Red Route One

While currently ranked 28th in points and on the outside looking in for the GI Kentucky Derby, Red Route One punched his ticket to the second jewel of the Triple Crown with a win Saturday in the Bath House Row S. After bursting onto the scene with a third to Derby favorite Forte (Violence) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity last fall, Red Route One earned a pair of placings in both the GIII Southwest S. and the GII Rebel S. before faltering to sixth when last spotted in the...

A trio of graded stakes preps in Florida, California and New York yielded a reshuffled deck this past weekend as we edge within the two-month mark for the May 6 GI Kentucky Derby. 1) FORTE (c, Violence--Queen Caroline, by Blame) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable; B-South Gate Farm (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt, MGISW, 6-5-0-0, $1,833,230. Last start: Won GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 4. KY Derby Points: 90....

The first Saturday in May is the ultimate goal on the GI Kentucky Derby trail. But the first Saturday in March is often a make-or-break day on the national calendar, with key stakes in Florida, California and New York providing an uptick in intensity. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $2,300,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $544.275 Last start: 1st GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park,...

Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}), despite being, as his trainer Keith Desormeaux said, "the complete opposite of his name" in the paddock, rewarded his backers Saturday at 18-1 with a win in the GII Rebel S. and 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Breaking from the same gate as Wet Paint (Blame) won from one race prior in the GIII Honeybee S., Confidence Game raced two-wide past the stands and settled a path off the rail as the field sorted themselves out into the first turn. Powerful...

For all he's accomplished in a relatively short period of time, trainer Brad Cox yet to unsaddle a winner of the third leg of Oaklawn's 3-year-old series, the $1-million GII Rebel S. But he'll have two strong chances to right that wrong in an extremely contentious renewal Saturday afternoon. Verifying (Justify), a half-brother to champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), rounded out the exacta behind Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) in a sloppy-track running of the GI Champagne S. at Aqueduct Oct. 1 and never truly threatened in the GI Breeders' Cup...