NEWS
Lookin At Lucky leads diverse Derby cast
Posted: Friday, April 30, 2010 3:06 PM
LOOKIN AT LUCKY
Benoit & Associates photo
by Jeff Lowe
Trainer Bob Baffert sent Lookin At Lucky to Oaklawn Park expecting to learn a whole lot about the reigning champion two-year-old in the Rebel Stakes (G2) on March 13. He got more than he bargained for when Lookin At Lucky clipped heels with Noble’s Promise along the backstretch.
“He almost went down and when he came around, I thought, ‘If he’s that kind of horse, he’ll get up and win,’ and he did,” Baffert recalled this week outside his barn, which is adorned with the names of his three previous Kentucky Derby (G1) winners.
Lookin At Lucky will have a different obstacle, a greater challenge, and another chance to define his ability on Saturday against 18 males and one filly in the $2,185,200 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands at Churchill Downs.
The Smart Strike colt will have to overcome post position one if he is to join Street Sense as the only champion two-year-old male to win the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979.
“The main thing is that he is a good horse,” Baffert said. “We’re going to find out how good this horse is. If he’s that good, he’ll win it.”
Since sealing up the Eclipse Award with a victory in the CashCall Futurity (G1) on December 19, Lookin At Lucky’s name has bordered on ironic. Whispers over his physical condition spread this winter at the same time Baffert was tweaking his training schedule at Santa Anita Park to avoid wet conditions on an all-weather surface that often failed to drain.
Lookin At Lucky put the rumors to bed with a dramatic performance in his first start of the year, chasing down Noble’s Promise to win the Rebel by a head. He encountered trouble and drama again in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on April 3.
Jockey Garrett Gomez had to check strongly along the rail on the far turn. Lookin At Lucky recovered enough to finish a well-beaten third, six lengths behind wire-to-wire winner Sidney’s Candy. Gomez took a swing at jockey Victor Espinoza after the race.
Sidney’s Candy will face his own test right from the start after drawing the widest post in the field of 20. Big Brown cleared that hurdle, and a wide trip around both turns, two years ago in a powerful Derby victory.
“I’m thinking about having a pin made up that I can wear saying, ‘Yes, I know Big Brown won out of the 20 hole,' ” said Sidney’s Candy’s trainer, John Sadler. “About 20 people have come up to me and told me that one. … I don’t stress about things I can’t control. I’ll get together with my rider [Joe Talamo] and we’ll come up with a strategy for the race on Saturday. I think we’re going to be fine.”
Sidney’s Candy is one of two California-based horses who will race on dirt for the first time in the Derby. Make Music for Me is the other, and he is one of seven horses in the field who have at least one win on turf. The Rebel was Lookin At Lucky’s lone start on dirt.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will not boast the overwhelming favorite following Eskendereya’s injury on Sunday, but he still has a deep contingent as he seeks his first Derby victory. Pletcher reacted to Mine That Bird’s huge upset last year with wonder following jockey Calvin Borel’s second rail-skimming triumph in three years.
This year, Pletcher has Borel on his side with Super Saver, who won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) last November at Churchill and was the lukewarm favorite when betting closed Friday.
“I think Calvin is an exceptional rider anywhere and I think he's maybe five lengths better at Churchill," Pletcher said. "For whatever reason, he's got Churchill Downs figured out.”
Pletcher notched his only classic victory with a filly, Rags to Riches, in the 2007 Belmont Stakes (G1), which kicked off a strong run of victories by fillies and mares over males in some of North America’s most prestigious races. Rachel Alexandra, Goldikova (Ire), and Zenyatta joined Rags to Riches by conquering males in 2008 and ’09 in the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1), the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), respectively.
Filly Devil May Care will get a chance to add the Derby to the list. The decision was not finalized until Monday, but Pletcher has been looking in this direction since August, before the Malibu Moon’s filly first start.
“She worked as good as any two-year-old we had at Saratoga [Race Course] last year,” Pletcher said. “Specifically, one day in August … she worked from the gate and she galloped out as strongly as any two-year-old I’ve ever had there. I said, ‘Wow, this is a really talented filly.’”
