OK Derby (Grade 3)- $400.000 Purse
RP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
September 30, 2018

It may only be a Grade 3, but the OK Derby has a higher purse then all of the BC “win and you’re in” races that took place at SA on Saturday. It’s a race exclusively for three year olds, and it attracts a quality field. There will be eight going to the here, and one trainer will have three of the entries. You probably know who that is. That same trainer, Mb Stables of course, has also won this race the last two years, including Moment Of Madness back in 2016. One race later, Moment Of Madness was seen in the BC Dirt Mile, and becoming a BC champion. That would be the last race of his career, and the stallion career is going pretty well, too. Jake The Snake, the 2017 winner won the JC Gold Cup just two weeks later. That is one thing that will certainly not happen this year, as the JC Gold Cup also went this weekend. The still active gelding went on to finish fifth in the BC Classic later on. Time now to meet the field for the 2018 race!

#1- Pass Me By (Mb Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Winner of five out of eight in his career thus far, Pass Me By was never really pushed over the TC prep race season. He did appear in the LA Derby, but after that did not go well, the trainer focused on his bigger weapons, and allowed Pass Me By to be a top threat in Grade 3’s. He’s won both the Winn at CD and the Jones Stakes at PRX, and that will allow him to be a top threat here. If he does win, it will be interesting to see what the trainer did next with him, given the depth of his stable.

#2- The Judge (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Acquired by Mb Stables in private sales for $175.000, this gelding has been able to consistently hit the board. When you take out the TC prep races, his record becomes even more impressive. He’s been highly successful when running against this tier, and recently scored his first stake win, coming at DMR in the $100.000 Shared Belief. Not the biggest field there, but we should not question the judge’s orders.

#3- Di Farley (Gdp Inc, ridden by J J Castellano)- This one has had a busy 2018, and will making his 12th start of the year here. He’s won four this year, five total, but has only recently been taking on stakes company. In June, he scored a big win in the $150.000 Easy Goer, and that set him up to then run graded. Like many in here, he’s primarily run in Grade 3’s, and comes off a win in his last start at the rain soaked Super Derby, topping Bad English and Audioslave.

#4- Bad English (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by T C Baze)- Fared decently against CA-breds in the early portion of his career, but starting with the Peter Pan (Grade 3), his sights became a little higher. Finishes remained consistent, and finally in the LA Derby (Los Alamitos), also a Grade 3, he got the signature win of his career. Since then, he has followed a similar path of a couple others in here in attempting the WV Derby, and then the Super Derby. Of the three who have done the same (Di Farley and Audioslave the others), he has been the most consistent one, especially if its dry.

#5- The Chief (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- This seems to be a great spot for an up and comer, and I am little surprised we don’t have a couple more in here like The Chief. He’s still young, and through three races, his career was going no where. Then, there was likely some revised add testing that went on, and he appeared at a SAR maiden with blinkers and a shadow roll, and wired the field. The impressive start, though, was the one that came after, as he again wired the field, this time in Shipman, a $100.000 race for NY-breds. I’d put him on top if it weren’t for his neighbor in the starting gate, but I like where his career his heading.

#6- Splash Mountain (John Henry, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- This is the one to beat, but he should not be seen as being unbeatable. No one in here comes into this race with the resume of Splash Mountain. Prior to being acquired by the trainer in the Smokey Stover downsizing in June, he was already a known name, finishing third in the BEL. Things didn’t click in the Haskell for whatever reason, but he rebounded nicely in the Grade 1 Travers at SAR, running second. Just two weeks later, he was winning the BC Derby up at HST. He’s still winning, and there’s no reason to doubt him here. The field will be hoping that whatever happened at the Haskell to him, resurfaces. I wouldn’t count on that, though, and feel he won’t disappoint as the likely favorite.

#7- Quench My Soul (Mb Stables, ridden by J Bravo)- The third of the three entries from Mb Stables, and I feel they are all interchangeable in their potential to either win, or not win, this race. For Quench My Soul, this is a gelding who’s gradually been worked forward this year, and would get a win at PRX in the $100.000 Turning For Home in June, then a solid second in the Grade 3 WV Governors Stakes. I wish it ended there with his past performances, but his next race was an open allowance at GG, carrying a low weight of 114, and only managed 3rd. The race was won by Major Weiner, though, plus Caught Stealing was in the field, so perhaps it should be considered an unofficial ungraded stake.

#8- Audioslave (Alydar Stables, ridden by M E Smith)- Been mentioned a couple times already in this preview in that he also followed the path of the WV Derby followed by the Super Derby. Things went perfectly in WV, picking up the win, but he evidently hated the slop in LA. Hard to play good music in the rain, I agree. He is otherwise on a four race winning streak when not on an off track with the $100.000 Long Branch BC also considered there. Shouldn’t have to worry about an off track here, and that makes him much more appealing.

Prediction: 6-5-4-8

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES