Endlessly's trainer wants to skip the Kentucky Derby
Almost all of America's top thoroughbred trainers spend the winter and spring trying to get their best 3-yearolds into the Kentucky Derby, planning the way in like cat burglars casing the Louvre.
Michael McCarthy, this year, is different. He's trying to keep his best young horse out of the Kentucky Derby.
The horse is Endlessly, one of two California colts who have qualified for the May 4 race, the other western hope being Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold.
Endlessly's breeders and owners, retired Mattel Toys CEO John Amerman and his wife Jerry, are eager to enter the $5 million, Grade I Kentucky Derby for the first time in the couple's nearly four decades in the sport.
But their trainer, McCarthy, would rather enter Endlessly in the $500,000, Grade II American Turf Stakes, a 1 1/16mile race on the grass for 3-year-olds to be run on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs.
The owners and the trainer hope to reach an amicable decision Saturday, sometime after a morning workout serving as a final test of Endlessly's affinity for the Churchill main track, sometime before Kentucky Derby entries close later that day.
“It's a good problem to have,” McCarthy said of the unusual situation in an interview at his barn at Santa Anita on Monday.
McCarthy, 53, doesn't deny the Kentucky Derby's importance. Though he hasn't had a horse in the nation's most famous race since becoming a head trainer 10 years ago, he was around the Derby as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. He was there for the thrill of Pletcher winning his first Derby with Super Saver in 2010, and there for the disappointment of early favorites Eskendereya (injured) in 2010 and Uncle Mo (ill) in 2011 having to miss the Derby.
“I just take with me how hard it is to get a horse to the Kentucky Derby, how fortunate we are to be in this position,”
ARCADIA >>
Trainer Michael McCarthy holds up the trophy to celebrate Rombauer's win in the 2021Preakness.
said McCarthy, whose biggest wins came in the
2021 Preakness with Rombauer, the 2018 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with City of Light and the 2021 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint with Ce Ce.
But the Derby might mean more to John Amerman, especially now that he's 92. As owners, the Amermans' biggest victories have come in Breeders' Cup races, the 2003 Distaff with Adoration (trained by David Hofmans) and the 2016 Juvenile Turf with Oscar Performance (Brian Lynch).
Amerman declined an interview request but sent a brief statement through Amerman Racing LLC's executive assistant.
“There really is not much to say at this point,” Amerman said. “We are still waiting to see how Endlessly works on Saturday before making our final decision.”
McCarthy's qualms are well-founded.
Endlessly is the leading offspring of Oscar Performance, whose four Grade I wins all came in turf races. Endlessly's seven wins in eight starts at age 2 and 3 have come in turf races, including Grade III stakes at Del Mar and Santa Anita, and in races on synthetic main tracks, in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields in February and the Grade III Jeff Ruby stakes at Turfway Park in Kentucky in March. Endlessly's experience on dirt main tracks has come entirely in morning workouts, where he has never been clocked faster than 1:00 3/5 for 5 furlongs and 47 4/5 for 4 furlongs, according to Equibase.com.
“He's had 30 works on the dirt. All of them have been solid without being eye-catching,” said McCarthy, who will fly to Louisville to supervise Saturday's workout. “Is that because
he's just not a very good work horse? Or is that because he's averse to the dirt? I don't know. There's only one way to find out, obviously.”
The Jeff Ruby victory with jockey Umberto Rispoli gave Endlessly the points he needed to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. But if he runs, he'll go in as a mystery horse at best, making his dirt debut in the toughest race around.
The Derby has been uncommonly safe over the years. But racing 1 1/4 miles in an up-to-20-horse race in front of 150,000 fans can be a strain, not a springboard to future success. (FanDuel TV racing commentator Kurt Hoover showed me some research he did: Since last year's Derby, the 18 runners have combined for only seven wins in 57 starts.)
Right after the Ruby, McCarthy told reporters Endlessly would be pointed for the American Turf. Then John Amerman asked the trainer not to rule out trying the Derby.
“It's hard for me to say no in a situation like that,” McCarthy said. “He (Amerman) has put millions of dollars into the game. He's a breeder, owns a farm (Peacefield Farm in Temecula), is great for California racing. He's been wonderful in letting us manage the horse to date.
“He asked me to be open-minded about the Kentucky Derby, and that's the least we can do.”
McCarthy's respect for the owner is clear. So is his dedication to doing right by the horse.
