Trainer Todd Pletcher's latest Kentucky Derby 2017 flavor of the week Malagacy
tracked distance challenged front runner Uncontested and remained
unbeaten with a 2-length triumph in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on
March 18.
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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