First Look of 2019

Ron Correll
Senior columnist
Tracksideview—-

First Look of 2019

On a very cold winter day in the Midwest, the only thing to do is look forward to warmer days and that includes the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

The purse for the 2019 Kentucky Derby has been increased to $3 million and that means that even more thoroughbred horse owners will be trying to get a piece of it. If you take into consideration the European and Japan Roads to the Derby competition, that leaves only 18 slots for American colts.

My early list will have 10 colts and some may not even have points or very few points, but as I said it is early so let’s keep that in mind.

We’ll start with Game Winner, the undefeated son of Candy Ride. He’s untested in four starts and that includes the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The Bob Baffert trainee is being pointed to the San Felipe on March 9 at Santa Anita Park in Southern California as his 3-year-old debut. If all goes well it then will be the Santa Anita Derby on April 6.

Knicks Go, a son of Paynter, gets the second spot off his second-place finish in the Juvenile. He started once after the Juvenile in the Kentucky Jockey Club and was 11th. It was over a sloppy track, so that may be something to keep in mind, since it was over the Churchill course. Ben Colebrook is the trainer.

War of Will, a son of War Front, just won the Lecomte impressively at the Fair Grounds. That was his first start on dirt after placing second in the Summer Stakes on turf. He is trained by Mark Casse and this colt’s future is definitely on dirt.

Gunmetal Gray most recently won the Sham on Jan. 5 at Santa Anita. He also was second to Game Winner in a race last fall. Jerry Hollendorfer conditions this son of Exchange Rate.

Improbable, another Bob Baffert trainee, won the Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 8. He is a son of City Zip.

Long Range Toddy, a son of Take Charge Indy, won the Springboard Mile on Dec. 16 at Remington Park. The pedigree says he’ll get a distance of ground and he’s trained by Steve Asmussen.

Wicked Indeed is another Asmussen charge and he finished a fast-closing fourth in the Lecomte. I think this son of Tapit has a lot more to offer.

The last three colts are New York based and I’ve never been a big fan of winter racing there, but we’ll see what develops. Mind Control, by Stay Thirsty, won the Jerome on Jan. 1 at Aqueduct. Maximus Mischief, by Into Mischief, won the Remsen on Dec. 1 at Aqueduct. The last is Complexity, by Maclean’s Music, and he won the Champagne on Oct. 6 at Belmont Park. Chad Brown trains Complexity and I’m sure he’ll have him in South Florida for the winner. So look for him in races there.

The next points’ race is the Smarty Jones on Jan. 25 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.