In the end, the decision might not be made by the owner who wants to go to the Derby or the trainer who'd rather not. It might be made by Endlessly, signaling his taste for the Churchill dirt with his final workout before May 4.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK
NBA
Favorite
at Dallas at Indiana at Phoenix
MLB
Favorite
At Caja Magica, Madrid Purse:
Surface:
30 —
€7,877,020
Red clay
MEN'S SINGLES
Round of 128
Round of 64
RACE 1
Horse, Jockey
Line (O/U)
Friday
American League
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Line
-112/-104 -112/-104 -260/+215 -250/+205
National League
Philadelphia St. Louis at Miami at San Fran.
Interleague
Dodgers Chic. Cubs at Atlanta at Texas NY Yankees Arizona
NHL
Favorite
-120/+102 -118/+100 -172/+144 -148/+126
-134/+114 -116/-102 -210/+176 -162/+136 -130/+110 -132/+112
Line
WOMEN'S SINGLES
Today's first post:
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Clippers Milwaukee Minnesota
Underdog
at Angels at Detroit
Oakland at Chicago WS
at San Diego at NY Mets Washington
Pittsburgh
at Toronto at Boston Cleveland Cincinnati at Milwaukee
at Seattle
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Edmonton -128/+106 at Kings N.Y. Rangers -176/+146 at Washington at Nashville -115/-104 Vancouver at Colorado -170/+140 Winnipeg For the latest odds, go to BetMGM Sportsbook, https://sports.betmgm. com/en/sports
Pedro Cachin, Argentina, def. Sebastian Ofner, Austria, 6-3, 6-3. Tomas Machac, Czech Republic, def. Emil Ruusuvuori, Finland, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Flavio Cobolli,
Italy, def. Alejandro Tabilo, Chile, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada, def. Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, def. Richard Gasquet, France, 6-2, 7-5. Thiago Monteiro, Brazil, def. Dusan Lajovic, Serbia, 6-4, 6-3. Matteo Arnaldi, Italy, def. Christopher O'Connell, Australia, 6-4, 6-1. Max Purcell, Australia, def. Marcos Giron, United States, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2). Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, def. Zhang Zhizhen, China, 6-3, 6-2. Jakub Mensik, Czech Republic, def. Yannick Hanfmann, Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain, def. Daniel Elahi Galan, Colombia, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1. Pavel Kotov, Russia, def. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Spain, 6-3, 6-4. Rafael Nadal, Spain, def. Darwin Blanch, United States, 6-1, 6-0. Hamad Medjedovic, Serbia, def. Aleksandar Kovacevic, United States, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Joao Fonseca, Brazil, def. Alex Michelsen, United States, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Roberto Carballes Baena, Spain, def. Dominik Koepfer, Germany, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Victoria Azarenka (23), Belarus, def. Tatjana Maria, Germany, 6-3, 6-1. Maria Sakkari (5), Greece, def. Donna Vekic, Croatia, 6-3, 6-2. Madison Keys (18), United States, def. Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6). Sara Sorribes Tormo, Spain, def. Elina Svitolina (16), Ukraine, 6-3, 7-5. Jelena Ostapenko (9), Latvia, def. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Spain, 6-3, 6-1. Emma Navarro (19), United States, def. Nadia Podoroska, Argentina, 6-2, 6-1. Dayana Yastremska (31), Ukraine, def. Emiliana Arango, Colombia, 0-6, 7-5, 6-4. Beatriz Haddad Maia (11), Brazil, def. Sara Errani,
Italy, 6-3, 6-2. Liudmila Samsonova (15), Russia, def. Naomi Osaka, Japan, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Coco Gauff (3), United States, def. Arantxa Rus, Netherlands, 6-0,
6-0. Sorana Cirstea (27), Romania, def. Alexandra Eala, Philippines, 6-3, 6-7
(6), 6-4. Maria Carle, Argentina, def. Veronika Kudermetova (17), Russia, 6-4, 6-4. Ons Jabeur (8), Tunisia, def. AnnaKarolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Sloane Stephens, United States, def. Elise Mertens (28), Belgium, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Leylah Annie Fernandez (32), Canada, def. Anastasia Potapova, Russia, 7-5, 6-3. Iga Swiatek (1), Poland, def. Wang Xiyu, China, 6-1, 6-4.
