CONCERT TOUR RETURNS FOR ARKANSAS DERBY TRY; WHITMORE AND C Z ROCKET RENEW RIVALRY IN COUNT FLEET

By Jennifer Hoyt —-

HOT SPRINGS, AR (Thursday, April 8, 2021) – There’s a concert tour stopping late Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn and if it’s anything like March 13, it will be another virtuoso performance.

That’s because unbeaten Concert Tour, a homebred for Gary and Mary West, will be heavily favored to enhance his credentials as a leading Kentucky Derby candidate in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles.

Probable post time for the Arkansas Derby, which will be televised live by NBC Sports Network, is 6:41 p.m. (Central). It goes as the 12th of 13 races. First post Saturday is 12:02 p.m., with the infield open, weather permitting.

The Arkansas Derby is one of four stakes Saturday at Oaklawn, the others being the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) for older horses at 6 furlongs, $400,000 Oaklawn Mile for older horses and the $250,000 Carousel for older fillies and mares at 6 furlongs.

The projected six-horse Arkansas Derby field from the rail out following Tuesday’s post-position draw: Super Stock, Ricardo Santana Jr. to ride, 122 pounds, 6-1 on the morning line; Caddo River, Florent Geroux, 122, 7-2; Hozier, Martin Garcia, 118, 3-1; Get Her Number, Francisco Arrieta, 122, 6-1; Concert Tour, Joel Rosario, 122, even money; and Last Samurai, Jon Court, 118, 15-1.

Concert Tour is coming off an eye-catching 4 ¼-length victory in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles March 13, the final major local prep for the Arkansas Derby.

Concert Tour, in his two-turn debut and first start outside Southern California, zipped to the lead under Rosario, turned back Caddo River at the quarter pole and coasted home to remain unbeaten in three starts. It marked a record eighth Rebel victory for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has owned Oaklawn’s four-race Kentucky Derby prep series the last decade.

Since the Arkansas Derby also brings back the 2-4-5-7 finishers from the Rebel, it means Concert Tour will be facing essentially the same group he dominated a month ago. Baffert trains Rebel runner-up Hozier, too.

“Those two horses, both are doing really well,” Baffert said. “It’s a short field. I’m surprised it was with all the horses that were up there this year, trying to get points.”

The Arkansas Derby will offer 170 points to the top four finishers (100-40-20-10) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby May 1 at Churchill Downs. The 1 ¼-mile race is limited to 20 starters, with starting preference given to the top 18 point earners in designated races like the Arkansas Derby. The top point earners on the European and Japan Road the Kentucky Derby will receive invitations.

Concert Tour earned 50 points for his Rebel victory and ranks No. 11 on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard compiled by Churchill Downs. Hozier (20 points) is No. 24, Grade 1 winner Get Her Number (10) is No. 29, Rebel fifth Caddo River (10) is No. 30 and Rebel fourth Super Stock (9) is No. 31. Get Her Number finished seventh in the Rebel.

Concert Tour has been on the same path as the Baffert-trained Nadal was in 2020, winning his career debut in January at Santa Anita, $200,000 San Vicente (G2) at Santa Anita in his second start and the Rebel in his third.

Nadal, like Concert Tour, was a front-running winner of the Rebel but used stalking tactics to capture the second division of the $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1). Five years earlier, Baffert’s American Pharoah was a wire-to-wire winner of the Rebel before coming from off the pace to claim the Arkansas Derby en route to sweeping the Triple Crown.

Caddo River was a front-running 10 ¼-length winner of the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 22 at Oaklawn, but chose not to engage Concert Tour early in the Rebel. Asked if believed Concert Tour would be tracking Caddo River in the Arkansas Derby, “Baffert said, “I don’t know.”
“Concert Tour’s very fast,” Baffert said. “He’s quick, really fast. I think the break is important, how you leave there. You never know what’s going to happen. You don’t know what the strategy’s going to be. I just worry about my own horses. If he (Caddo River) goes, he (Rosario) will just ride his own horse and see what he does. My other horse has speed, too. Going a mile and an eighth, it’s a different story.”

