Gr.1 California Derby — Derby Lock Prep

California (CA)Saturday, April 5, 2025 — 3:00:00 PM EST | Race ID : 3501430
	90% Chance of Precipitation
California Derby — Derby Lock Prep
Grade I / Group 1*CPU – Purse : $1,500,000
Restricted to 3 Year Olds
9 Furlongs | ~1800 Meters | One Mile and and One Eighth

1.It’s Do Or Die

Owner:the2mavericks

3 year old Grade Two winning colt by Curlin has a record of 4 wins in 6 career starts with lifetime earnings of over $425,000. His best career performance came last time out in the 8.5f Gr.2 Sleepy Fan Stakes where he set the early pace and carried on to lead every step of the way en route to a dominating 4 1/2 length victory over a field of 9 earning him a career best 108 speed rating for the win. Talented colt has improved his speed ratings in every race and he enters the race with an excellent 4 of 6(67%) win record with two graded stakes victories on his resume. He has proven to be versatile having won the 8.5f Gr.3 The Charcoal Breeder’s Cup with rallying mid pack trip but he has done his best running dictating the pace on the front end. Well bred colt comes off a career best performance and he looks very dangerous here. Top Pick

2.Brokerage

Owner:rubiano12

3 year old stakes winning colt by Arabian Lion has a record of 3 wins and 3 seconds in 8 career starts with lifetime earnings approaching $250,000. His best career performance came two back in an 8.5f stakes race where he closed from 10th of 14 making up almost 10 lengths to win by 3/4 length earning him a 101 speed rating for his first and only stakes victory. Consistent colt has been in the exacta in 6 of 8(75%) in his career with his only two out of the money finishes coming in graded stakes early in his career. He has shown steady improvement and he comes out of a key prep race where he ran 3rd while posting a career best speed rating. He will look to turn the tables against some familiar foes. Contender

3.Atomic Liquor LV

Owner:bizalls16

3 year old Grade Three winning colt by Essential Quality has a record of 3 wins, 2 seconds, and 1 third in 8 career starts with lifetime earnings approaching $200,000. His best career performance came two back in the 8.5f Gr.3 Pleasure Stakes where he stalked from mid pack and rallied to a hard fought 1/4 length victory over a field of 14 for his first stakes win earning him a 97 speed rating over the “good” track. He followed that up with a non effort last time out finishing 12th of 14 against some common foes in the Gr.2 8.5f Sleepy Fan Stakes. He will be looking to rebound from an uncommonly poor performance for a horse that has hit the board in 6 of 8(75%) in his career and he will have to do some against some of the top finishers from his last. He is one of only 4 graded stakes winners in the field so his class should be considered. In the Mix

4.Nhill Mailque

Owner:tulloch

3 year old stakes winning colt by Quality Road has a record of 3 wins and 2 seconds in 7 career starts with lifetime earnings of just shy of $175,000. His best career performance came last time out in a 9f stakes race where he pressed the early pace, took command early, and cruised home to win by 1 1/4 length over a field of 14 earning him a career best 101 speed rating. Consistent colt has hit the board in 5 of 7(71%) of his races with his only out of the money finishes coming in his first two stakes tries. He is a perfect 2 for 2 over an off track and they were both his career best perfomances so he moves up here in what is anticipated to be a sloppy main track. Talented runner will make his graded stakes debut here and circumstances have lined up favorably for him. Contender

5.Frankzzz.

Owner:mintjulep

3 year old stakes winning gelding by Gold Double has a record of 11 wins and 1 second in 13 career starts with lifetime earnings north of $200,000. His best career performance came last time out in a 9f stakes race where he stalked the pace setter in 2nd and fought to prevail by 3/4 length over a field of 8 earning him a career best 96 speed rating. Texas bred gelding began his career in the claiming ranks and he has changed owership three times but he has been extremely successful having won 11 of 13(85%) of his races and he has only missed hitting the board once in his career. He comes into the race with a big experience edge over his competitors, he has the most starts and the most wins and he should also appreciate the sloppy going as he is a perfect 3 for 3 over an off track including his career best performance last time out. He will be making his graded stakes debut here but there is a lot to like about this runner. Contender

6.Dynasational

Owner:vegasjef

3 year old Grade One winning gelding by Zensational has a record of 4 wins, 1 second, and 1 third in 8 career starts with lifetime earnings of over $1 million dollars. His best career performance came in the Gr.1 Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile where he closed from 10th of 14 and rallied to a hard fought head victory over some of the best horses in his crop earning him a 100 speed rating for what would be his third consecutive victory. He would go on to finish 5th in the Gr.1 Movieland Futurity and then be gelded before the start of his 3 year season. He would once again finish 5th last time out in the 8.5f Gr.2 Sleepy Fan Stakes last time out in his 3 year old debut. The 2 year old champion has not run poorly but he has not shown his sharp closing kick in his last two and his connections are hoping for a quick early pace and a return to form that made him an End Of Year Award Winner. His class must be respected. Contender

7. To Distort N Scrap

Owner:amir1652

3 year stakes winning colt by To Honor And Serve has a record of 3 wins and 2 seconds in 7 career starts with lifetime earnings of $325,000. Although he is a stakes winner, his best career performance came in defeat in the 7f Gr.1 Hopeless Stakes where he rallied from mid pack and just missed , finishing 2nd beaten a head in a field of 12 earning him a 90 speed rating. The race prior he had enough tough beat finishing 2nd by a neck in the 6f Gr.3 The Manor of Bashford. He has since gone on to finish off the board in two graded stakes races in his last two starts. Unlucky colt will be making his two turn debut here and his connections hope that he will make the transition routing and finally get his first win in graded company. In the Mix

