The long-awaited 3-year-old debut of Timberlake is less than a week away after the promising bay colt was entered Sunday in the $1.25 million Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn Park.
Winner of the Champagne (G1) and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) to close out a 5-2-1-0 2-year-old campaign, Timberlake is set for his first start in nearly four months on Saturday (Feb. 24).
The 1 1/16-mile Rebel is a points qualifier for the Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 4, with a scale of 50-25-15-10-5 points going to the top finishers.
A field of 13 is entered, including Smarty Jones and Southwest (G3) runner-up Just Steel, a trio of Steve Asmussen horses, Carbone, Dimatic, and Lagynos. Ken McPeek has two in the race – Northern Flame and Common Defense.
Rising Star Timberlake: Fine-Tuning for the Rebel Stakes
Timberlake has been working steadily at the Fair Grounds under the watchful eye of Brad Cox. On Feb. 16, the son of Into Mischief worked 5 furlongs at 1:00.20, his fifth workout since resuming training on Jan. 20.
“I think the Rebel is going to be a good race,” Cox said. “He’s coming off a freshening, so we wanted to put some air in him. He got a good blow out and he’s set up for a big run.”
Timberlake, who will be ridden by Cristian Torres, has 16 Derby qualifying points – 10 for winning the Champagne and 6 for running fourth in the BC Juvenile on Nov. 3) — and stands 13th on the leaderboard.
Timberlake, purchased for $350,000 at the 2022 Keeneland yearling sale, is owned by Siena Farm and WinStar Farm.
The Rebel Stakes: A Pivotal Step on the Journey to the Arkansas Derby
Just Steel, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, is 14th with 15 points.
Muth, winner of the San Vicente (G3) his 3-year-old debut, was listed among the probables but was not entered. Muth is trained by eight-time Rebel-winning trainer Bob Baffert, who remains suspended by Churchill Downs and is banned from competing in the Derby.
The Rebel is Oaklawn’s third of four Kentucky Derby preps. The Arkansas Derby (G1) on March 30 is the track’s final prep and offers a sliding scale of 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points.
The picks: 1 Dimatic 2 Timberlake 3 Northern Flame
The field for the $1.25 million Rebel (G2), from the rail out, with jockey, and trainer (odds to be announced later).
1 Carbone (Isaac Castillo, Steve Asmussen), 15-1
2 Northern Flame (Julien Leparoux, Ken McPeek), 5-1
3 Common Defense (Brian Hernadez, Jr., Ken McPeek), 30-1
4 Tejon Pass (Chris Landeros, Peter Miller), 30-1
5 Magic Grant (Harry Hernandez, Eddie Milligan, Jr.), 50-1
6 Dimatic (Tyler Gaffalione, Steve Asmussen), 8-1
7 Timberlake (Cristian Torres, Brad Cox), 6-5
8 Next Level (Jose Riquelme, Keith Desormeaux), 30-1
9 Lagynos (Keith Asmussen, Steve Asmussen), 20-1
10 Mena (Fracisco Arrieta, Steve Hobby), 15-1
11 Just Steel (Ramon Vazquez, D. Wayne Lukas), 7-2
12 Woodcourt (Emmanuel Esquivel, Cipriano Contreras), 20-1
13 Time for Truth (Rafael Bejarano, Ron Moquett), 15-1
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.
