Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
ARKANSAS TRAVELER
SOLOMINI SHIPS IN FOR REBEL,
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The meeting of Solomini and Magnum Moon on neutral ground in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel on Saturday at Oaklawn has the look of a key matchup seven weeks out from the Kentucky Derby. In what might be a telltale sign, there were no other shippers from the West Coast – Solomini’s base – or the East Coast, which is home to Magnum Moon.
But it might be a mistake to paint the Rebel as a two-horse race. The field of 11 features a strong contingent of Arkansasbased runners, including Sporting Chance, the winner of last year’s Hopeful. Oaklawn leading trainer Steve Asmussen has a trio of promising colts entered in Combatant and Zing Zang, second and fifth in last month’s Grade 3 Southwest, and Title Ready, whose second dam is the champion Personal Ensign.
“There are some local horses that are pretty darn tough,” said D. Wayne Lukas, the trainer of Sporting Chance. “And playing on your home court is always good. Ask every coach in the NCAA brackets.”
The Rebel anchors a 10-race card that includes the Grade 3, $350,000 Azeri and the $300,000 Essex Handicap. The 1 1/16mile race will award Kentucky Derby eligibility points to its first four finishers on a scale of 50-20-10-5. Pryor and Bode’s Maker, who are part of the field for the Rebel, are also entered in an allowance here Sunday.
REBEL (RACE 10) KEY CONTENDERS
Magnum Moon, by Malibu Moon Beyers: 95-88
◗ The DRF Derby Watch member might be the horse people most want to get a line on as he makes his stakes debut after winning his first two starts with flair. Magnum Moon created a stir in January, winning his debut in a maiden special weight sprint at Gulfstream Park with a Beyer Speed Figure of 95. A month later, he made his two-turn debut in a first-level allowance at Tampa Bay Downs and won in hand by two lengths.
“I thought he did everything we were hoping he would do,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He settled off horses, got a little bit of an education from the dirt, circled the field and won with something left in the tank.
“He’s always had a terrific disposition. He’s a colt that’s shown a lot of promise from early on, and we’re very pleased with what he’s done. In his debut, he showed speed, then he showed us he could also settle when we stretched him out. He’s a very good-looking, big, strong colt with a good mind to go along with it. We’ll see how he handles the step up in class.”
◗ Pletcher said the Rebel was chosen for Magnum Moon because of its timing and because owners Robert and Lawana Low are “big fans of Oaklawn.”
◗ Luis Saez has the mount from post 4.
Solomini, by Curlin Last 3 Beyers: 93-93-90
◗ Derby Watch member was an Eclipse Award finalist for the champion 2-year-old male of 2017 after finishing second to eventual champion Good Magic in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The Rebel will be Solomini’s first start since Dec. 9, when he finished first in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity over McKinzie and Instilled Regard but was placed third for interference. Since the race, McKinzie and Instilled Regard have won preps for the Kentucky Derby.
◗ Solomini shows a strong series of works at Santa Anita, including six furlongs in 1:11.40 on March 4. His trainer, Bob Baffert, wins at a 29 percent rate with horses returning from layoffs of 61 to 180 days, according to DRF statistics. Baffert also has excelled in the Rebel. He is looking for his seventh win in the race, which serves as the final stepping-stone to the Arkansas Derby.
◗ Flavien Prat has the mount from post 3.
Sporting Chance, by Tiznow Last 3 Beyers: 82-86-84
◗ Derby Watch member enters off a third-place finish in the Southwest on Feb. 19 at Oaklawn. The start was his first since the Hopeful on Sept. 4.
“We knew you couldn’t get him at his very best without probably a race, and so that’s what it was,” said Lukas. “It was a race that should move us a forward. In a perfect world, we would have liked to have seen a clean trip. We got bumped both sides in the stretch, and it obviously broke his momentum.
“Having said that, he regrabbed his stride – he’s very athletic – and got back into it and got up for third.”
◗ John Velazquez has the mount from post 7.