Devil May Care, who won the Frizette Stakes (G1) in her second start, will wear blinkers for the first time in the Derby. She won the Bonnie Miss Stakes (G2) by 2 ¾ lengths in her most recent start on March 20 at Gulfstream Park.
“She’s a strong filly and I think she has the right disposition and the right mechanics to fit,” Pletcher said.
Winning Colors (1988), Genuine Risk ('80), and Regret ('15) are the only fillies to win the Derby. Eight Belles, the runner-up in 2008 before she sustained a fatal injury galloping out on the clubhouse turn, was the most recent of 39 females to run in the classic.
Racing Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas scored the first of his four Derby wins with Winning Colors, and he will shoot for a fifth with Three Chimneys Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner Dublin on Saturday.
The other Grade 1 winners in the Derby field are Florida Derby (G1) winner Ice Box, Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Stately Victor, Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (G1) winner Noble’s Promise, and Champagne Stakes (G1) winner Homeboykris.
Forecasts for heavy rain throughout Friday night and Saturday could yield a wet surface for the Derby for the second straight year and third time since 2004. The Churchill track was sloppy, muddy, or good during training hours for six straight days from April 23-28. The only Derby horses who did not have their final workouts at Churchill during that period were Backtalk, Dean’s Kitten, Jackson Bend, and Stately Victor.
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
May 01, $2,000,000, 3yo, 1 1/4M, Churchill Downs, 6:24 PM ET
| Post |
Horse |
Sire |
Weight |
Jockey |
Trainer |
| 1 |
Lookin At Lucky 3, c. |
Smart Strike |
126 |
Garrett Gomez |
Bob Baffert |
| 2 |
Ice Box 3, c. |
Pulpit |
126 |
Jose Lezcano |
Nicholas Zito |
| 3 |
Noble's Promise 3, c. |
Cuvee |
126 |
Willie Martinez |
Kenneth McPeek |
| 4 |
Super Saver 3, c. |
Maria's Mon |
126 |
Calvin Borel |
Todd Pletcher |
| 5 |
Line of David 3, c. |
Lion Heart |
126 |
Rafael Bejarano |
John Sadler |
| 6 |
Stately Victor 3, c. |
Ghostzapper |
126 |
Alan Garcia |
Michael Maker |
| 7 |
American Lion 3, c. |
Tiznow |
126 |
David Flores |
Eoin Harty |
| 8 |
Dean's Kitten 3, c. |
Kitten's Joy |
126 |
Robby Albarado |
Michael Maker |
| 9 |
Make Music for Me 3, c. |
Bernstein |
126 |
Joel Rosario |
Alexis Barba |
| 10 |
Paddy O'Prado 3, c. |
El Prado (IRE) |
126 |
Kent Desormeaux |
Dale Romans |
| 11 |
Devil May Care 3, f. |
Malibu Moon |
121 |
John Velazquez |
Todd Pletcher |
| 12 |
Conveyance 3, c. |
Indian Charlie |
126 |
Martin Garcia |
Bob Baffert |
| 13 |
Jackson Bend 3, c. |
Hear No Evil |
126 |
Mike Smith |
Nicholas Zito |
| 14 |
Mission Impazible 3, c. |
Unbridled's Song |
126 |
Rajiv Maragh |
Todd Pletcher |
| 15 |
Discreetly Mine 3, c. |
Mineshaft |
126 |
Javier Castellano |
Todd Pletcher |
| 16 |
Awesome Act 3, c. |
Awesome Again |
126 |
Julien Leparoux |
Jeremy Noseda |
| 17 |
Dublin 3, c. |
Afleet Alex |
126 |
Terry Thompson |
D. Lukas |
| 18 |
Backtalk 3, c. |
Smarty Jones |
126 |
Miguel Mena |
Thomas Amoss |
| 19 |
Homeboykris 3, g. |
Roman Ruler |
126 |
Ramon Dominguez |
Richard Dutrow, Jr. |
| 20 |
Sidney's Candy 3, c. |
Candy Ride (ARG) |
126 |
Joseph Talamo |
John Sadler |
