Even after a rare loss in the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), trainer Bob Baffert comes away from the weekend with the top three 2-year-olds on the road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) leaderboard.
Baffert sent out three of the five runners in the Futurity on Saturday, but it was Michael McCarthy-trained Journalism who delivered a victory over Baffert’s Getaway Car and 1-2 favorite Gaming.
The 1 1/16-mile Futurity is a Derby points qualifier, with the five finishers earning 10-5-3-2-1 points, respectively. Journalism moves into a fifth-place tie among the early contenders with 10 points.
Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli win the Grade II, $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity, Saturday, December 14, 2024 at Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress CA.
© BENOIT PHOTO
Baffert’s Derby trio: Gaming, Getaway Car, Citizen Bull
Gaming, who had 15 points from his runner-up finish to stablemate Citizen Bull in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), finished third for three points and moved into second place on the Derby leaderboard with 18 points.
Getaway Car, who earned five points in the Futurity for running second, now has 16 Derby points for third on the leaderboard.
Citizen Bull is the leader with 40 points – 30 for the BC Juvenile and 10 for winning the American Pharoah (G1).
Of course, it’s early in the run to the Derby on May x, but after 10 of the 36 points qualifiers (with points increasing dramatically from February-April), it’s Baffert in the lead after being banned from the Derby for three years by Churchill Downs.
Coal Battle rallies to win Springboard
Coal Battle ($15.80) topped pace-setting favorite Speed Demon in a stretch duel and won the $300,000 Springboard Mile by a half-length to move onto the Derby trail
Trained by Lonnie Briley, the 2-year-old bay colt settled in the back of the field of 12, made a strong four-wide move at the top of the lane under jockey Juan Vargas, challenged Speed Demon through the stretch and snared the lead just before the wire.
Sent off at 6-1, Coal Battle was the fourth betting choice as Speed Demon was the 2-1 favorite on Friday night.
Briley said Coal Battle, a three-time winner in five starts at five different tracks, would make his next stop at another new venue, Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest Stakes (G3) on Jan. 25.
Dominant Spirit was third, with Dr Ruben M fourth, and Jolly Samurai fifth in the Derby points qualifier worth 10-5-3-2-1 points, respectively, to the top five finishers. Coal Battle’s 10 points moves him into a fifth-place tie on the leaderboard.
If nothing else, Coal Battle showed his versatility. He’s now won on grass, over a sloppy track, and on Friday over a fast track. Winning time was 1:39.25.
Vargas said he had a plan going into the race, but closing from last to first, was not exactly what he envisioned.
“I had planned to be in the middle of the pack and wait till the three-eighths to make my move,” Vargas said. “He is just getting better and better. This was good for him.”
Journalism wins Los Alamitos Futurity
Supplemented to the race for $7,500, Journalism ($7.60) delivered good news with a 3 ½-length victory over Baffert’s boys (Getaway Car, 1-2 favorite Gaming, and Mellencamp) in a five-horse field.
Baffert had won eight of the last 10 editions of the Los Alamitos Futurity, but another win was not in the cards on Saturday.
Journalism, a 2-year-old Curlin colt, stalked the leaders Getaway Car and Gaming, moved past both in the stretch, and won easily to earn 10 Derby qualifying points.
Winning time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:43.04. In addition to Journalism, McCarthy could have another Derby prospect in Bullard, who won the Bob Hope Stakes (G3) at Del Mar last month.
“It was either a race like this or the (San Vicente) at 7 furlongs,’’ McCarthy said of the decision to supplement Journalism. “We gave this horse every opportunity not to run today, but he had two wonderful works, and he was very cool and composed in the paddock. He’s picking things up fast.
“You could see it took him a bit to get his feet underneath him, but once he leveled off in the lane, he was very good.’’
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.
