Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Rebel has a bit of everything
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Rebel Stakes might turn into a real throwdown Saturday at Oaklawn.
American Anthem, Uncontested, and Malagacy figure to dispute the pace. Stalkers Royal Mo, Untrapped, and Petrov will jockey for position off their heels. And closers Lookin At Lee, Silver Dust, and Sonneteer await the right time to strike in the field of 11 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles.
“It’s a gambler’s dream because you’ve got all different scenarios,” said Ron Moquett, who trains Petrov.
The Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel is the centerpiece of an 11-race card that also features the Grade 2, $350,000 Azeri and the $250,000 Essex. Purses for the program top $2 million, a record for Rebel Day, said Oaklawn official Pat Pope. The infield will be open, weather permitting, and the forecast is favorable, with temperatures in the low 70s.
The Rebel’s first four finishers will earn Kentucky Derby eligibility points on a scale of 50-2010-5. Trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the Rebel in six of the past seven years, is represented by American Anthem. He will vie for favoritism with fellow Southern California shipper Royal Mo, whose trainer, John Shirreffs, is back at Oaklawn for the first time since sending out Zenyatta to win the 2010 Apple Blossom.
American Anthem, Royal Mo, Petrov, and Untrapped are all members of Daily Racing Form’s Derby Watch top 20.
REBEL STAKES (RACE 10) KEY CONTENDERS
Royal Mo, by Uncle Mo Last 3 Beyers: 94-73-73
◗ Royal Mo is the most accomplished entrant in the field as the winner of the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita in his last start Feb. 4. That race covered the same distance as the Rebel, and he could get an ideal trip just off the pace after breaking from post 10 under Victor Espinoza.
“He ran really well last time,” Shirreffs said. “He showed a good placing in the beginning and finished well.
“When you watch him run, it looks like he’s galloping, so he doesn’t look like a fast horse. He has a really long, nice stride, so he’s a little bit deceptive in that regard. I would imagine with his stride, he would be stalking anyway.”
◗ Shirreffs said there were several reasons to target the Rebel with Royal Mo.
“I have two 3-year-olds that are doing really well, so we had to split them up,” he said. “We chose to run Gormley at Santa Anita and bring Royal Mo to Arkansas. I think the big thing was it gave him an extra week from his last race, so the spacing seemed just right.”
◗ Royal Mo was a $300,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland by Jerome and Ann Moss, who also own Gormley and raced Zenyatta. Royal Mo is by Uncle Mo and stands about 17 hands tall, said Shirreffs.
“He’s very impressive,” he said. “He’s a very, very goodlooking horse, and he’s by an excellent sire.”
◗ Royal Mo and Uncontested, the winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn, will carry 122 pounds, spotting their rivals five to seven pounds each.
Untrapped, by Trappe Shot Last 3 Beyers: 91-80-75
◗ He is making his Oaklawn debut after running second in the first two legs of the Fair Grounds 3-year-old series, the Grade 3 Lecomte on Jan. 21 and the Grade 2 Risen Star on Feb. 25. Trainer Steve Asmussen, a three-time winner of the Rebel, said the Rebel was a “natural fit” in part because Untrapped’s owner, Mike Langford, is from Arkansas.
“He would have started his year off in the Smarty Jones if not for the quarantine situation at New Orleans,” Asmussen said. “With him running a good race in the Lecomte, I thought giving him his second two-turn experience in the Risen Star definitely would be fairer to him. That’s just how it came about.”
◗ Untrapped starts from post 5 under Irad Ortiz Jr.
“One thing I thought he’s done well in both of his two-turn races is he went under the wire with good energy,” Asmussen
said. “He’ll be relatively close, but I don’t expect him on the lead in a race filled with such obvious pacemakers. But he’s pretty handy, and he has stayed on nicely.”
Petrov, by Flatter Last 3 Beyers: 96-86-81
◗ He ran second in both the Smarty Jones and the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest at Oaklawn and has continued to do well, Moquett said.
“He’s moving forward,” said Moquett.
◗ Moquett said Sol Kumin has bought into Petrov, who also continues to race for Rialto Racing and Southern Springs.
◗ Petrov is in post 4 with Jose Ortiz to ride.
“Whatever the pace turns out to be, I think we can adjust to what’s in our best interest,” Moquett said. “There’s plenty of speed in there, and there’s some horses that like to make a run. I think we just have to hang loose and see how it turns out.”
American Anthem, by Bodemeister Beyers: 94-86
◗ He won his debut in a maiden sprint at Del Mar in December and in his only other start moved to two turns and was just edged by Gormley when second in the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita.
◗ American Anthem’s pedigree has “Oaklawn” written all over it. His sire won the Arkansas Derby, and his dam’s halfsister Banshee Breeze captured the Apple Blossom.
◗ American Anthem races for WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and S F Bloodstock, the same ownership group that won last month’s Southwest with One Liner.
◗ American Anthem, who looks capable of giving Baffert a fourth straight Rebel win, is in post 7 with Mike Smith aboard.