“We were hoping to be somewhere in the middle,” Pletcher said. “I’m happy with the draws for Nest and Goddess of Fire,“ said Pletcher, who is seeking his second consecutive Oaks win and fourth overall. Nest is coming off a dominant 8 1/4-length victory over Cocktail Moments in the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, her third in a row and second this year. Nest is one of three Todd Pletcher-trained horses in the field, along with Goddess of Fire (No. 4 post among 14 fillies and is the 5-2 favorite for Friday’s $1.25 million, 1 1/8th-mile race. Rich Strike and Rattle N Roll are also eligible pending withdrawals. The Hall of Famer’s 50th Derby starter and first since Bravazo (sixth in 2018) has work to do as a 30-1 long shot from the No. Wayne Lukas gets another chance for a fifth victory with Ethereal Road, who entered the field on Monday after Un Ojo withdrew. Meanwhile, four-time Derby-winning trainer D. This weekend’s races will happen without Baffert, whom Churchill Downs suspended for two years following Medina Spirit’s failed postrace drug test and eventual disqualification as the winner of last year’s Derby. So, if he is away cleanly Joel will let him be who he is.” “Joel is very confident in rhythm of the horse. “How long he stands in there, how long it takes to load, 150,000 people staring at him – it’s a lot,” Asmussen said. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen simply hoped that Epicenter could break well from near the rail beneath jockey Joel Rosario and see where it leads. “They made us wait,“ said Yakteen, referring to his horses being among the final three chosen. Yakteen’s other entrant, Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba, is a 12-1 choice from the No. Messier, one of two colts trained by Derby first-timer Tim Yakteen after he took over their training this spring for suspended Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, is the 8-1 third choice and will start from the No. The horse is the 7-2 second betting choice after drawing the No. “We’re ready to go,” added Brown, who enters his eighth Derby seeking his first win after Good Magic finished third in 2018.Įpicenter was initially expected to be the Derby favorite following consecutive graded stakes wins, including the Louisiana Derby in March. Zandon has the “perfect” spot dead center with Flavien Prat aboard, Brown said. He has two wins, a second-place finish and a third in four career starts. The colt moved to second in Derby points behind Epicenter after rallying from the back of the field to win last month’s Blue Grass at Keeneland in Lexington. 10 post among 20 horses for the $3 million marquee event for 3-year-olds. Zandon, trained by Chad Brown, drew 3-1 odds Monday and will start from the No. (AP) - Zandon and filly Nest are the morning-line favorites for the 148th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, respectively, at Churchill Downs, which will host both marquee races at full capacity for the first time since 2019.
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