LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Will Walden had a bit of a troubled trip on Saturday at Churchill Downs, as he and his family were stuck in an elevator between races midway through the card.
“We had a little family bonding session in the elevator,” Walden deadpanned. “The children got a little restless, but we're all good.”
While they were trapped, Walden and his wife Tessa were doing some kidding around, which turned out to be prophetic.
“My wife said midway through the event that it would be cool if there were a bunch of firemen with mustaches waiting on the other side of the door,” Walden said. “I'll be damned, the doors opened, and there's three firemen standing there with mustaches. I said, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Walden’s trainee Minaret Station, who had a premature end to his juvenile season last year, didn’t get an ideal trip Saturday at Churchill Downs, either. The $250,000 American Derby unfolded with a crawling pace in a field that scratched down to five 3-year-olds, but Minaret Station wasn’t kidding around in the stretch, unleashing a powerful turn of foot to land a half-length victory.
It was the colt’s first start since winning the Grade 2 Bourbon Stakes on Oct. 6 at Keeneland. The colt subsequently traveled to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup, but wound up being scratched after an unsettled journey. Walden said the colt pawed in the van from Kentucky to the Cincinnati airport, through the flight to California, and then in the van from the airport to Del Mar.
“His pastern swelled up,” Walden said. “The state vets didn't like the way it looked. We didn't like the way it looked, but felt like it was purely cosmetic. But once we decided to withdraw him, we were gonna give him the winter off, anyway.”
The Instilled Regard colt, who races as a homebred for Larry Best's OXO Equine, got back on the worktab on May 6 and turned in eight breezes prior to his 3-year-old debut.
“Thought he had a really good 2-year-old campaign, and needed to grow up,” Walden said. “Physically, he has, but mentally, he’s still got a ways to go. Still wants to lay on his competition – he’ll do it in races, he’ll do it in the mornings. He’ll kind of play around, mess around. When this horse finally grows out of being a boy into a man and waits on the rider for his cues, he’s gonna have a really big future.”
Minaret Station ($7.44) and regular rider Cristian Torres were third approaching the quarter pole of the American Derby. He was about two lengths behind Freedom’s Not Free, who had gotten away with splits of 25.71 seconds for the quarter, 50.74 for the half, and 1:14.75 for six furlongs on a course officially rated firm, but which horsemen indicated had plenty of give in it.
Freedom’s Not Free looked to be kicking on in upper stretch, but despite the leader’s ideal trip, he was set upon in the final sixteenth, with Minaret Station and Native Runner surging from third and fourth, respectively. At the wire, Minaret Station scored by half a length over Native Runner. It was another half to Freedom’s Not Free, who saved third by a nose over Siesta Key. Well back in fifth was Tiztastic, who never could get a rally going into the slow pace. Tiztastic was sent away favored in his first start since finishing 10th in the Kentucky Derby; the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner was a stakes winner on turf last year.
The time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:44.29.
The American Derby field was halved from its original 10 entries, with the final defection coming just about an hour earlier, as second choice Reagan’s Wit was withdrawn after trainer Cherie DeVaux observed the turf conditions. The colt has been entered back in the Grade 3, $200,000 Manila Stakes on July 4 at Saratoga.
Flying Mohawk, also returning to turf after a Kentucky Derby tilt, breezed Saturday morning at Churchill, and has been entered in the Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Derby on July 4 at Saratoga. Anegada, Giocoso, and Soleil Volant were the other scratches; Anegada has been entered in an allowance race on July 5 at Ellis Park, while Soleil Volant finished third in the $100,000 Tale of the Cat Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth.
Meanwhile, the next outing for Minaret Station will be the Grade 1, $750,000 Saratoga Derby on Aug. 2 – the race that follows the Belmont Derby in New York’s turf series. Walden said he worked backward from the Saratoga Derby in selecting the American Derby as a prep. So far, the trip is smooth.
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