PGA TOUR-ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS
At TPC Louisiana New Orleans Purse:
Yardage:
First Round
Wt PP Comment
$8.9 million
7,425;
1 Mile (Turf). Starter Optional Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $50,000. Purse $31,000.
Par:
$3 million
6,447;
72
N.Lashley/R.Campos ............ 30-30—60 -12 A.Rai/D.Lipsky ........................ 30-31—61 -11 B.Kohles/P.Kizzire ................. 30-31—61 -11 R.Brehm/M.Hubbard ............ 30-31—61 -11 R.McIlroy/S.Lowry ................. 30-31—61 -11 C.Champ/M.Daffue .............. 33-29—62 -10 D.Thompson/A.Novak ........... 31-31—62-10 T.Detry/R.Macintyre ............ 30-32—62 -10 B.Taylor/S.O'Hair ..................... 31-32—63 -9 C.Conners/T.Pendrith ............. 32-31—63 -9 C.Tarren/D.Skinns .................. 29-34—63 -9 G.Higgo/R.Fox .......................... 31-32—63 -9 G.Sigg/C.Hadley ....................... 31-32—63 -9 K.Mitchell/J.Dahmen ............... 31-32—63 -9 L.List/H.Norlander .................. 31-32—63 -9 M.Meissner/A.Smotherman ..32-31—63 -9 N.Taylor/A.Hadwin ................... 31-32—63 -9 S.Stevens/P.Barjon ................. 30-33—63 -9 Z.Blair/P.Fishburn ................... 33-30—63 -9 A.Eckroat/C.Gotterup ............ 32-32—64 -8 B.Silverman/K.Dougherty ..... 34-30—64 -8 D.Berger/V.Perez .................... 33-31—64 -8 H.Hall/S.Piercy ........................ 33-31—64 -8 J.Spaun/H.Buckley ................. 30-34—64 -8 K.Yu/C.Pan ............................... 32-32—64 -8 M.Wallace/T.Olesen ............... 31-33—64 -8 N.Echavarria/M.Greyserman. 33-31—64 -8 Z.Johnson/R.Palmer .............. 33-31—64 -8 A.Putnam/J.Highsmith .......... 33-32—65 -7 C.Hoffman/N.Watney ............ 32-33—65 -7 C.Phillips/J.Bridgeman .......... 32-33—65 -7 C.Young/B.Martin ................... 32-33—65 -7 D.Ghim/C.Kim .......................... 33-32—65 -7 D.Wu/J.Lower ........................... 33-32—65 -7 F.Molinari/L.Donald ................ 33-32—65 -7 J.Suh/R.Hoey ........................... 33-32—65 -7 J.Vegas/B.Burgoon .................. 31-34—65 -7 K.Chappell/J.Dufner ............... 32-33—65 -7 N.Xiong/R.McCormick ........... 30-35—65 -7 P.Cantlay/X.Schauffele ......... 32-33—65 -7 P.Malnati/R.Knox .................... 32-33—65 -7 T.Moore/M.NeSmith ............... 31-34—65 -7 A.Tosti/T.Potter Jr . ................. 31-35—66 -6 B.Garnett/S.Straka ................ 32-34—66 -6 B.Wu/J.Nicholas ...................... 32-34—66 -6 C.Ramey/M.Trainer ................ 31-35—66 -6 C.Reavie/B.Snedeker ............. 31-35—66 -6 K.Kitayama/C.Morikawa ....... 33-33—66 -6 K.Kraft/K.Tway ........................ 33-33—66 -6 K.Lee/M.Kim ............................ 33-33—66 -6 M.Fitzpatrick/A.Fitzpatrick..33-33—66 -6 M.Kuchar/S.Stricker .............. 32-34—66-6 N.Hardy/D.Riley ...................... 34-32—66 -6 S.Theegala/W.Zalatoris ........ 33-33—66-6 T.Hoge/M.McNealy ................ 34-32—66-6 T.Lawrence/A.Potgieter ........ 31-35—66 -6 T.Montgomery/B.Griffin ........ 32-34—66 -6 V.Norrman/J.Campillo ........... 33-33—66 -6 V.Whaley/A.Long ..................... 32-34—66 -6 T.Merritt/R.Streb .................... 27-33—60 -5 B.Horschel/T.Alexander ........ 32-35—67 -5 C.Yuan/Z.Dou .......................... 33-34—67 -5 E.Barnes/H.Endycott ............. 33-34—67 -5 G.Woodland/L.Hodges .......... 34-33—67 -5 J.Stanger/A.Du. De Chassart.. 34-33—67 -5 R.Shelton/W.Furr .................... 35-32—67 -5 B.Hossler/S.Ryder .................. 35-33—68 -4 K.Streelman/M.Laird ............. 34-34—68 -4 N.Hojgaard/R.Hojgaard ........ 33-35—68 -4 P.Coody/P.Coody ..................... 32-36—68 -4 R.Pereda/A.Cook ..................... 37-31—68 -4 S.Gutschewski/J.Byrd ............ 33-35—68 -4 S.Kim/S.Bae ............................. 34-34—68 -4 E.Cole/R.Cochran ................... 36-33—69 -3 K.Kisner/S.Brown ................... 33-36—69 -3 T.Crowe/H.Higgs ..................... 34-35—69 -3 R.Sloan/J.Teater ...................... 30-33—63 -2 A.Smalley/M.Schmid .............. 35-35—70 -2 H.Springer/T.Whitney ............. 36-34—70 -2 B.Hale/P.Haley ......................... 34-37—71 -1
