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Tiztastic wins Saturday's Louisiana Derby, landing a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Photo courtesy of Fair Grounds
March 25 (UPI) -- Tiztastic and Final Gambit added their names to the still unsettled Kentucky Derby mix with weekend victories, while last year's Breeders' Cup Classic winner tossed in a clunker in his return to action.
Good Cheer established herself as a leading Kentucky Oaks candidate and Red Route One posted a big win at Oaklawn Park.
And on the international front, it was a decent day Down Under for favorites at Rosehill Gardens' Golden Slipper Day. In Hong Kong, it was a great day for the most unlikely of runners in the BMW Hong Kong Derby.
Away we go.
The Road to the Roses
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Red Route One wins Saturday's Essex Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park
Tiztastic, underwhelming in his last four starts, put it all together in Saturday's $1 million Grade II Fasig-Tipton Louisiana Derby, circling most of his rivals in the stretch to win by 2 1/4 lengths, full of run.
He finished the 1 3/16 miles, just a sixteenth of a mile short of the Kentucky Derby distance, in 1:56.20 with Joel Rosario up and showing no signs of slowing down.
The Tiz the Law colt earned 100 points on the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" standings. Added to 19 points accrued earlier, that places him in the No. 1 spot. Chunk of Gold chunked up to finish second, banking 50 points and Instant Replay came from last of 10 to get 25.
Tiztastic won twice on the turf last year but has struggled since while in top company on the dirt.
"He's stepping forward when he needs to," said trainer Steve Asmussen, who still seeks his first Kentucky Derby win.
Long shot Final Gambit, a Not This Time colt coming off a maiden win, won Saturday's $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks on the Turfway Park all-weather track. He also earned 100 "Road" points to stand second behind Tiztastic on the leaderboard.
Final Gambit may seem an unlikely Kentucky Derby candidate, but his connections argue differently. Anything bred and owned by Juddmonte and trained by Brad Cox, as he is, deserves attention. Juddmonte's Garrett O'Rourke said about a potential Kentucky Derby run: "Everything is on the table at the moment."
The Road to the Oaks
There were two "sure things" on Saturday's Fair Grounds program, but only one of them, Good Cheer, turned out to be the real deal.
The Medaglia d'Oro filly, a Godolphin homebred trained by Brad Cox, did it in style, dominating seven rivals with a pace-stalking, 3 1/2-length victory in the $300,000 Grade II Fasig-Tipton Fair Grounds Oaks.
She not only ran her record to 6-for-6 but also earned 100 points on the "Road to the Kentucky Oaks" leaderboard, landing in the No. 1 slot. Cox said the filly will go directly to the big race at Churchill Downs in six weeks' time.
"Six weeks before the Oaks," Cox said. "She's 6-for-6 and the pressure's on. It was on. And it stays on."
Classic
The second of those two "can't-miss" runners on Saturday's Louisiana Derby card at Fair Grounds, 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone, managed to not only miss, but actually finished a well-whipped third in the $500,000 Grade II New Orleans Classic, 4 1/2 lengths back of the winner, state-bred Touchuponastar.
Hall of Fame was second, and if either of the other two starters had run a lick, Sierra Leone might have finished fourth or last.
Sierra Leone's rider, Flavien Prat, said his colt "never got into a rhythm. He was struggling to keep up the pace. He made a run late, but those horses were all running away."
Red Route One, a 5-year-old son of Gun Runner, charged up from last, got through between rivals at the top of the stretch in Saturday's $500,000 Grade III Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park and kicked away to a 4 1/2-length victory. Tarantino and Speed Bias filled the trifecta slots.
Red Route One, with Keith Asmussen up for father-trainer Steve, ran 1 1/8 miles of fast track in 1:51.67.
Around the world, around the clock
Australia
Favorites took three of the five Group 1 events on Saturday's Golden Slipper Day program at Rosehill Gardens but the slipper didn't quite fit the most-fancied runner in the big race.
Marhoona, at 7-1, won the Aus$5 million TAB Golden Slipper, the world's richest race for 2-year-olds, by a short head from Coolmore's Wodeton with the favorite, Godolphin's Tempted, another 1/2 length short.
Via Sistina was best of the favorites, rolling home first by 1 1/2 lengths in the 2,000-meter Ranvet Stakes.
Broadsiding just did justify his favorite status in the Sky Racing Rosehill Gardens Guineas, holding off late-flying filly Aelina by a nose after 2,000 meters.
Private Henry did a bit better as favorite in the Kia Ora Galaxy Stakes, winning by 3/4 lengths from Front Page.
The Agency George Ryder Stakes came down to tight finish among three, with Gringotts first by a nose over Fangirl.
Hong Kong
Cap Ferrat scored his first-ever win in his biggest-ever race, Sunday's BMW Hong Kong Derby at Sha Tin Racecourse. The Snitzel gelding got a dream trip with Craig Williams at the controls, stalking the pace before slipping through on the inside to take the lead in the stretch.
He also got some breaks as the horse who turned out to be his chief rival, My Wish, had to come from last after starting from the outside gate and missed by just a whisker of catching the winner.
Cap Ferrat was winless in 13 starts in Australia and three more in Hong Kong and finished 12th and ninth in the two Derby preps, prompting the local punters to send him off at 25-1 odds.
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