It was a big day for Woodbine/Ontario connected horses in Kentucky Derby (G1) stepping stone races on March 6. Chiefswood Stables’ Ontario bred WEYBURN battled back to win the $300,000 Gotham Stakes (see separate post on CanadianThoroughbred.com), a Grade 3 offering 50 Derby points. A bit later in Florida, Display Stakes winner HELIUM showed lots of gas to win the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby, worth $400,000 for trainer Mark Casse. Helium, who cost just $55,000 as a yearling (Fasig-Tipton October bought by Cool Hill Farm), unlike many of the high-priced Casse trainees, is from the first crop of IRONICUS, a Distorted Humor millionaire who stands for $5,000 at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.
Helium is owned by Leonard Green’s DJ Stable.
Both colts were coming off layoffs and making their sophomore debut.
Meanwhile in California, another Bob Baffert-trained monster colt with speed, LIFE IS GOOD, rolled to a huge win in the Grade 2 San Felipe to remain undefeated.
Weyburn and Helium will both have to be supplemented to the American Triple Crown at a cost of $6,000 (US) by the March 29 deadline. Weyburn could be seen next in the April 3 Wood Memorial while Casse has said Helium may go straight into the Derby on May 1.
SAN FELIPE RECAP
Over a racetrack that has not been producing sizzling times, the fleet colt Life Is Good, in only his third career start, rendered six rivals insignificant as he fairly waltzed to a massive eight-length win in Saturday’s Grade II, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes, further affirming his status as the West’s dominant Kentucky Derby hopeful. Ridden by Mike Smith, Life Is Good led gate to wire and despite the fact he drifted out very wide through the lane, stopped the clock for a mile and one sixteenth in a rapid 1:42.18.
He earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form.
Breaking from the rail, Life Is Good was instantly in command, with Smith sitting still as he enjoyed a 2 ½ length lead seven furlongs from home. Down the backside, Life Is Good was totally unpressured and was four lengths clear mid-way around the far turn. From there, it seemed it was just a matter of how far he’d win by as he maintained an insurmountable advantage.
While providing Baffert with his record eighth San Felipe win, Life Is Good, a colt by Into Mischief, out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk, picked up 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, giving him 60 total and thus assuring himself a berth in the Run for the Roses on May 1 while also firmly establishing himself the heavy favorite for the Grade I Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on April 3.
“I think he showed that he could get the distance, when a horse can get a mile and a sixteenth the way he did today, it gives you every indication they could go an eighth of a mile further,” said Smith.
When asked about the fact Life Is Good drifted out to about the 10-path in deep stretch, Smith attributed it to Santa Anita’s Infield Big Screen.
“When the Big Screen is lit up, they can see it,” said Smith. “In the mornings, he goes by the screen like it’s nothing because it’s not on. He was locked on it down the lane today. He’s just so talented. I had a strong hold on him down to the wire, just holding onto him, making sure that he stayed straight.”
A gate-to-wire winner of the Grade III Sham Stakes going one mile on Jan. 2, Life Is Good was off at 1-2 and paid $3.00, $2.20 and $2.10.
“I like the way he got away from the gate, both of my horses (including runner-up Medina Spirit) got away cleanly, they were in a good spot,” said Baffert, who will now go about angling on winning his record 10th Santa Anita Derby. “Down the backside, that’s where this horse can get a little tough and I was hoping we’d get a little 47 and change (half mile). But Mike just sat on him, he was doing it so easily, I saw 46 and four, I said, ‘Well, I think I could live with that.’ I always thought he would be a super horse…but at the quarter pole, I could tell he was just still cruising, just doing it easy.”
Owned by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm, Life Is Good, who is unbeaten in three starts, picked up $180,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $274,200.
Beach Walk was winless in 5 races and this is her second foal, having produced a winner.
TAMPA BAY DERBY RECAP
Jose Ferrer’s enthusiasm for horse racing has never wavered during a 39-year career. His love of the sport has enabled him to win more than 4,500 races, including 27 graded stakes, and be recognized as the 2018 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award winner, an honor given to a jockey whose career and personal character reflect positively on racing.
But it’s unlikely few moments can match his victory aboard 3-year-old colt Helium today in the Grade II, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.
“I’m 56, and I feel like I’m 20,” Ferrer said after the Kentucky-bred son of Ironicus, out of Thundering Emilia, by Thunder Gulch, held off Hidden Stash by ¾-length in a time of 1:43.55 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track.
Display Stakes winner Helium and 56-year-old jockey Jose Ferrer upset the Grade 2 Tampa Bay derby – Tampa Bay Downs photo
Moonlite Strike finished third. The 8-5 favorite, Grade III Sam F. Davis winner Candy Man Rocket, dropped back approaching the stretch, fading to 11th of 12.
Helium paid $32.80 to win.
The 41st edition of the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby capped a record-shattering Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South program. Total all-sources handle of $15,229,366 was an all-time record, roughly 2.5-percent above the previous mark set on Tampa Bay Derby Day in 2018.
Other stakes winners included 4-year-old filly Micheline in the Grade II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes; 3-year-old filly Domain Expertise, who set a stakes record in the Grade III, $200,000 Florida Oaks; 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding Last Judgment in the Grade III, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes; and 3-year-old colt Winfromwithin, who set a turf course record of 1:33.72 in the 1-mile Columbia Stakes.
