Santa Anita Derby

The list of stakes races for 3-year-olds run before the Kentucky Derby has grown to an arm's length in recent years and several are important, but only the three run over 9 furlongs during April are pivotal.The first of these was run this past Saturday and Larry The Legend's victory over Afternoon Deelites, Jumron and Timber Country in the Santa Anita Derby leaves the connections of the first four with well-grounded reasons for optimism. The Wood Memorial and Blue Grass will be run this coming Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- They might as well have run the replay of last year's Santa Anita Derby. Bob Baffert was 1-2 again, and he's off to the Kentucky Derby with another strong hand, another couple of aces. General Challenge, the horse with two nicknames, drew off to a 3 1/2-length victory yesterday in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby before 35,023 patrons at Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles. His stablemate Prime Timber, despite a bruised foot, finished second, another 3 1/2 lengths in front of the young phenom Desert Hero.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- Pat Day would arrive at the barn unannounced for his regular visit with the filly. He would slip into her stall quietly, as if looking in on a close friend's child. Those visits last summer at Saratoga forged a bond between the Hall of Fame jockey and the promising filly Surfside that remained strong through winter into spring. Today, rider and filly must draw deeply from that relationship if they're to accomplish that rare feat in their sport: win a horse race against colts.

Probably the most important Kentucky Derby prep race of the season takes place today in Arcadia, Calif., as nine 3-year-olds run in the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby.The race will be simulcast to Pimlico Race Course and the Laurel inter-track outlet. It can be seen live on "Wide World of Sports" on ABC-TV (channels 7, 13), with post time set for 5:43 p.m.Dinard, to be ridden by Chris McCarron, heads the 1 1/8 -mile Santa Anita Derby. McCarron had a choice between Dinard and Sea Cadet after winning on both in their most recent starts.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- The countdown to the Kentucky Derby took an unexpected twist yesterday, when Brocco ended up on the Vet's List for sore horses at Santa Anita Park.The action was taken by California state veterinarian William Bell, but quickly disregarded by the horse's jockey and trainer. Bell said the horse came back "slightly off" in his right foreleg after his victory on Saturday in the Santa Anita Derby.Bell said he noticed the apparent soreness when the horse was cooling out in the test barn.

LOUISVILLE -- Funny, how fate plays a fickle game at the racetrack. One day a horse is box-office in the Kentucky Derby lineup. Then he loses a race. Nobody thinks much more about him.Falling short by a head in the Santa Anita Derby to a colt who isn't even in the Kentucky Derby has put Afternoon Deelites in this curious position.A few months ago he was widely hailed as the next superstar of the game. His status this week at Churchill Downs is that of forgotten former favorite.He's so forgotten that he's nearly invisible.

An Awesome prediction Kevin Van Valkenburg Baltimore Sun Want to know who's going to win the Kentucky Derby? First thing you have to do is throw out the favorite, Lookin At Lucky. Lookin At Lucky has made a living fighting through traffic, but in a 20-horse field, drawing the rail post is too much to overcome. Sidney's Candy is no Big Brown, so drawing the outside post means he's not going to do it either. Put your money instead on Awesome Act, who likes a muddy track and should get a great trip.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- The Santa Anita Derby lost one starter, Wild Invader, yesterday and could lose another one, Maryland-sired Soul Of The Matter, today.Trainer Bobby Frankel officially scratched Wild Invader yesterday and said he is making shipping arrangements to run the son of Seattle Slew, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah, next Saturday in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.Dick Mandella, trainer of Soul Of The Matter, said it's 60-40 that his horse, owned by composer Burt Bacharach, will not start.

And your likely Kentucky Derby favorite is ... Eskendereya, the overpowering winner of the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York. Drawing away from a strong field in the stretch, Eskendereya pulled off a second straight blowout in a major Derby prep Saturday to state his case as the horse to beat on the first Saturday in May. And that would be fine with Todd Pletcher, the trainer who has won just about every race you can think of...

Allaire duPont has spent a good part of her life promoting Maryland's thoroughbred horse breeding and racing industry.But Personal Hope, the latest equine star that duPont bred in partnership with Bob Levy and Robert Clay, is purely a Kentucky product."