California Derby — Derby Lock Prep

As we lead up to the Bluegrass Derby in just a couple of months, all eyes for now are turned to the Derby Lock Prep Races. The feature race in California this weekend is the California Derby (G1), a Derby Lock Prep to be ran over a mile and one-eighth on the dirt. The race, only open to three-year-olds will be offering up a total prize of $1,500,000. With clear weather set for the weekend, the track looks like it should be fast for the 3:00 PM EST post time. The race has drawn a full field of fourteen horses. Let’s take a look at this years’ contenders. 

1. Mckinzie Dream – rubber17 – J Harty – 8/1 

Drawing the inside rail, the three-year-old gelding will be making his second graded start on Saturday. The son of Mckinzie most recently started in Kentucky last month during The Land’s End (G2) at a mile and one eighth. Coming out of the gate and settling into the middle of the pack early, the chestnut would start to fall back midway through the race, going on to cross the wire in tenth while setting a speed figure of ninety-seven. His last win came last February during a listed stakes race in Canada over nine furlongs. Also held close to the middle of the field from the gate, he started to make his move halfway through the race, ultimately winning the race by three and a quarter lengths. 

2. Jawa – peeps13 – F. Gossett – 9/1 

The first of three colts to be sired by Into Mischief in this race, the bay has made a total of eight lifetime starts. Currently on a streak of two consecutive wins, he most recently started here in California during The Scam (G3) over a mile and one-eighth, in what would be his graded stakes debut. Towards the rear of the field leaving the gate, he would slowly start to move up at the midway point before going on to win by half a length and setting a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred six. He also won his prior start in a nine-furlong allowance race.  

3. Tunes Town – tarton28 – L. Radzinski – 11/1 

In the third slot we have a gelding that has placed in both of his graded stakes starts, though has not yet found a win at the graded level. The first of two horses in the race to be sired by Yorkton, the bay gelding most recently started across the country in New York during The Dark Knight Stakes (G3) at a mile. Out of the gate towards the back half of the field in seventh, the gelding started to inch forward midway through the race but ran out of ground when he crossed the wire in third with a speed figure of one hundred one. Before that he would finish second in The Govenator Cup (G3) at seven and a half furlongs here in California. His last win was in November of last year during a listed stakes race in Idaho, also over seven and a half furlongs. 

4. Scatburg – cancun4 – H. Potter – 22/1 

The longshot in Saturday’s field is this gelding by Matthewburg who is graded placed in his eight lifetime starts. The most recent start for the gelding was this past January during The Legoland (G3) at a mile. Breaking near the rear of the field out of the gate, the gelding would fade as the field came into the stretch and wound-up coming home in fourteenth, setting a speed figure of ninety-two, a lifetime best for the gelding. The would place in both the Cryogentics Juvenile (G3) and Trixy Delight’s Special (G3) late in his two-year-old season after winning a listed stakes race over five and a half furlongs last June. 

5. The Falling Tide – beerkeg29 – R. Hansen – 14/1 

Looking to return to form after a few off races, this three-year-old gelding by War Front most recently started last February during The Scam (G3) at a mile and one-eighth here in California. Settling into the middle of the pack out of the gate early, the gelding would fade in the final furlongs to cross the wire in twelfth while setting a speed figure of ninety-four. His most recent win was in September of his two-year-old season during the Cryogenics Juvenile (G3) at a mile in Arizona. The gelding took the field from gate to wire in this race, winning by a length and a half.  

6. Recognize Game – asrcurlin – J. Wilson – 12/1 

The first of two colts sired by Curlin to go into Saturday’s race, the chestnut colt has made five lifetime starts. The most recent start for the colt, who is looking for his first graded win, was here in California during the Sleepy Fan Stakes (G2) over a mile and a half. Breaking in the middle of the pack out of the gate, the colt managed to hold onto a fifth-place finish at the wire while setting a speed figure of one hundred, a lifetime best speed figure for the colt. Late in his two-year-old season the colt would finish second in Canada during The Charcoal Breeders’ Cup (G3) at a mile and a half after winning his debut race, which came in an allowance race over a mile in Hong Kong.  

7. He Wants Guns –dochman2 – K. Ledwith – 7/1 

Making his second attempt in graded stakes company, the light grey colt is by top sire Into Mischief and out of EOY and Grade I winning broodmare She Wants Biceps. The most recent start for the colt came in early March during a listed stakes race over nine and half furlongs in Wyoming. Settling just off the pace in second out of the gate, he took control of the lead midway through the race to win by two lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred seven. His only graded start came last January in Florida during The Good Cow (G3) at a mile, where he crossed the wire in eighth.  

