The two qualifiers in the United States produced intriguing results, but the winners were not strong enough to make the Top 10.
At the fairgrounds, Chip Honcho joined the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a tenacious victory in the 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds. After picking up the pace in second place, he appeared exhausted at the top of the homestretch. But his rivals were also running out of gas, and as the long drive to the homestretch unfolded, Chip Honcho gradually rallied to win by three-quarters of a length.
Chip Honcho’s tenacity is admirable, but his winning time of 1:44.76 was a bit slow. He is moving in the right direction, but still needs a step forward to join the Rookie Rankings.
In the meantime, Express child surprised at odds of 34.50-1 in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park. After a win on Remington’s turf course, Express Kid exceeded expectations as he switched to dirt, sprinting to the lead through splits of :23.54, :47.58 and 1:12.83 before kicking off the homestretch to dominate by 6 ¼ lengths.
Express Kid’s winning time of 1:38.99 matched well with other one-mile races on the card. He almost made our Top 10 cutoff, but several cheap runners in the Springboard Mile failed to perform their best, so the level of competition Express Kid beat is uncertain.
As a result, the only new name in this week’s Rookie Rankings Pyromancerwinner of the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Wearing Godolphin’s famous royal blue silks, Pyromancer spent much of the race following the pace in second place before taking over and turning back multiple challenges to win by a neck, covering 1,600 meters (about a mile) in 1:44.20.
Recent editions of the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun have been won by Forever young and Derma Sotogake, two colts who competed in the Kentucky Derby. Pyromancer is looking to follow their lead, with Godolphin’s Japanese racing manager stating on their website that the United Arab Emirates Derby on March 28 in Dubai is the Pyro colt’s next big target. A win there would almost certainly secure Pyromancer a spot in the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby.
Pyromancer debuts at number 10 on the Rookie Rankings. He replaces Mr. APwhich was previously ranked number 5. According to Brad Free of the Daily racing formMr. AP will be cleared to clear a small training backlog and will miss the Kentucky Derby.
Here’s how the latest Rookie Rankings stack up:
1. Ted Noffey: If Ted Noffey wins the Kentucky Derby, he will become the third horse to complete the elusive Breeders’ Cup Juvenile/Kentucky Derby double, following Street Sense (2006-07) and Nyquist (2015-16).
Owner: Wasteful farm
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Last race: 1stFanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA, Oct. 31 at Del Mar
2. Paladin: Paladin was purchased as a yearling for $1.9 million and is looking to become only the second million-dollar auction acquisition to win the Kentucky Derby, following Fusaichi Pegasus ($4 million) in 2000.
Owners: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook Smith and Summer Wind Equine
Trainer: Chad Brown
Last race: 1stRemsen Stakes, December 6 at Aqueduct
3. Further hassle: Further Ado’s winning form in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes took a major blow when fourth-placed Very Connected finished fifth in a slow edition of the Gun Runner.
Owner: Wasteful farm
Trainer: Brad Cox
Last race: 1stKentucky Jockey Club Stakes, Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs
4. Satono Trip: Satono Voyage’s trainer, Hiroyasu Tanaka, is one of the leading dirt horse conditioners in Japan. He has had great success with Lemon Pop, a three-time Group 1 winner and two-time champion in that country.
Owner: Hajime Satomi
Trainer: Hiroyasu Tanaka
Last race: 1stCattleya Stakes, November 29 at Tokyo Racecourse
5. Blackout Time: Blackout Time’s second-place finish in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity was flattered when third-place finisher Litmus Test won the Los Alamitos Futurity.
Owners: Brookdale Racing, Lance Gasaway and Magdalena Racing
Trainer: Kenny McPeek
Last race: 2i.eClaiborne Breeders’ Futurity, Oct. 4 at Keeneland Race Course
6. Litmus test: Having competed in four straight stakes, including three Grade 1s, Litmus Test is one of the most proven horses on the Kentucky Derby trail.
Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Vastbedelen Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Last race: 1stLos Alamitos Futurity, December 13 at Los Alamitos Racecourse
7. Napoleon Solo: Purchased as a yearling for just $40,000, Napoleon Solo has already recouped nearly eight times that price, making him one of the best bargains on the Derby trail.
Owner: Golden Square
Trainer: Chad Summers
Last race: 1stChampagne Stakes, October 4 at Belmont at the Big A
8. Gunner: Expect to see Cannoneer racing south this winter, perhaps in the Kentucky Derby qualifiers at Oaklawn Park or Fair Grounds, where many of trainer Brad Cox’s top three-year-olds compete.
Owners: St. Elias Stables and Stone Street Stables
Trainer: Brad Cox
Last race: 1stgirl special weight, Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs
9. Iron Honor: The son of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist out of a mare by champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame, Iron Honor was bred to run the Derby’s 1 ¼ mile distance.
Owners: St. Elias Stable, William Lawrence and Cathi Glassman
Trainer: Chad Brown
Last race: 1stfirst special weight, December 13 at Aqueduct
10. Pyromancer: Japan’s best dirt horses compete with aplomb on the international stage. Pyromancer wants to do the same.
Owner: Godolfin
Trainer: Keiji Yoshimura
Last race: 1stZen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, December 17 at Kawasaki Racecourse
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