Maybe all we need for Derby 138 is two trainers.
There were four Derby prep races over the Presidents holiday weekend and three of them were won by horses trained by Bob Baffert. Baffert won the seven furlong San Vincente Stakes with Drill. And then he won both divisions of the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn with Castaway and Secret Circle.
But that is less than half of Baffert's Derby Battalion. Fed Biz, jumped on to everybody's top ten list when he crushed an allowance field at Santa Anita by almost six lengths. The Giant's Causeway colt was a $950,000 purchase at auction and now moves to Stakes Company.
Liaison may seem like last year's news but he has enough graded money to make the Derby right now. The Indian Charlie colt made his bankroll in the Cash Call Futurity but then tossed in an 8th place clunker in the Bob Lewis Stakes.
One good race will put him back in the Derby mix.
Then we have Bodemeister, named for Baffert's young son. Bode opened some eyes with a ten length maiden win at Santa Anita. He covered the mile in a quick 1:34.45. Keep in mind that's California time. The Santa Anita dirt is still very fast. But the Beyer speed figure was 99.
Another Baffert 3-year-old is Sky Kingdom, a two time winner, who was 4th in the CashCall and 5th in the Bob Lewis. He needs a breakthrough race but nobody's giving up yet.
It could be a breakout like Castaway, who won the first division of the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. The son of Street Sense is a late bloomer. It took six races to break his maiden, but now he's won two straight, including 150 thousand in graded stakes money.
Castaway was hardly out of the winners circle when his stable mate, Secret Circle covered the same circle a full second faster in the second division of the Southwest. Secret Circle already has enough money to qualify for the Derby with his win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint. But, can an Eddington offspring carry his speed for more than a mile?
And finally in Baffert's half dozen, we have Drill. A trainer, who points most of his horses for the classics, admits that Drill looks like a one turn horse.
He had not run a good race since the Norfolk Stakes last fall, but Drill nosed out American Act and the highly touted Creative Cause in the San Vincente.
Yes, seven furlongs is more like a sprint race, and the trainer swears he will keep this horse sprinting. But when a horse starts winning, you can smell the roses as far away as California. And who knows if another Derby candidate is hiding in the Baffert barn.
Much like Baffert, Todd Pletcher's greatest challenge is to avoid running his Derby horse against his other Derby horses.
But apparently that will happen when undefeated Algorithms and Discreet Dancer face off in the Fountain of Youth on Sunday, Feb. 26. With Breeders' Cup runner up Union Rags also in the field, this will be the most anticipated Derby prep to date. And it will be a real challenge for the bettors to find a favorite among those three.
And you can add some backside drama that could have changed the race last week. Jockey Javier Castellano opted to ride Algorithms and leave Union Rags. Trainer Michael Matz responded by quickly picking up Julien Leparoux for his colt.
So Leparoux winds up on a Grade One winner who was a close second in the Breeders' Cup. Algorithms is a Grade 3 winner but you wonder, was it the horse that kept Castellano in the Pletcher camp or his first call status on a lot of good horses.
On the same weekend, Pletcher sends El Padrino to New Orleans for the Risen Star where he will face Mr. Bowling, Z. Dager and Shared Property. In his most recent performance, El Padrino defeated the well bred Take Charge Indy. And some people think this may be Pletcher's best Derby contender. But can he beat a contingent that trains at the Fairgrounds.
Another Pletcher contender who is familiar to Churchill Downs, is Gemologist, who won the Jockey Club Stakes last November. WinStar was hopeful that Gemologist would follow in the footsteps of Super Saver but so far the works in Florida have been uninspiring, in fact, downright slow.
Another Pletcher trainee, Thunder Moccasin has been anything but slow.
He's won two in a row, including the Grade 2 Hutcheson. Pletcher said after the race that the son of A.P. Warrior might be a one turn sprinter, but the Dosage Index says more distance is possible.
And to show you just how deep the Pletcher barn can be, we bring you Windsurfer, a Speightstown colt, who broke his maiden in January at Gulfstream. Windsurfer won the race despite racing three to four wide for a mile and a sixteenth.
That's an even dozen from Baffert and Pletcher and who knows what's ahead. So with apologies to Steve Asmussen, who has a modest three Derby contenders, Sabrecat, Z. Dager, and Daddy Noes Best. With a nod to Mike Maker who is trying to get Hansen and Mr. Prankster to Churchill in May.
And to those trying to nurse one horse and many dreams along the Derby trail, welcome to the Baffert-Pletcher Derby. The gate is almost full in late February. Good luck.
