top 12 listed below entered in either the GI Arkansas Derby or the GI Curlin Florida Derby. 1) PALADIN (c, Gun Runner--Secret Sigh, by Tapit) O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter M. Brant, Brook T. Smith, and Summer Wind Equine, LLC; B-Summer Wind Equine LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. Sales history: $1,900,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 3-3-0-0, $848,250. Last start: WON...

'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee (Constitution), the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth runner-up last month in his second start, was named the narrow 2-1 morning-line favorite and will break from post 2 over eight rivals for next Saturday's $1-million GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. Wathnan Racing's Commandment (Into Mischief), the Fountain of Youth winner trained by Brad Cox, is second on the morning line at 5-2 from post 4. Like Commandment, Centennial Farms entry Nearly (Not This Time) takes a three-race win streak into the...

The two new names on the GI Kentucky Derby trail each exemplify one of the principal alternatives to what nowadays feels like the ideal route, namely to exploit the imbalances of the commercial market with a breed-to-race program. Nobody having ever operated one of those on a scale as lavish as the one that produced Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the choice between these other models is strictly practical. If you can run to $2.4 million for a Saratoga yearling, as did Speedway Stable for the Into Mischief colt we now know...

The Puma (Essential Quality) returned to his base at Gulfstream Park early Sunday morning after his win a day earlier in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, and his connections reported that he came out of the race in good order. Though no firm plans have been made regarding his future schedule, Gustavo Delgado Jr., who is the assistant trainer to and son of trainer Gustavo Delgado Sr., said the GI April 4 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland is one option the team is definitely considering. "We're still undecided," the younger...

After hitting the board behind the likes of 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee (Constitution) on debut and most recently, Renegade (Gun Runner) in the Sam F. Davis Stakes Feb. 7, The Puma (Essential Quality) finally got his day Saturday and earned Derby points to boot with a gutsy win in the GIII ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby. Given just a 7-1 shot here despite that third over course and distance in the Sam F. Davis, the son from the first crop of Essential Quality broke towards the outside...