by Myra Lewyn

An intriguing group of stakes winners, including Cowboy Cal and Cannonball, are among a full field set to meet on New Year's Day at Calder Race Course in the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby (G3), the first graded stakes of the year for newly turned three-year-olds.

Stonerside Stable’s homebred Cowboy Cal is among the 12 colts and geldings and four also-eligible entrants for the 1 1/8-mile turf race on Tuesday.

The Giant’s Causeway colt dominated 12 opponents with a 6 ¼-length romp on November 24 in his stakes debut in the Laurel Futurity, a turf race Barbaro won by eight lengths.

Trainer Michael Matz used the Tropical Park Derby to kick off Barbaro’s sophomore campaign before the Dynaformer colt became the sixth undefeated Kentucky Derby (G1) winner. Barbaro subsequently made his first start on dirt in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) then captured the Florida Derby (G1) en route to a 61⁄2-length romp in the first jewel of the Triple Crown.

The Laurel Futurity marked the second straight win in three starts for Cowboy Cal, who is trained by Todd Pletcher. He will meet stablemate Why Tonto, winner of the World Appeal Stakes on September 28 at the Meadowlands.

The Indian Charlie colt has captured two of six starts and enters off a runner-up finish to Cannonball in the King Cugat Stakes on October 21 on yielding turf at Belmont Park.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Cannonball finished third to Nownownow in the inaugural $1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on October 26 at Monmouth Park to cap his two-year-old season.

Wesley Ward trains the Catienus gelding, who has two wins from five starts in 2007. He won the King Cugat by a nose, just four days prior to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in which he was sent off at odds of 15.10-to-1,

J D Farm’s Wise Answer will try turf for the first time after concluding a successful juvenile campaign racing exclusively at Calder. Never off the board in seven starts, he annexed four races, including two divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes and the Foolish Pleasure Stakes for trainer David R. Brownlee.

The only other stakes winner entered is Vicino Racing Stables’ Dynhocracy, a Calder-based Adhocracy gelding who won Arthur I Appleton Juvenile Turf Stakes on November 11 before a fourth-place finish in the What a Pleasure Stakes.

Trained by Bill Kaplan, Dynhocracy has won two of seven starts.

The field, in post-position order, with (sire), jockey, weight, and trainer:

1. Cannonball (Catienus), Elvis Trujillo, 119, Wesley A. Ward;

2. Why Tonto (Indian Charlie), Edgar S. Prado, 117, Todd A. Pletcher;

3. Wise Answer (Wised Up), Eibar Coa, 122, David R. Brownlee;

4. Celestial Comet (Smart Strike), Kent J. Desormeaux, 117, William I. Mott;

5. Cowboy Cal (Giant's Causeway), John R. Velazquez, 119, Todd A. Pletcher;

6. Titan of Industry (Giant's Causeway), Javier Castellano, 117, Richard A. Violette, Jr.;

7. Joey the Scholar (Double Honor), Julio A. Garcia, 117, J. David Braddy;

8. Heaven's Awesome (Awesome of Course), Ariel Smith, 115, Stanley I. Gold;

9. Kim's Dixie Tune (Concorde's Tune), Eddie Castro, 115, Mary Hartmann;

10. Moral Compass (Grand Slam), Cornelio H. Velasquez, 117, Barclay Tagg;

11. Dynhocracy (Adhocracy), Manoel R. Cruz, 119, William A. Kaplan;

12. Pir At the Moon (Black Minnaloushe), Jeffrey Sanchez, 117, Herman Wilensky;

13. Fire Lookout (Forest Camp), Rene R. Douglas, 115, Todd A. Pletcher;

14. El Profeta (Double Honor), Jorge F. Chavez, 115, Juan D. Arias;

15. Concertos Song (Concerto), Constantino Hernandez, 115, Douglas G. Potter; and

16. Horse Doctor (Horse Chestnut [SAF]), Calvin H. Borel, 115, Dale L. Romans.

Myra Lewyn is a Thoroughbred Times daily news editor