8.Issac Gibson

Owner:epicenter

3 year old gelding by Epicenter has a record of 3 wins and 2 seconds in 6 career starts with lifetime earnings of over $215,000. His best career performance came last time out on the 9f Gr.2 Fountain Of Ute where he stalked the early pace in 4th and rallied to finish 2nd beaten 1 1/4 length in a field of 14 earning him a career best 101 speed rating. The Fountain Of Youth has proven to be a key race, the 3rd place finisher went on to win the Gr.1 Arkansas Juvenile and the winner finished 2nd in the Gr.1 Florida Derby. Consistent and improving colt has been in the exacta in 5 of 6 (83%) of his starts and his speed ratings have shown nice improvement in his first two starts at age 3. He should get a comfortable stalking trip and I expect him to hang around with a shot late. Contender

9.Rival Nine

Owner:lenny22

3 year old stakes winning colt by Uncle Mo has a record of 3 win and 1 second in 6 career starts with lifetime earnings just shy of $150,000. His best career performance came in an 8.5f stakes race where he closed from near the rear of the pack and flew home to get up by 1/4 length over a field of 14 earning him a career best 97 speed rating. He followed up that performance with a disappointing 13th place finish in the Gr.1 Movieland Futurity in his graded stakes debut last time out to conclude his 2 year old season. He makes his 3 year old debut here off of a 4 month layoff and hopes are he can show a big step forward that he will need to tackle this bunch. Aptly named horse will break from the 9 post. In the Mix

10.Ihopeyouthinkofme

Owner:asrtapit4

3 year old colt by Tapit has a record of 2 wins,1 second, and 2 thirds in 7 career starts with lifetime earnings north of $100,000. His best career performance came last time out in the 9f Gr.2 The Wall Street where he closed from 9th of 11 to finish 3rd beaten 4 1/2 lengths and earning a 97 speed rating in his stakes debut. Consistent colt has hit the board in 5 of 7(71%) including 4 of 5(80%) in route races. He has shown steady improvement in his speed figures and he comes off a solid last time out effort in his stakes debut but he will have to take another step forward here if he is going to make a serious push for his first stakes win. Would not be surprised go see closer hit the board. In the Mix

11.Can I Win One Race

Owner:lgbost2yo

3 year old stakes winning colt by Tapit has a record of 5 wins and 1 third in 7 career starts with lifetime earnings of nearly $200,000. His best career performance came last time out in an 8f stakes race where he led every step of the way en route to a dominating 4 3/4 length victory in front running fashion over a field of 6 equalling a career best 103 speed rating for his second straight impressive stakes win. Talented colt has already outlived the expectations bestowed on him by his name as he has won 5 of 7(71%) in his career and he has shown steady improvement throughout his career. He will be making his graded stakes debut here but he is coming off two top efforts and he looks poised to make the jump against this level of competition. Expect him to be on or near the early lead but he has shown the ability to sit several lengths back so the jockey should have options on this versatile colt. 2 for 2 on an off track. Contender

12.Nhill Nebilh

Owner:crown

3 year old stakes winning colt by Into Mischief has a record of 3 wins and 2 seconds in 7 career starts with lifetime earnings approaching $175,000. His best career performance came last time out in a 9f stakes race where he closed from 10th of 14 and stormed home to a 1 length score over the full field earning him a career best 101 speed rating for his first stakes victory. Consistent colt has been in the exacta 5 of 7( 71%) in his career and he has steadily improved his speed ratings in every race so he has the right to take another step forward here. He is still searching for his first graded stakes win with his lone effort being a disappointing 10th in the Gr.3 Trixy Delight’s Special but that was in his route debut and he has since changed tactics and showed a new dimension from further off the pace which has proven to be effective. In the Mix

13.Various Music

Owner:borrowed5

3 year old Grade Two winning colt by Maclean’s Music has a record of 2 wins and 2 thirds in 6 career starts with lifetime earnings of nearly $320,000. His best career performance came in the 6f Gr.2 Midsoil Stakes in just his second career start where he pressed the early pace and fought to prevail by 1/2 length over a field of 8 earning him an 88 speed rating for his 2nd consecutive victory to start his career. He has not won a race since but he has placed in the Gr.1 7f Hopeless Stakes and a residency restricted stakes over his last 4 starts. He will be stretching back out around two turns for the second time here, last time he was 8th beaten 3 lengths after attending the early pace in the Gr.1 8f Sparkling Wine Stakes. He is 1 of 4 graded stakes winners in the field and he is out of a Grade One winning mare so he surely has class but all indications are that he is better suited for Sprint distances and 9f may be a tall task. In the Mix

14.Sweet Qualities

Owner:teamasr

3 year old colt by Twirling Candy has a record of 2 wins, 1 second, and 2 thirds in 6 career starts with lifetime earnings approaching $100,000. His best career performance came in the 8.5f Gr.3 Pleasure Stakes where he closed from mid pack and rallied to finish 2nd beaten 1/4 length and registering a 97 speed rating for the effort in his 2 year old finale. He followed that up with a closing 3rd in the 8.5f Gr.3 Giant Slayer Classic last time out in his 3 year old debut. Consistent colt has hit the board in 5 of 6(83%) including his both starts in stakes races, both in graded stakes, but he is yet to win at that level. He has improved his speed ratings in every race and he will have to continue to step forward if he is going to break through here. In the Mix