There is still a long way to go to the 149th Kentucky Derby on May 7 but three-year-olds throughout North America are beginning to show what they have in various stakes races on the journey to the roses.
The Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida on Feb. 4 might not have been the sizzling fast Derby ‘prep’ you would expect in Florida, but the improving ROCKET CAN (Into Mischief) had a steady rally from a couple of lengths off a slow pace to win by 3/4 of a length in 1:44.97 for 1 1/16 miles. He earned a modest 82 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form.
Owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc. Rocket Can is trained by Bill Mott and was ridden by Junior Alvarado. Mott and Alvarado won the Pegasus World Cup last weekend with Art Collector.
Peachtree Stable’s Shadow Dragon, a 30-1 longshot, finished 2 ¼ lengths clear of West Coast Cowboy, a 58-1 longshot ridden by Edgard Zayas.
Rocket Can finished off the board in a pair of sprints at Saratoga before stretching out around to turns to graduate at Churchill Downs by two lengths Oct. 30. The Kentucky-bred colt finished his juvenile campaign with a close second-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance at Churchill Downs Nov. 26.
“It was a little worrisome on the first turn. He was four-wide. It’s a short run to the first turn and he had the outside post. He was four-wide in the first turn and then three-wide. The good part about all that is you have a clear trip,” Mott said. “You’re running further than everyone else, but he got a nice clean trip and maybe that’s what he needed today.”
Saturday’s effort strengthened Mott’s confidence in Rocket Can’s capability to run at longer distances.
“It seems like he can keep going. Hopefully, another sixteenth is good and another three-sixteenths is even better,” said Mott. “Time will tell that.”
Shadow Dragon’s strong performance very much pleased his trainer.
“It was a great race for him. I’m very pleased with his effort for a horse that’s run only twice,” said Mott, whose New York-bred son of Army Mule defeated state-breds in a six-furlong debut at Aqueduct Sept. 29 before finishing off-the-board in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes. “He moved way forward today.”
The Holy Bull will be followed on the road to the Florida Derby by the Fountain of Youth (G2) March. 4. “I think we’d want to do that with one of them, for sure,” Mott said.
Cyclone Mischief, the 6-5 favourite ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, raced in mid-pack before fading the seventh.
Rocket Can earned 20 points for the Derby. The current leader is FORTE with 40 points.
The dam of Rocket Can is the placed mare Tension, by Tapit, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Tough Tiz’s Sis.
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At Santa Anita, the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, normally a stakes event that offers points to the Derby, did not grant points this year as all four starters in the 1 1/16 mile race were trained by Bob Baffert, who is banned from Churchill Downs. The winner was NEWGATE (also by Into Mischief), who was winning his first stakes race in his 6th start. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, favoured Newgate came from last to beat his mates, winning by a neck over Hard to Figure. Newgate was an $850,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase and he is owned by a partnership that includes SF Bloodstock, Madakey Racing, Starlight Racing et al.
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