WEYBURN, the Chiefswood Stables’ Ontario-bred 3-year-old and winner of the Grade 3 Gothman Stakes in the spring, is in post position four for the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx on Saturday, September 25. The son of Pioneerofthe Nile will meet eight other sophomores in a field lessened by one when Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Medina Spirit was withdrawn.
Trained by James Jerkens, Weyburn will have Paco Lopez on board for the 1 1/8 mile race on dirt.
Weyburn finished fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Wood Memorial in April at the Big A and followed two months later with a close second to Grade 1 Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus on June 13 at Monmouth.
Last out, the dark bay colt tracked the pace from third in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 31 at the Spa, but failed to make up ground in the stretch run, finishing fourth.
Jerkens said Weyburn, a resurgent Gotham winner under Trevor McCarthy off a three-month layoff, is at his best racing fresh.
“He’s got a lot of talent. He’s just a little quirky,” Jerkens said. “His two best races – the Gotham and the Pegasus – he had two to three months between starts.”
Lopez will need to keep Weyburn to task.
“He wants to be forwardly placed and then you have to get after him. He’ll spit the bit after he’s run a long ways and you have to try and beat him to the punch a little bit,” Jerkens said. “Trevor kept riding him the whole time in the Gotham and he came back on. He can be stubborn switching to his outside lead but when he does, he comes back on again.”
Favoured in the Pennsylvania Derby is HOT ROD CHARLIE, who will now be the 8-to-5 morning line choice.
Saturday will be Hot Rod Charlie’s first race since the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell at Monmouth Park on July 17. In that race, Hot Rod Charlie was the first horse across the finish line but was disqualified and placed last after Midnight Bourbon clipped heels with him in the stretch.
Before that, Hot Rod Charlie and jockey Flavien Prat ran a courageous race in the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont, finishing second behind Essential Quality.
In five starts this year, Hot Rod Charlie has one win — the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby — to go along with a third in the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby.
“He has shown up in every big race we have had him in,” O’Neill said. “He has been very honest and, gosh, I just feel so lucky and blessed to be connected with him, He is just a real cool, blue-collar, solid horse.”
After the Haskell, Hot Rod Charlie went back to O’Neill’s base in California and the trainer decided he would let the horse tell him when he was ready to go again.
“He needed a couple of weeks after the Haskell,” O’Neill said. “He had to get his bearings about him and get his energy back to where we wanted it to be. As I started breezing him, I just let him go easy, and the last couple of works we have asked him for a little bit of run. He has responded in normal Charlie fashion.”
Post time for the Pennsylvania Derby is 5:49 p.m.
Post position Horse Jockey Trainer Odds
1 Fulsome Florent Geroux, Brad H. Cox 12-1
2 Keepmeinmind Joel Rosario, Robertino Diodoro 8-1
3 Speaker’s Corner Jose L. Ortiz, William Mott 12-1
4 Weyburn Paco Lopez, James Jerkens 12-1
5 I Am Redeemed Abner Adorno, Penny Pearce 20-1
6 Bourbonic Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher 12-1
7 Hot Rod Charlie Flavient Prat, Doug O’Neill 5-2
8 Midnight Bourbon Ricardo Santanta Jr., Steven Asmussen 5-1
9 Medina Spirit John R. Velazquez, Bob Baffert Scratch
10 Americanrevolution Luis Saez, Todd Pletcher 15-1
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