Pletcher continues to rack up Derby points race victories and some will jump on the Malagacy bandwagon but he earned an uninspiring 91 BSF in the Rebel Stakes and appears to have distance limitations (final 1/4 in :25.45).
To show how weak the Rebel may turn out to be, 112-1 maiden Sonneteer got up for 2nd, edging Fair Grounds shipper Untrapped and local runner Petrov. I have always been a fan of the latter but have known for quite some time that he is a miler.
With my longtime top ranked Derby contender Mastery out of the chase, I am impatiently waiting for a Derby hopeful to knock my socks off. We probably won’t see that type of performance in the Spiral or Sunland Derby this week but both are interesting betting races, especially the former.
The Spiral Stakes will be run on all-weather footing at Turfway Park on March 25 and Kitten’s Cat is the tepid 4-1 morning line favorite. His three wins were between 6.5f and one mile and gets a nine furlong distance test in the Spiral.
The Sunland Derby will be run at nine furlongs on March 26 and morning line favorite Bronze Age is probably the one to catch for Bob Baffert. He did not show much in his first two sprints but smartly went all the way in his first route try at Santa Anita Feb 18 and the 2-3 finishers were next out winners.
Jarrod Horak’s “Exceptional Eleven" Kentucky Derby 2017 Contenders (Updated 3-25-17)
#1 - GUNNEVERA
#2 - McCraken
#3 - Three Rules
#4 - Practical Joke
#5 - Battalion Runner
#6 - Tapwrit
#7 - Irish War Cry
#8 - El Areeb
#9 - Gormley
#10 - Royal Mo
#11 - Classic Empire
You can read my entire Kentucky Derby 2017 contenders update blog at The Runaway Horse.
* Churchill Downs photo by Stacy Edwards
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