And then there were three
While the racing world seemed resigned to the changes to the 2020 Triple Crown necessitated by the coronavirus – with the Belmont now the earliest and shortest of the three races instead of the longest and the last – there appeared to be enough talented 3-year-olds that maybe it wouldn’t matter in what sequence the races were run.
Most lists of top contenders this spring included six horses. Tiz the Law had improved on his outstanding 2-year-old form with a smashing four-length victory in the Florida Derby. Nadal and Honor A. P. figured to become even more formidable once the distances lengthened, as they soon demonstrated in the Arkansas Derby and Santa Anita Derby, respectively. Speed horses Charlatan and Authentic might prove to be better suited for shorter distances, but in the meantime both horses had to be considered threats. Finally, there was Maxfield, whose Arazi-like performance in last fall’s Breed
ers’ Futurity still lingered in memory.
This is where things stood less than two weeks ago. In the days since, however, three of these six horses have been taken off the Triple Crown trail; at least one, and possibly two, will not race again. First, Nadal sustained a condylar fracture during a workout and was retired. One week later, Charlatan – like Nadal, a Bob Baffert trainee – was sidelined with an ankle injury and is probably done for the year. Four days later, on Wednesday of this week, Maxfield also suffered a condylar fracture during a workout. Surgery was scheduled, with the Godolphin runner’s future unknown.
Only Tiz the Law, Authentic and Honor A. P. remained of the original six contenders. Last Saturday, the latter two faced off again in the Santa Anita Derby. Sent off as the second choice behind the undefeated Authentic – who he’d been unable to reel in three months ago in the shorter San Felipe Stakes – Honor A. P. raced in mid-pack before moving up on the turn. Forced to race four-wide turning for home, the son of champion Honor Code swept to the front with ease, continuing on to best Authentic by 2 ¾ lengths.
The effort was enough to earn Honor A. P. the runner-up spot behind Tiz the Law in the latest NTRA poll of top 3-yearolds.
Racing returns to New York
After a three-month absence, live racing resumed in New York two Saturdays ago with a fourgraded-stakes card built around the Carter Handicap. Favorites, none of whom went off at odds higher than 2-1, prevailed in all four races. Winners of note included Vekoma, who notched his first G1 with a 7¼-length romp through the slop in the Carter. Code of Honor, last seen finishing a disappointing seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, made a successful 2020 debut by taking the onemile Westchester Stakes by a half-length. Code of Honor’s wins last year included the Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup, and he figures to be a factor in this year’s older-male division.
The Ogden Phipps Stakes tops this Saturday’s card at Aqueduct, with six older fillies and mares entered. Ollie’s Candy, a consistent G1 performer in California, is a narrow 8-5 choice over Point of Honor in the 1 1/16mile event. Other expected starters include She’s a Julie, Pink Sands, Blame and Golden Award