Just 20 days to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and following two 3-year-old stakes races on April 10, including the important Arkansas Derby (G1), the field is rounding into focus.
SUPER STOCK (Dialed In – Super Girlie by Closing Argument) upset the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) on April 10 at Oaklawn Park and zoomed to third place on the points leaderboard for the 147th Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 1. There were 17,000 fans at the races at Oaklawn for the race.
Owned by Erv Woolsey and Keith Asmussen and trained by Steve Asmussen, Super Stock stalked a pace duel between previously undefeated Concert Tour and Brad Cox trainee Caddo River and surged to a 2 1/2 length win in 1:50.92. The Kentucky-bred colt was making his eighth career start, having won his maiden in the Texas Bred Futurity at 5 1/2 furlongs last summer at Lone Star. He had been third to Essential Quality in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity last fall and then a close second to King Fury in his final juvenile outing in the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs. Super Stock was bred by Pedro and P J Gonzalez and was a $70,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase.
KING FURY, incidentally, was also an upset winner on April 10 as he won the Lexington Stakes (G3) in the slop at Keeneland for Fern Circle Stable and Three Chimneys Farm. The Curlin colt is the only foal from his late dam Taris by Flatter. King Fury, trained by Ken McPeek, picked up 20 Derby points. He was a $950,000 yearling purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton August yearling sale.
ESSENTIAL QUALITY, the Champion 2-year-old of 2020, sits atop the points list, is undefeated, and will be a strong favourite in the Derby.
From the top 25 point earners, several horses are already noted as being out of the Derby and others are reportedly not being pointed to the race. Weyburn, the Ontario-bred winner of the Gotham Stakes, is apparently pointing to the Grade 1 Belmont, and Proxy, well beaten in the Lexington Stakes, is not expected to run. That brings Rombauer into the field.
The top 20 point earners get into the Kentucky Derby (Lexington Stakes winner King Fury has 20 points and is 28th on the list).
Rank Horse Points Owner(s) Trainer Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Essential Quality, 140 Godolphin LLC (Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum) Brad Cox $2,210,000
2. Hot Rod Charlie, 110 Roadrunner Racing (Greg Helm), Boat Racing LLC (Eric Armagost, Dan Giovaccini, Reiley Higgins, Patrick O’Neill & Alex Quoyeser) & Strauss Bros Racing (Bill Strauss) Doug O’Neill $962,000
3. Super Stock, 109 Erv Woolsey & Keith Asmussen Steve Asmussen $709,000
4. Like the King, 104 M Racing Group LLC (Mickey Gonzalez) Wesley Ward $161,300
5. Known Agenda, 102 St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola) Todd Pletcher $461,100
— g-Rebel’s Romance (IRE) 100 Godolphin LLC (Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum) Charlie Appleby $510,000
Career: $549,879
6. Rock Your World, 100 Hronis Racing LLC (Kosta & Pete Hronis) & David Michael Talla John Sadler $510,000 Career: $546,600
7. Bourbonic, 100 Calumet Farm (Brad Kelley) Todd Pletcher $400,000
— Greatest Honour 80 Courtlandt Farms (Donald & Donna Adam) Shug McGaughey III $366,240
8. Medina Spirit, 74 Zedan Racing Stables Inc. (Amr F. Zedan) Bob Baffert $290,000
9. Concert Tour, 70 Gary & Mary West Bob Baffert $820,000
10. Midnight Bourbon, 66 Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ron Winchell) Steve Asmussen $430,000
— Life Is Good 60 CHC INC (Kit Ng) & WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Troutt) Bob Baffert $240,000
11. $-Weyburn (Ont-C), 60 Chiefswood Stables Limited (Robert & Mark Krembil) Jimmy Jerkens $215,000
12. Mandaloun, 52 Juddmonte Farms Inc. (Garret O’Rourke, Administrator) Brad Cox $270,000
13. Caddo River, 50 Shortleaf Stable Inc. (John Ed Anthony) Brad Cox $320,000
14. Highly Motivated, 50 Klaravich Stables Inc. (Seth Klarman) Chad Brown $271,000
15. $-Helium, 50 D J Stable LLC (Leonard Green) Mark Casse $255,492
16. $-Panadol, 40 Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Salem bin Ghadayer $240,000
17. Soup and Sandwich, 40 Live Oak Plantation (Charlotte C. Weber) Mark Casse $161,000
18. Dynamic One, 40 Repole Stable(Mike Repole), Phipps Stable (Daisy Phipps Pulito) &St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola) Todd Pletcher $140,000
19. Crowded Trade, 40 Klaravich Stables Inc. (Seth Klarman) Chad Brown $135,000
20. Sainthood, 40 WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Troutt) & CHC Inc. (Kit Ng) Todd Pletcher $47,500
21. Proxy, 36 Godolphin LLC (Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum) Mike Stidham $170,000
22. Rombauer, 34 John & Diane Fradkin Michael McCarthy $260,500
23. Hidden Stash, 32 BBN Racing LLC (Ann Braxton Lynch) Vicki Oliver $130,000
24. Dream Shake, 30 Exline-Border Racing LLC (Ryan Exline & Justin Border), SAF Racing & Richard Hausman
Peter Eurton $126,000
25. O Besos, 25 L. Barrett Bernard, Tagg Team Racing & West Point Thoroughbreds (Terry Finley et al)
Greg Foley $116,000
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