Can California Burrito steal another race at Turfway Park in Saturday's $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) and wind up with a chance to win the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1) in six weeks?
Or will closers such as Poster (the 3-1 morning-line favorite), Final Gambit, or Flying Mohawk stage a winning rally to punch their own ticket to the Run for the Roses?
California Burrito won the 1 1/16-mile John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway on Feb. 22 by seizing the lead out of the gate and holding off Baby Max by a half-length.
The setup for the Jeff Ruby is different: the race is longer at 1 1/8 miles, there’s more speed in the field, and there are plenty of closers in what should be an entire field of 12.
The 2025 Kentucky Derby prep races qualifier is worth 100-50-25-15-10 points to the first five finishers, meaning the top two would have more than enough points to clinch a spot in the Derby.
California Burrito, the 7-2 second betting choice trained by Tom Drury, will be ridden again by apprentice Irving Moncada, leaving from post 3.
“We're gonna make them earn it," Drury told bloodhorse.com. "We're down inside, and we're going to bounce away from there and leave there running. If they want to use themselves and commit to get over, fair enough.”
Among others expected to challenge early are Maximum Promise, Charlie’s to Blame, and Innovator.
If the pace is a quick one, it could leave the door open for the likes of Poster, the second betting choice at 3-1, who closed well and hung on to win the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct last year but finished third in the Sam F. Davis (G3) on Feb. 8 over a Tampa Bay Downs track that favored front-runners. The colt was 3-0 before the defeat.
Maximum Promise, trained by Kenny McPeek, rallied for third in the John Battaglia and will be ridden for the first time by Frankie Dettori. At 5-1, a win is not out of the question.
As far as taking on California Burrito early in the race over a synthetic surface, Charlie’s to Blame has gone gate-to-wire in winning his last two races, including the Kitten’s Joy at Gulfstream Park in his 3-year-old debut.
Baby Max, at 5-1, returns after a tough loss in the John Battaglia.
Post time for the Jeff Ruby is 6:25 p.m. ET.
For those who bet on horse racing …
1 Calling Card (Adam Beschizza, Mike Maker), 20-1
2 Charlie’s to Blame (Juan Hernandez, Peter Eurton), 15-1
3 California Burrito (Irving Moncada, Tom Drury), 7-2
4 Final Gambit (Luan Machado, Brad Cox), 6-1
5 Flying Mohawk (Joe Ramos, Whit Beckman), 15-1
6 Baby Max (Abel Cedillo, Kelsey Danner), 5-1
7 Giocoso (Jaime Torres, Keith Desormeaux), 30-1
8 Innovator (Nik Juarez, D. Wayne Lukas), 30-1
9 Poster (John Velazquez, Eoin Harty), 3-1
10 Maximum Promise (Frankie Dettori, Kenny McPeek), 5-1
11 Curvino (Gerardo Corrales, Peter Miller), 20-1
12 He’s Not Joking (Rafael Hernandez, Josie Carroll), 15-1
Also eligible
13 Candytown (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher), 30-1
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.
