Three takeaways from the 98th running of the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland:
1. A terrific winning move by Zandon
Talk about a major move. Dead last at the three-quarter pole, Zandon fought through traffic to run down Smile Happy and give trainer Chad Brown his second Blue Grass victory. Brown’s first triumph came in 2018 with Good Magic, who had the misfortune of being in the same birth year with Triple Crown winner Justify. Zandon could be just as talented.
The son of Upstart had raced just three times coming into Saturday. After breaking his maiden on his first try, Zandon finished second in the Remsen last Dec. 4, then third in the Risen Star at Fair Grounds on Feb. 19. Still, the bettors held the colt in high enough regard to make him the second betting choice at $2.10-1 to Smile Happy at $1.90-1.
Zandon had to work to reward their confidence. He was 10th at the 1/2-mile mark, then dropped back to dead last. By the head of the stretch, however, he had moved all the way up to second, just a length behind Smile Happy. Zandon passed the leader to win by an impressive 2 1/2 lengths on a track listed as muddy/good.
The result was also a vindication of last year’s Remsen at Aqueduct. The winner of that race, Mo Donegal, won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct for trainer Todd Pletcher just before the Blue Grass.
“Maybe the Remsen will start getting some respect,” quipped Pletcher, whose colt Emmanuel finished third in the Blue Grass.
2. Kenny McPeek was not unhappy with Smile Happy
Smile Happy, the morning-line favorite at 9-5, tracked Emmanuel and Golden Glider for much of the race before taking the lead at the head of the stretch. The son of Runhappy appeared to be in prime position, only to come up empty.
“I’m not disappointed whatsoever,” trainer Kenny McPeek said afterward. “I felt like this was a good second race of the season. I thought the timing was good. And I think the third race off the layoff is going to be his best race.”
Indeed, after winning the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs last November, Smile Happy had raced just once, finishing second to Epicenter in the Risen Star on Feb. 19. Epicenter went on to win the Louisiana Derby.
McPeek’s strategy all along was to run Smile Happy just twice in preparation for the 2022 Derby. He wants to have plenty of gas in Smile Happy’s tank for the first Saturday in May.
“He got a little tired there at the end,” McPeek said. “We’re going to take a little peek at how much water he drinks and how exhausted he is. But this was a really good horse and a really good race for a horse that hasn’t run all that much.”
Runhappy was more of a sprinter, however, and there are concerns about whether Smile Happy can’t get the Derby distance.
Said McPeek, “I really feel like I can win the Derby or the Preakness with this horse. Both of them are important.”'
3. Former Baffert trainees had a mixed day
Bob Baffert, the trainer, is not eligible for the Kentucky Derby thanks to the two-year private property ban issued by Churchill Downs after 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substance. His horses were not eligible to receive Derby qualifying points until they were switched to other trainers before the final Derby preps.
One was Blackadder, winner of the El Camino Real Derby on the all-weather surface at Golden Gate on Feb. 12. It was the second win in four starts for the son of Quality Road. After that triumph, Blackadder was switched to trainer Rodolphe Brisset in hopes of earning points in the Blue Grass.
It didn’t work. Blackadder moved from seventh to fourth at the three-quarter mark, but then faltered badly and wound up ninth in the 11-horse field. He finishes the Derby prep season without a single qualifying point.
Meanwhile, out in California, Messier’s connections will have to wait and see if he has the points to make the 20-horse field. Originally trained by Baffert, Messier had run second in the Los Alamitos Futurity before winning the Robert B Lewis. In hopes of making the Derby, he was switched from Baffert to trainer Tim Yakteen before the Santa Anita Derby.
Instead, it was another former Baffert trainee that earned the 100 points at Santa Anita. In only his second race, and his first since being moved from Baffert to Yakteen, Tabia won the Santa Anita Derby over Messier, who picked up 40 points for finishing second.