8. Vyzi Neon (PR) – cashedup – S. Cox – 7/1 

Midway through our field for this weekend, this gelding is by Handsome Franco and is one of the more experienced runners going into this race with a total of ten lifetime starts. His most recent start came here in California during the Filipe Alou Stakes (G2) at a mile and half last month. One of the last out of the gate as he broke in twelfth, he started to pick up the pace in the middle of the race, but only enough to cross the wire in tenth, setting a speed figure of ninety-seven. His most recent win came in October of his two-year-old season during The Cornstalk (G3) over a mile over a track rated as good. Breaking towards the rear half of the field here again, he was much quicker to start picking off other runners before going on to win the race by a length and three-quarters.  

9. Proud Of My Roots – tfon34 – A. Jolly – 7/1 

Making his fourteenth career start, the Kentucky-bred son of Yorkton has the most starts of any of the contenders running this weekend. The bay colt most recently started last month in Arkansas during The Rebel Yell (G3) at a mile and a half. Coming out of the gate near the rear of the field, the colt started to gradually make his move as the field entered the midway point in the race. He came home third at the wire, setting a speed figure of one hundred five, which was a lifetime best for the colt. His most recent win came in his prior start; an allowance race over a mile and a quarter in Mexico over a sloppy track. He was much closer to the front in this race, sitting just off the pace in third at the start and winning by two lengths. 

10. Silver Loves Curls – givenelite0 – O. A. Haack – 12/1 

By top sire Curlin, this chestnut colt will be making his graded stakes debut in the race this weekend. Out of the Grade II winner Silver Is Quality, the Kentucky-bred colt is coming off of two consecutive wins. His most recent start was here in California during a listed stakes race over a mile and one eighth last February. The colt settled back in the middle of the field early on out of the gate and made his move towards the midway point of the race. The colt would win by head with a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred two. He would also win his prior race, an allowance race in Michigan over the same distance by an impressive three lengths. 

11. Malak Elect (ARG) – kymar43 – J. Scott – 10/1 

Also making his graded stakes debut this weekend, this Argentinian-bred colt by Zensational has made five lifetime starts to date. The light grey three-year-old most recently started in a listed stakes race in Louisiana over a mile and three-sixteenths last month. The colt broke nearly last out of the gate at the start of the race. He made his move at the midway point of the race and went on to win by an impressive margin of three and a half lengths with a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred two. To date, the colt has only finished off the board once in his five starts, which came during his first attempt at stakes company last January.  

12. Insomniac Toddler – teacherlay16 – V. Jennings – 19/1 

Nearing the end of our field for Saturday, this three-year-old by Lexitonian will be going into his eighth career start this weekend. The chestnut colt most recently started here in California during The Saint Vincent (G2) at seven furlongs in February. Breaking out of the gate and being held just off of pace early in third, he would make his bid for the front in the final furlongs of the race, clinching the win by one and a quarter lengths and setting a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred one. Late in his two-year-old season, the colt also won the Closest Friend Stakes (G2) at six and a half furlongs. The colt has only started over seven furlongs once, which ended in a fourteenth-place finish in the Movieland Futurity (G1) at a mile and a half on a good dirt track.  

13. Mischief In House – ddkstables19 – T. Small – 10/1 

The third and final entry to be sired by Into Mischief, this brown colt has made six lifetime starts and has not finished off the board. The most recent start for the colt was here in California during the Sleepy Fan Stakes (G2) at a mile and a half in February. Held just off the pace in third out of the gate, the colt started to inch forward early on in the race, taking the lead by the midway point. He would go on to win the race by a length and three-quarters, setting a speed figure of one hundred nine, a lifetime best for the colt. The colt also finished second in The Future Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs, and third in The Ransom (G2) at a mile and one-eighth, both in New York. 

14. Almost Doomsday – uscsteve14 – A. Rolling – 7/1 

In the far outside post, this son of Gun Runner will be making his ninth career start and second against graded company. The most recent start for the chestnut colt was last month here in California during the Felipe Alou Stakes (G2) at a mile and a half. Out of the gate and settling into the middle of the pack early on, the colt wasn’t able to make much headway in the race as he crossed the wire in seventh, setting a speed figure of one hundred one. His most recent win was this past January in Idaho during a listed stakes race over the same distance. Again, settling into the middle of the pack out of the gate, the colt started picking off other runners in front early on in the race. He took control of the pace by a narrow margin at the midway point of the race and went on to win by two lengths.  

 Flrancho’s Picks: 

Win: Jawa 

Place: Mischief In House 

Show: He Wants Guns