Contender Status
Colonel John's victory in the Sham Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park came at the expense of favorite El Gato Mato, with both colts strengthening their credentials as Triple Crown contenders.
Colonel John stuck close to pace-setter Victory Pete with a tepid half-mile in :50 in the 1 1/8-mile contest before taking the lead and was urged strongly to the finish line by jockey Garrett Gomez to hold off an unlucky El Gato Malo, who had been trapped on the rail before finally managing to get clear for his late run.
"I just wanted to let him have the smoothest trip possible, and have him come home," Gomez said. "And he really did. He did things very nice and came home really well. For them to go :50 to the half and come home the mile in 1:38 [1:38.27] means we were really coming home. I heard David's horse [David Flores aboard El Gato Malo] coming and I floated out to him. This colt kept running and he even galloped out real good. The other horse never got to him. I was very proud of him."
On Santa Anita Derby (G1) day Gomez was in New York to ride Court Vision to a third-place finish in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1), and Colonel John was reunited with jockey Corey Nakatani, who had recovered from a broken collarbone.
Nakatani was equally proud after Colonel John closed late to win the most prestigious race of his young career.
"Now I've got something to get really excited about," Nakatani said. "I mean, [trainer] Eoin Harty, and what he's dome with this horse. And the owners, WinStar Farm, and the Tiznow breeding is going to take us the mile-and-one-quarter. There is no question in my mind that this horse has the ability to win the Kentucky Derby [Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)], and he underscored that today."
Harty indicated he would work the colt twice at Santa Anita and ship to Churchill Downs about 12 days prior to the Kentucky Derby.
"Historically, any horse that's run well here and come out of this race in one piece usually shows up and and runs a very good race on Derby day, and that's what we're hoping for," Harty said.
Colonel John is part of the California-based contingent that has only raced on artifical surfaces and there is still the unanswered question of how he will fare when he finally sets foot on a dirt track.
April 27 - Five furlongs breezing in :57.80 at Churchill Downs, track fast. Best of 62 workouts at the distance.
Trainer Eoin Harty, commenting on the April 27 workout:
"I wasn't expecting it. Nobody ever expects a 57 and change, but I wasn't surprised with the way he did it. That's what he's been working like since Day One at Keeneland last year when he first came in. I've never seen him come off the bridle in a workout.
"I've never had a horse work that fast."
April 20 - Five furlongs breezing in :59.40 at Santa Anita Park, all-weather track fast. Third best of 45 workouts at the distance.
April 14 - Four furlongs handily in :47.40 at Santa Anita Park, all-weather track fast. Fourth best of 38 workouts at the distance.
April 20 - Five furlongs breezing in :59.40. Third best of 45 at the distance.
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on May 3 at Churchill Downs
Trainer Eoin Harty, who like other trainers has had difficulty scheduling workouts around the problems at Santa Anita Park, after Colonel John worked on January 31:
"[Colonel John is] a good horse and he seems to maintain a level of fitness whether you work him or not. However, as a trainer, the work was probably more for my benefit than his."