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONSJM EAGLE LA CHAMPIONSHIP
At Wilshire Country Club Los Angeles
Purse:
Yardage: Par: First-round leaders
71
Grace Kim .................................. 32-32—64 -7 Sei Young Kim .......................... 33-32—65 -6 Maja Stark ................................ 31-34—65 -6 Chanettee Wannasaen .......... 32-33—65 -6 Nataliya Guseva ...................... 31-35—66 -5 Auston Kim ............................... 33-33—66 -5 Hae-Ran Ryu ............................ 33-33—66 -5 Hannah Green .......................... 35-32—67 -4 BiancaPagdanganan ............. 34-33—67-4 Amy Yang ................................. 32-35—67 -4 Celine Boutier .......................... 35-33—68 -3 GemmaDryburgh ................... 34-34—68-3 Esther Henseleit ...................... 35-33—68 -3 Ashleigh Buhai ........................ 35-34—69 -2 Hye Jin Choi .............................. 34-35—69 -2 Carlota Ciganda ...................... 34-35—69 -2 Karis Davidson ......................... 35-34—69 -2 Haeji Kang ................................ 33-36—69 -2 Jeong Eun Lee5 ........................ 35-34—69 -2 Polly Mack ................................ 36-33—69 -2 Caroline Masson ...................... 32-37—69 -2 Elizabeth Szokol ...................... 34-35—69 -2 Rose Zhang .............................. 35-34—69 -2 Na Rin An ................................... 33-37—70 -1
Jenny Coleman ......................... 34-36—70 -1 Lauren Coughlin ....................... 35-35—70 -1 Jennifer Kupcho ....................... 36-34—70 -1 Lucy Li ........................................ 34-36—70 -1 Yu Liu .......................................... 35-35—70 -1 Morgane Metraux .................... 33-37—70 -1 Azahara Munoz ........................ 36-34—70 -1 Alexa Pano ................................ 33-37—70 -1 Emily Pedersen ......................... 33-37—70 -1 Paula Reto ................................. 32-38—70 -1 Jasmine Suwannapura ............ 36-34—70 -1 Patty Tavatanakit .................... 35-35—70 -1 Jaravee Boonchant ................... 34-37—71 E Celine Borge .............................. 38-33—71 E Jennifer Chang .......................... 35-36—71 E RobynChoi ................................. 34-37—71E Kristen Gillman .......................... 34-37—71 E Savannah Grewal ...................... 37-34—71 E Charley Hull ............................... 35-36—71 E Jiwon Jeon .................................. 36-35—71 E Sarah Kemp ................................ 37-34—71 E Megan Khang ............................. 36-35—71 E A Lim Kim .................................... 37-34—71 E Aline Krauter ............................. 33-38—71 E Agathe Laisne ............................ 33-38—71 E Andrea Lee ................................. 36-35—71 E Xiyu Lin ....................................... 35-36—71 E Pernilla Lindberg ....................... 34-37—71 E Yan Liu ........................................ 37-34—71 E Mao Saigo ................................... 34-37—71 E Sarah Schmelzel ....................... 37-34—71 E Linnea Strom .............................. 36-35—71 E Yu Jin Sung ................................. 35-36—71 E Ruoning Yin ................................ 35-36—71 E Liqi Zeng ..................................... 38-33—71 E Marina Alex ............................. 34-38—72 +1 Olivia Cowan ........................... 