Blue Grass winner stakes his claim, but Tiz the Law still king of Kentucky Derby road
We’ve still got eight weeks to go.
That’s right, eight weeks. In this long, crazy, coronavirus summer there are still two full months remaining before the rescheduled Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, no doubt two months of successes, setbacks and surprises.
Not that we haven’t had plenty of all the above already. Take Saturday’s Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, where Art Collector, a colt who won just once in five starts last year as a 2-year-old, proved he’s a whole different animal at 3, recording his third straight victory in convincing fashion to put himself right in the middle of the Derby conversation.
“It’s taken my entire life just to get to this one,” said trainer Tommy Drury after his first graded stakes win. “I just want to enjoy this today and we’ll figure that one out tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, everyone else is trying to figure out how to beat current prohibitive favorite Tiz the Law once we finally get to that Labor Day Saturday. It won’t be easy. The Sackatoga Stables colt, trained by 82-year-old Barclay Tagg — the same connections who championed 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide — has fashioned a perfect trip in 2020, winning the Holy Bull, the Florida Derby and a non-traditional Belmont — 1 1/8 of a mile on June 20.
The scene is ever-changing. And if you don’t believe me, ask Kentucky Derby king Bob Baffert. His 2020 prep ride has been a roller coaster. The trainer lost two star candidates — Nadal (condylar fracture) and Charlatan (ankle swelling) — to injury. His previously undefeated Authentic lost in the Santa Anita Derby. And he’s dealing with the fallout from news that two of the horses he ran on Arkansas Derby day at Oaklawn Park, including Arkansas Derby division winner Charlatan, tested positive for the illegal use of the numbing agent lidocaine.
Baffert, however, has a deep bench. Uncle Chuck, son of Uncle Mo, won the Los Alamitos Derby last Saturday in just his second career start to put himself on the Derby watch list. Then there’s Cezzane, an intriguing $3.65 million auction purchase that is 2-for-2 this year. Plus, Baffert has the filly Gamine, the “other” horse who tested positive at Oaklawn, but who also won the Acorn Stakes at Belmont by a ridiculous 18 3/4 lengths and, if Baffert so chooses, could be tested against the boys.
Thing is, with eight weeks left, more tests remain. The Haskell Invitational is next Saturday at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Authentic is expected to attempt a bounce-back performance there, with competition from the Todd Pletcher-trained Dr Post (second in the Belmont), Ete Indien (Fountain of Youth winner) and Ny Traffic (three Derby trail runner-up finishes).
Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A.P., second on the Derby qualifying points list, is set to run in the Shared Belief for trainer John Shirreffs at Del Mar on Aug. 1. You remember Shirreffs. He campaigned 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and then the legendary filly Zenyatta.
Originally set for Aug. 29 at Saratoga, the Travers was moved up to Aug. 8 to put some separation between it and the roses. There, Tiz the Law could fulfill a crazy dream for New York native Jack Knowlton, the head of Sackatoga. A New York bred, Tiz the Law could win the state’s two biggest races, the Belmont and the Travers before — yes, before — heading to the Kentucky Derby.
Then there’s the unusual path trainer Avila Juan Carlos is taking with King Guillermo. The Tampa Bay Derby winner finished second in his division of the Arkansas Derby on May 2 but hasn’t raced since. Nor does Carlos plan to race him before Sept. 5. It will be all works in the morning for the King, who covered 4 furlongs in 48 seconds on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. He’ll try the Derby on a four-month layoff.
Maybe Carlos is right. After all, this insane summer no one knows the exact right path to the roses. And we’ve still got two months to go.
