Hot Rod Charlie, others take aim at Essential Quality
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hot Rod Charlie is the fourth betting choice for the 147th Kentucky Derby after drawing the No. 9 slot for Saturday’s race.
Hot Rod Charlie’s post draw in the middle brought a loud cheer from his contingent in the otherwise sedate setting as the colt avoided being bunched inside out of the gate. Trainer Doug O’Neill’s horse won the Louisiana Derby by two lengths and was second to Essential Quality with 110 Derby points.
“We decided we were going to give it a pump no matter what post we drew,“O’Neill said of the connections that include five 20something former college football players, including Alex Quoyeser from Houston. “But we’re delighted with the nine. It’s a real good post.”
Essential Quality is the 2-1 morning line favorite and will start from the No. 14 post for Saturday’s 147th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
“It got a little nervewracking with both horses still to go and the rail still being out there,“trainer Brad Cox said Tuesday on waiting on the draw. “I think it’ll be a good spot. He’s got good tactical speed that he’ll be able to get into a good position from there.”
The $3 million, 1¼-mile marquee race for 3-yearolds is back on the first Saturday of May after being delayed to Labor Day weekend last fall because of the pandemic. About 45,000 spectators are expected at the track.
Rock Your World is the 5-1 second choice from the No. 15 slot with Known Agenda the 6-1 third choice despite drawing the rail in the 20horse field.
The obvious focus is on Essential Quality, the reigning 2-year-old champion who enters the Run for the Roses having won all five races and with Luis Saez aboard. His haul of graded stakes victories includes a gutsy Blue Grass victory at Keeneland on April 3 that vaulted the gray son of Tapit to the top of the Derby standings with 140 points and cemented him as the projected favorite.
He’s one of two entries trained by Cox, who grew up a few blocks from Churchill Downs and will make his Derby debut trying to become the first Louisville native to win the race. The Eclipse Award winner also will saddle Mandaloun as a 15-1 choice, with the bay colt looking to bounce back from a disappointing sixth in the Louisiana Derby.
At least their starting spots are no longer an issue. “That was more than I wanted to experience this early, but it worked for us,“Cox said.
Rock Your World, trained by John Sadler, has won all three starts this year after not racing as a 2year-old. But he rolled to a 4¼-length victory in the Santa Anita Derby over favorite Medina Spirit.
“It’s a good post and we’re happy with it,” Sadler said of the No. 15.
Known Agenda leads Todd Pletcher’s four-horse contingent that includes Bourbonic, who drew the outside No. 20 post; Dynamic One (No. 11, 20-1 odds) and Sainthood (No. 5, 50-1). The chestnut colt has won two of three starts this season and has three wins, a second and a third in six career starts.
Even with Churchill Downs introducing a new 20-stall starting Derby gate last fall to replace the standard 14-slot and auxiliary six-slot gates, Known Agenda has his work cut out for him to avoid being bunched inside and out of contention in a crowded field.
“Obviously, it’s not what we were hoping for,“Pletcher said. “Of course, this is one of the things you can’t control. With the new gate, we’re hopeful that things will be better than they were in the past and the post won’t be that bad.”