Mr. Coker offers good 2nd option

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer’s best 3- year- old is the sensational undefeated champion Songbird, but she is a filly and wasn’t nominated to the Triple Crown. His next best might be Mr. Coker, who runs in the Grade 3, $ 200,000 El Camino Real Derby on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields.

Hollendorfer purchased Mr. Coker for $ 300,000 on behalf of owner Steve Beneto at the Keeneland Fall Yearling Sale in 2014. The chestnut colt ran twice on dirt at Santa Anita, finishing second to the highly regarded Danzing Candy going 7 furlongs in his Dec. 26 debut and then winning a 6 ½ - furlong maiden event Jan. 18.

The El Camino Real Derby is 11⁄ miles, and it’s on the Tapeta Footings synthetic surface with a field of 14 headed by California Derby winner Frank Conversation.

The eighth race in the nine- race program, the El Camino Real Derby has a 4: 43 p. m. post time.

“He was a very nice colt at the sale and he’s shown us a lot,” said Hollendorfer of Mr. Coker. “His breeding suggests he’ll run on synthetic really well. I don’t think we’re worrying about three races in seven weeks.

“The horse is doing well and that’s the main thing. The guy who has been riding him ( Santiago Gonzalez) wanted to ride him no matter where he goes, so he’s on him Saturday.”

Gonzalez is second in the jockey standings at Santa Anita after winning the title at Los Alamitos and finishing second at the Del Mar fall meet.

Indications of Mr. Coker’s potential are that in his 3 ¼ - length loss to Danzing Candy he finished 10 ¾ lengths ahead of the third horse and that Danzing Candy then won a 1- mile allowance event by 5 ¾ lengths.

“That horse could end up anywhere,” Hollendorfer said.

Mr. Coker is one of eight male 3- year- olds Hollendorfer nominated to the Triple Crown at the $ 600 first deadline.

“We have some ones that are a little bit late- developing; he seems to be one of the best,” Hollendorfer said.

The trainer also put to rest any notion of a late nomination for Songbird, who has won all five of her starts decisively.

“She’s not running in the ( Kentucky) Derby and that’s carved in monumental stone,” he said. “There’s no reason to do it other than you have a huge ego that you want to win the Derby with a filly. It doesn’t make her twice as valuable as winning the ( Kentucky) Oaks. If we can keep her around, she can run in a big race at the end of the year.”