GAME WINNER (c, Candy Ride {Arg}—Indyan Giving, by A.P. Indy)
'TDN Rising Star'. O-Gary & Mary West. B-Summer Wind Equine (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $110,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 6-4-2-0, $1,846,000.
Last Start: 2nd, GI Santa Anita Derby, SA, Apr. 6
Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 85.
If 'TDN Rising Star' Game Winner ends up wearing a blanket of roses one week from Saturday, it's because he's a been-there/done-that pro who willingly takes cues from his rider, settles into a keen and often-imposing stalk mode, then fights through adversity without shying away from confrontation. Even though he didn't beat Omaha Beach in their head-to-head tilt, he did determinedly close the gap, and this $110,000 KEESEP Candy Ride (Arg) bay did so while racing for the first time in four-plus months while the much tighter Omaha Beach was making his third start of 2019. The elusive Breeders' Cup/Derby double has only been pulled off twice in 34 previous years (by Street Sense in 2007 and Nyquist in 2016). And you have to go back to Super Saver in 2010 to find any Derby winner who did not win a sophomore race prior to winning the Derby. But Game Winner is poised to buck both of those trends, and if you like his chances, you'll be rewarded with a square price for the first time in his career. Game Winner has never gone off above 19-10 odds in his six races, but he's shaping up to be about a 5-1 second choice in the Derby.
VIDEO PPS
| FINISH | RACE |
|---|---|
| 2nd | GI Santa Anita Derby |
| 2nd | GII Rebel S. |
| 1st | GI Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile |
| 1st | GI American Pharoah S. |
| 1st | GI Del Mar Futurity |
| 1st | Maiden |
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