Fair Grounds gets jump on Derby preps

Some horses one wanted to see next week in Hot Springs are running today in New Orleans.

Hence, Rebel Saturday at Oaklawn may be played in a subdued, if not minor key. When the host track hikes the purse to $1.25 million, which Oaklawn has done with the Arkansas Derby prep, it stings to have so much A-list talent running elsewhere.

Both the Rebel and the Risen Star at Fair Grounds are Grade 2 Kentucky Derby preps, the Oaklawn race producing future classic winners like American Pharoah, Smarty Jones and Curlin. The Risen Star, honoring the 1988 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner who starred at Fair Grounds for owner Ronnie LaMarque and trainer Louie Roussel, is $400,000 -- a princely sum, to be sure, but open lengths behind the Rebel's seven-figure purse.

Oaklawn, through no fault of its own, was affected by a January work stoppage because of winter weather. With training shut down for 11 days, the Grade 3 $800,000 Southwest was delayed a week until Feb. 3. Southwest winner Mystik Dan, show horse Liberal Arts and other Triple Crown contenders are being pointed to the G1 $1.5 million Arkansas Derby March 30, finding the three-week turnaround too demanding.

If only to assess his own stable, trainer Brad Cox entered Catching Freedom, the Jan. 1 Smarty Jones winner at Oaklawn, in the Risen Star. The Constitution colt today goes at the Arkansas Derby distance of nine furlongs and still might represent the trainer's best bet for a record Arkansas Derby hat trick. Based on visual evidence in the Smarty Jones, Catching Freedom is a grinder, getting a well-judged ride from Cristian Torres last time. That a more brilliant horse could dictate matters from the break is the grinder's nightmare.

Luis Saez gets the call on Catching Freedom, early 5-1 third choice. Track Phantom, a two-time New Orleans stakes winner for Steve Asmussen and with owners including Hot Springs native Jerry Caroom, is the 7-2 chalk from post 11 in the field of 12, Joel Rosario riding. Chad Brown, seldom seen west of the Mississippi River this early in the year, sends out Sierra Leone, a Gun Runner colt, 4-1 with Tyler Gaffalione.

Looking ahead, Bob Baffert usually brings a horse in for the Rebel -- The Factor and Cupid, two of his past race winners, come to mind. (American Pharoah thrived on a wet track in the 2015 Rebel, then furthered his education with an off-the-pace effort in the Arkansas Derby. The first Triple Crown winner in this century, AP rallied at Churchill Downs, romped in the mud at Pimlico and all but sang "Ave Maria" from the half-mile pole to the wire in the Belmont Stakes.)

Wynstock, last in the Southwest, had less in the tank than almost any Baffert runner ever at Oaklawn, something of a home away from home for the California-based Hall of Famer. These are curious times for Baffert, ruled off Churchill Downs since 2021 after Derby winner Medina Spirit (since deceased) flunked a drug test and was disqualified. None of his horses is eligible for the 150th Derby May 4 and the deadline has passed for transferring horses to other trainers in hopes of garnering Derby points.

Churchill Downs is mum, of course, suspending a six-time Derby winner for the third-straight year, but Derby 150 might evolve into a Preakness prep. Only in the middle jewel, which Baffert-trained National Treasure won last year, may apples truly be compared for the first time. If that sounds weird, consider that the Belmont Stakes, switched to Saratoga because of track renovation on Long Island, goes at a mile and a quarter, the Derby distance, rather than the mile-and-a-half Test of the Champion that Secretariat won by 31 lengths in 1973.

Where does Oaklawn figure in this saga? The track is going all-in financially for two Derby preps worth a combined 150 points to an eligible winner. To borrow a Jim Murray line, "Carmen" has been announced and "Carmen" will be performed. Just the same, what the late Terry Wallace said about scheduling still applies: "We can tell you the date of the race, the purse and the distance. We just can't guarantee who'll be running."