The injury Paladin suffered last weekend sidelined one of the top contenders for the upcoming Triple Crown. And with the late decision to scratch Class President, the complexion of Saturday’s $1.25 million Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland has completely changed.
While Paladin would have been the favorite, Class President was the 7-2 third betting choice behind Further Ado (8-5) and Regan’s Honor (5-2).
On Thursday, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher told drf.com Class President, “just didn’t like the way he went today,” following a morning gallop. “Not saying he’s off the [Kentucky] Derby trail. We’ll check him out.”
As a result, the Blue Grass is a wide-open affair with 100 Derby qualifying points on the line for the winner.
The 100 points will assuredly put a horse into the Derby field. So, who is going to grab the prize?
It could be Further Ado following his game second behind The Puma in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3). A solid effort, but a far cry from the most eye-catching line on his past performance lines: the maiden win here at Keeneland last October by a dazzling 20 lengths.
It was an electrifying performance, an effort that he has yet to replicate. Further Ado did go on to win the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) to close out his 2-year-old campaign followed by the Tampa Bay Derby as his debut this season.
Maybe Further Ado simply adores the Keeneland surface. If that’s the case, there will be no catching him here.
“He’s doing very well, and I feel like he’s moved forward since the Tampa Bay Derby,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He obviously likes Keeneland and we’re looking forward to giving him an opportunity in a Grade 1.”
We’re certainly going to respect him as one of our top three selections, but we were looking Class President. Not anymore.
Reagan’s Honor (5-2) in his first start away from the Fair Grounds. He turned in a pair of strong front-running victories in his last two outings, but this will be his stakes debut. He has only one choice: gun for the lead. Whether he can handle the distance and stakes-proven competition remains a question to be answered Saturday.
Rounding out the trifecta, we’ll go with Great White, a huge gray son of Volatile who held off Fulleffort and won the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes by a neck. John Ennis trains the colt with two wins in three starts.
In the Battaglia, he stalked the lead through three-quarters of a mile, took the lead in the stretch by 1 ½ lengths and held on for the win in the 1 1/16-mile race over the synthetic track at Turfway Park. Ennis is confident Great White will run well in his dirt debut.
“He has always moved great at The Thoroughbred Center (TTC) on the dirt,” said Ennis, whose stable is based at Keeneland’s TTC. “We are going into deeper waters, but better to find out now than the first Saturday in May.
“He is an improving horse and if he gets enough points in the Blue Grass for the Kentucky Derby, I think it will be worth going to the Derby.”
1 Talkin (Joel Rosario, Danny Gargan), 10-1
2 Class President (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher), 7-2 SCRATCHED
3 Great White (Alex Achard, John Ennis), 15-1
4 Regan’s Honor (Jose Ortiz, Cherie DeVaux), 5-2
5 Creole Chrome (Tyler Gaffalione, Joe Sharp), 8-1
6 Further Ado (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Brad Cox), 8-5
7 Ocelli (Joe Ramos, Whit Beckman), 30-1 SCRATCHED
8 Moonstrocity (Jose Morelos, Jena Antonucci), 30-1
9 Ottinho (Flavien Prat, Chad Brown), 20-1
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
