Sunland Derby: Castaway and Daddy Nose Best Square off
Castaway and Daddy Nose Best headline a field of eight contenders for the winner's purse of the $800,000 Grade III Sunland Derby.
A win here will assure the winner a spot on the Kentucky Derby starting gate.
Castaway (17th) and Daddy Nose Best (19th) are in the top 20 in graded earnings, but with three big Grade I and some Grade II races still ahead, it's better to get the earnings issue checked-in.
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Castaway (ML 2/1), trained by Bob Baffert, comes from winning the first division of the Southwest Stakes. He won it drawing away from the field in the final furlong and finished with plenty of energy.
The son of Street Sense has won two in a row and in his last race he showed he can rate off the lead. He chased down the pace-setting Majestic Pride, got by him and edged away to win by 4.75 lengths.
Rafael Bejarano is back aboard Castaway. The colt has been working very well for this race, including a blazing 1:11 3/5 workout for six furlongs. That was the second-best workout for that distance on that day.
His status as the favorite is justified.
Daddy Nose Best (ML 3/1), trained Steven Asmussen, comes from winning the El Camino Real Derby by a nose after tracking down Lucky Chappy in the home stretch.
The son of Scat Daddy earned a career-best 93 Beyer figure on that race. That is one better than Castaway's 92 in the Southwest. But there are two differences on those figures.
First, Castaway did it running away from his opponents. Second, Daddy Nose Best's was on a synthetic track, while Castaway did it on a dirt track.
The Sunland Derby is run on traditional dirt.
Daddy Nose Best has not run on dirt since his first two races. His last seven races—including the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf—were either on turf or synthetic. He has been working out in Santa Anita's main dirt track, including a 1:00 1/5 timed workout for five furlongs.
Still, I would like to see him perform well on dirt before picking him to win.
Isn't He Clever (ML 4/1), trained by Henry Dominguez, is the hometown favorite. The son of Sharp Minister has won four-of-six races, including the Borderland Derby prior to this race.
He has been worse than second only once—a fifth place in the Grade II Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita. He set a scorching pace and weakened in the final quarter mile.
He is two-for-two at Sunland and has been working very well up to this race. His last workout was a :59 2/5 for five furlongs—the best that day.
This horse is very dangerous.
Ender Knivel (ML 6/1) is trained by Todd Pletcher. He will be ridden by Pletcher's main call rider John Velazquez who comes from winning the Spiral Stakes on Saturday.
This horse is an intriguing prospect. He is going two turns for the first time. He has shown very good speed and stamina so far.
His pedigree suggests he can run all day. His sire is 2011 America's leading sire Distorted Humor, who is a son of Forty Niner. And his dam grand sire is champion sire and Belmont Stakes and Breeders Cup Classic winner AP Indy.
The main question remains on how he can handle the new added distance. I liked his loss to Thunder Mocassin, even when it was at only 6.5 furlongs. He showed he can rate and has a great turn of foot. He just got out run that day by a faster horse.
I like this horse on all bets.
The other horse with some chance is Stirred Up. Just the fact that he is trained by Bob Baffert makes you consider him. But the son of Lemon Drop Kid has been running steady Beyers while increasing distances on every race.
Jockey Martin Garcia knows him perfectly, and a possible battle up front could serve him well to come from off the pace.
This race is not an easy call even when you factor in the favorite Castaway. He should take advantage of his inside post and go for the lead off the gate.
I expect the race to be contested by Castaway, Ender Knivel and Isn't He Clever. If these three would weaken thanks to a contested pace, I would expect Stirred Up to come from way off the pace and get them.
Daddy Nose Best has to demonstrate he can run well on dirt before being considered here.
I like Isn't He Clever as my favorite to win the race, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ender Knivel has a big run on him for this race. This will be his second race under the Pletcher-Velazquez duo and considering how he won his last, he will be hard to beat.
What concerns me about Castaway is if he peaked too soon on his last race and bounces on this race. If he doesn't then expect him to repeat his Southwest win.
This should be a race where the jockeys will have a huge impact on the outcome of the race. So if you like tactical races, this is one for you.
Sunland Derby | Grade III | Purse: $800,000 | Distance: 1-1/8 Mile | Post Time: 5:45 p.m. CT
| 1 | Castaway | R. Bejarano | B. Baffert | 2/1 |
| 2 | Ender Knivel | J.R. Velazquez | T. Pletcher | 6/1 |
| 3 | Stirred Up | M. Garcia | B. Baffert | 8/1 |
| 4 | Isn't He Clever | L. Contreras | H. Dominguez | 4/1 |
| 5 | No Spin | C. Hill | T. Ice | 8/1 |
| 6 | Daddy Nose Best | J. Leparoux | S. Asmussen | 3/1 |
| 7 | Tequila Factor | M.G. Hernandez | C. Wilson | 15/1 |
| 8 | Justanoldsong | R. Eikelberry | D. Wolochuk | 20/1 |
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