Since Gustavo Delgado, Sr. won the Kentucky Derby with 15-1 shot Mage back on May 6, getting to the winner’s circle again has been a tough task for the trainer.
Delgado’s next 12 starters did not win, including Mage in the Preakness (G1) on May 20, where he finished third. He’s 1-for-his-last-15 through July 21, the lone winner at Horseshoe Indianapolis with Isabel Alexandra on June 24.
While the trainer is famous in Venezuela – he’s won his country’s Triple Crown four times – winning America’s most famous horse race is another story. He’s joined an exclusive group: Derby winning trainer, among prominent members Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, and D. Wayne Lukas,
Don’t get him wrong. Delgado and his family have been celebrating their Derby victory, and he has gained so much more attention in the ensuing months since. And now, with Mage about to return to the races in Saturday’s $1 million Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park, Delgado seems a little on edge to see how it all unfolds.
“Pressure? Yes,” he told the Monmouth Park press office this week. “There is pressure on me. There is pressure on the horse. Before the Derby he was one horse, a normal horse. Now each race is very important, and each brings more attention from all the people. There is a target on my back now.”
He is correct on that point. A field of eight 3-year-olds will line up for the 1 1/8-mile Haskell, a pivotal race to kick off the summer season that includes races such as the Travers (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 26, and ultimately the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.
The winner earns an all-fees paid, automatic berth into the BC Classic.
Delgado says the goal after the Preakness was to plan to get Mage to the Travers, and the Haskell fits in well with his timetable.
“This race is very important,” Delgado said of the Haskell. “There are all the things for consideration. There is the purse, and the Breeders’ Cup, but more important is the Grade 1. This is the right move for us to be here.”
Lightly raced with five starts, the son of 2018 Haskell winner Good Magic, is not even favored – he’s a co-second choice at 3-1, while nine-time Haskell winner Bob Baffert’s even-more-lightly-race Arabian Knight is the slight 5-2 favorite.
Tapit Trice, winner of the Blue Grass (G1), seventh in the Derby and third in the Belmont (G1), also is 3-1. He’s trained by Pletcher.
How the race shapes up:
Arabian Knight is 2-for-2 but hasn’t run since taking the Southwest (G3) in January. But Baffert doesn’t send a horse cross-country unless he believes he was the winner.
Arabian Knight, with John Velazquez, may leave from the outside post 8, but watch for him to get to the front early and keep going until someone tries to catch him. Baffert has three wire-to-wire Haskell winners, and two others, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and Paynter, raced up or near the lead before winning.
Geaux Rocket Ride, Howgreatisnate, and Extra Anejo should be up close, and will try to keep Arabian Knight honest. Awesome Strong and Secure the Stars should be in the next group, with Mage and rider Javier Castellano lurking and waiting for the right time to strike.
Tapit Trice, ridden by Luis Saez, is the closer of the bunch. If the pace is too fast, and the front-runners tire a bit, watch for this son of top sire Tapit to make a big run to the wire.
The picks: Arabian Knight, Extra Anejo, Tapit Trice
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.