The crowd let out a collective gasp when Helium, trained by Mark Casse and owned by the D. J. Stable of Leonard Green and family, moved to the lead rounding the far turn. He drew clear, but Hidden Stash and Rafael Bejarano came charging and might have grabbed a brief lead.
If they did, it didn’t last.
“On the backside, I had all kind of horse under me,” Ferrer said. “When I set him down at the 3/8 pole, I could see I had a chance. I just had so much horse and he flew down the lane. Then I think he got out there by himself and kind of got bored and he thought, game over. But I still had plenty of horse and he re-broke again.”
Helium improved to 3-for-3, his first two victories coming as a 2-year-old at Woodbine, including an Oct. 18 score in the Display Stakes in his previous start. Still, Casse knew he had many questions to answer.
“He trained well enough that we thought he deserved a chance,” said Casse, who won the 2012 Tampa Bay Derby with Prospective. “We had thought about running in the Gotham and thought, if we’re going to try the dirt, let’s run him close to home, and it worked well for us.
“This horse is something because he got away a little slow today and we had planned on him being closer. He made that big wide run on the turn, but when (Hidden Stash rallied) I was going to be happy with second. I thought, we can build on this, because this is only his third start and there is a lot of room for improvement.
“What was amazing is that he wasn’t overly exhausted after the race. He’s a beautiful horse, he’s bred to run all day long and he looks like a Derby horse, so it’s exciting,” Casse said.
Helium’s dam Thundering Emilia was a stakes winner of $140,000 and her first three foals are winners.
KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS
1. Greatest Honour 60 Courtlandt Farms (Donald & Donna Adam) Shug McGaughey III $295,740
2. Life Is Good 60 CHC INC (Ah Khing Teo) & WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Troutt) Bob Baffert $240,000
3. Mandaloun 52 Juddmonte Farms Inc. (Garret O’Rourke, Administrator) Brad Cox $260,000
— +Helium 50 D J Stable LLC Mark Casse $255,492 (needs to be supplemented)
— +Weyburn 50 Chiefswood Stables Limited Jimmy Jerkens $165,000 (needs to be supplemented)
4. Essential Quality 40 Godolphin LLC (Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum) Brad Cox $1,730,000
5. Medina Spirit 34 Zedan Racing Stables Inc. (Amr F. Zedan) Bob Baffert $140,000
6. Midnight Bourbon 26 Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ron Winchell) Steve Asmussen $230,000
7. Proxy 24 Godolphin LLC (Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum) Mike Stidham $120,000
8. Hidden Stash 22 BBN Racing LLC (Ann Braxton Lynch) Vicki Oliver $90,000
— +Drain the Clock 20 Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder Stables & Michael Nentwig Saffie Joseph Jr. $163,950 (needs supplmt)
9. Crowded Trade 20 Klaravich Stables Inc. (Seth Klarman) Chad Brown $60,000
10. Keepmeinmind 18 Spendthrift Farm (B. Wayne Hughes), Cypress Creek LLC (Kevin Moody) & Arnold Bennewith Robertino Diodoro $379,040
11. Spielberg 17 SF Racing LLC (Gavin Murphy), Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf et al), Madaket Stables LLC (Jason Monteleone & Sol Kumin), Golconda Stables (Ben Goldberg & Elliot Friman), Siena Farm LLC (Anthony Manganaro, Ignacio Patino & David Pope) & Robert E. Masterson
Bob Baffert $362,000
— Jackie’s Warrior 14 J. Kirk & Judy Robison Steve Asmussen $532,500
12. Rombauer 14 John & Diane Fradkin Michael McCarthy $180,500
13. Capo Kane 12 Bing Cherry Racing Inc. (Tony Como) & Leonard Liberto Harold Wyner $115,500
14. Papetu 11 Magic Stables LLC (Antonio Sano) Antonio Sano $68,425
15. Moonlite Strike 11 Sonata Stable (Marc Tacher) Saffie Joseph Jr. $42,500
16. Hot Rod Charlie 10 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 $352,000
17. Get Her Number 10 Gary Barber Peter Miller $186,000
18. Sittin On Go 10 Albaugh Family Stables LLC (Dennis Albaugh & Jason Loustch) Dale Romans $141,800
19. Risk Taking 10 Klaravich Stables Inc. (Seth Klarman) Chad Brown $137,500
20. Candy Man Rocket 10 Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc. (Frank Fletcher) Bill Mott $120,000
21. Highly Motivated 10 Klaravich Stables Inc. (Seth Klarman) Chad Brown $111,000
22. Caddo River 10 Shortleaf Stable Inc. (John Ed Anthony) Brad Cox $90,000
23. Brooklyn Strong 10 Mark Schwartz Daniel Velazquez $82,500
24. Hush of a Storm 10 Joseph P. Morey Jr. Revocable Trust Bill Morey $43,710
25. Dream Shake 10 Exline-Border Racing LLC, SAF Racing & Richard Hausman Peter Eurton $36,000
~ with files from Tampa Bay/Santa Anita
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