34-38—72 +1 Ally Ewing ................................ 36-36—72 +1 Maria Fassi .............................. 38-34—72 +1 Alexandra Forsterling ........... 34-38—72 +1 Mina Harigae .......................... 36-36—72 +1 Lauren Hartlage ...................... 35-37—72 +1 Wei-Ling Hsu ........................... 38-34—72 +1 Jin Hee Im ................................ 34-38—72 +1 Hyo Joon Jang .......................... 37-35—72 +1 Moriya Jutanugarn ................. 37-35—72 +1 Gurleen Kaur ........................... 38-34—72 +1 Jin Young Ko ............................. 37-35—72 +1 Stephanie Meadow ................. 35-37—72 +1 Wichanee Meechai ................ 34-38—72 +1 Yealimi Noh .............................. 35-37—72 +1 Kaitlyn Papp ............................ 36-36—72 +1 Hee Young Park ...................... 34-38—72 +1 Sophia Popov ........................... 37-35—72 +1 Angela Stanford ..................... 36-36—72 +1 Xiaowen Yin ............................. 37-35—72 +1 Yuri Yoshida ............................. 37-35—72 +1 Aditi Ashok .............................. 35-38—73 +2 Peiyun Chien ............................ 36-37—73 +2 Cydney Clanton ....................... 36-37—73 +2 Allisen Corpuz ........................ 38-35—73 +2 Perrine Delacour ..................... 36-37—73 +2 Nasa Hataoka .......................... 36-37—73 +2 Somi Lee .................................. 35-38—73 +2 Jeongeun Lee6 ......................... 36-37—73 +2 Brittany Lincicome ................. 36-37—73 +2 Roberta Liti .............................. 37-36—73 +2 Mary Liu ................................... 34-39—73 +2 Benedetta Moresco ................ 36-37—73 +2 Ryann O'Toole ......................... 35-38—73 +2 Jenny Shin ................................ 36-37—73 +2 Lindsey Weaver-Wright ......... 36-37—73 +2 Angel Yin ................................. 38-35—73 +2 Pavarisa Yoktuan .................... 37-36—73 +2
DP WORLD TOUR—ISPS HANDA CHAMPIONSHIP
At Gotemba Course Omitama, Japan Purse:
Yardage:
First Round
GAELIC NATION $2 million
7,262;
Par:
70
Jeong-Weon Ko, France ......... 31-34—65 -5 Tomoyo Ikemura, Japan ......... 31-34—65 -5 Yannik Paul, Germany ............ 34-31—65 -5 Taisei Shimizu, Japan ............. 33-32—65 -5 Taiki Yoshida, Japan ............... 31-34—65 -5 Sam Bairstow, England .......... 34-32—66 -4 Alejandro Del Rey, Spain ........ 35-31—66 -4 Taiga Nagano, Japan .............. 31-35—66 -4 Yuki Inamori, Japan ................ 33-33—66 -4 Casey Jarvis, South Africa .... 31-35—66 -4 Masahiro Kawamura, Japan.33-33—66 -4 Ryosuke Kinoshita, Japan ..... 34-32—66 -4 Hao-Tong Li, China .................. 33-33—66 -4 Keita Nakajima, Japan ........... 34-32—66 -4 Sebastian Soderberg, Swe .... 34-32—66 -4 Connor Syme, Scotland ......... 32-34—66 -4 MatthewJordan,England ..... 33-33—66-4 Richie Ramsay, Scotland ....... 32-35—67 -3 Younghan Song, South Korea34-33—67 -3 Tom Vaillant, France .............. 35-32—67 -3 Julien Brun, France ................. 33-34—67 -3 Marcel Schneider, Germany . 33-34—67 -3 Rafa Cabrera Bello, Spain ..... 33-34—67 -3 Filippo Celli, Italy .................... 34-33—67 -3 Grant Forrest, Scotland ......... 34-33—67 -3 Joel Girrbach, Switzerland ..... 36-31—67 -3 Marcus Helligkilde, Denmark36-31—67 -3 Shugo Imahira, Japan ............ 35-32—67 -3 Yuta Kinoshita, Japan ............ 34-33—67 -3 Francesco Laporta, Italy ....... 34-33—67 -3 Koshiro Maeda, Japan ............. 36-31—67 -3 Adrian Otaegui, Spain ............ 34-33—67 -3 Julien Guerrier, France ........... 34-33—67 -3 Guido Migliozzi, Italy .............. 34-33—67 -3 Matthew Southgate, Eng ....... 34-33—67 -3 Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark ...... 33-34—67 -3