Caddo River was favored over Concert Tour in the Rebel and looks to turn the tables Saturday with a more aggressive approach early, trainer Brad Cox said. Caddo River is again drawn inside of Concert Tour.

“Little more of a free-running horse, we think,” Cox said. “It (Rebel) was just his fifth start and he was coming off a little bit of a freshening, I guess you could say, being seven weeks between races. We’re just hoping that he can kind of get a little bit more of a forward run and maybe the jock drops his hands and kind of let him do his thing and get in a big rhythm and see if that works a little better than it did last time. If it doesn’t, were in trouble – bottom line.”

In addition to American Pharoah and Nadal, Baffert won the Arkansas Derby in 2012 with Bodemeister, who rolled by 9 ½ front-running lengths. Baffert also won the last year’s first division of the Arkansas Derby with the speedy Charlatan, but he was disqualified because of a medication violation. The case is under appeal. Overall, Baffert has 16 victories in Kentucky Derby prep races at Oaklawn – all since 2010. Baffert has won the Kentucky Derby a record-tying six times.

“I just feel fortunate that I have these two after losing Life Is Good,” Baffert said, referring to an injury that knocked his unbeaten colt off the Kentucky Derby trail. “It’s pretty tough, you know, but that’s why everything works itself out for the Derby. The horse will get you there.”

The Wests won the 1993 Arkansas Derby with Rockamundo, who paid $218.

Cover Photo by Coady

WHITMORE AND C Z ROCKET RENEW RIVALRY IN COUNT FLEET

HOT SPRINGS, AR (Thursday, April 8, 2021) – So far, Whitmore and C Z Rocket have fought to a split decision. Round 3 is Saturday at Oaklawn when they tangle again in the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) for older sprinters at 6 furlongs.

“They’re two warriors,” said Peter Miller, trainer of C Z Rocket. “It’s Ali-Frazier. It’s going to be a battle. I think it will probably come down to who gets the trip.”

Round 1 went to Whitmore, who beat C Z Rocket by 3 ¼ lengths in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland for co-owner/trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs. That outcome secured Whitmore an Eclipse Award as the country’s champion male sprinter of 2020 and snapped C Z Rocket’s five-race winning streak (all the victories, including two Grade 2 stakes, came after being claimed for $40,000 last April at Oaklawn).

Round 2 went to C Z Rocket, who beat Whitmore by a neck in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes March 13 at Oaklawn. That outcome made C Z Rocket, a 7-year-old gelding, a millionaire, denied Whitmore his record-extending fifth consecutive Hot Springs victory and from becoming the outright leader in career Oaklawn stakes victories with eight (the 8-year-old gelding shares the record with Swift Ruler). Whitmore has won the Count Fleet a record three times (2017, 2018 and 2020).

“They’re very comparable horses,” Miller said. “Really super-good horses.”

Whitmore and C Z Rocket headline the Count Fleet, which has drawn a field of seven. Probable post time for the Count Fleet, which goes as the 11th of 13 races, is 6:05 p.m. (Central). First post Saturday is 12:02 p.m.

The projected lineup from the rail out: No Parole, Ramon Vazquez to ride, 118 pounds, 9-2 on the morning line; Whitmore, Ricardo Santana Jr., 123, 9-5; Mojo Man, Francisco Arrieta, 116, 8-1; Strike Power, Joel Rosario, 117, 5-1; Empire of Gold, David Cabrera, 117, 8-1; C Z Rocket, Florent Geroux, 122, 2-1; and Mr. Jagermeister, Rocco Bowen, 116, 12-1.

Whitmore and C Z Rocket were making their first starts since the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in the Hot Springs. Both races were 6 furlongs. Tipping the scales, so slightly, in C Z Rocket’s favor last month may have been geography. He was training in Southern California, while Whitmore’s routine in Arkansas was interrupted for roughly two weeks by severe winter weather. Oaklawn lost 11 days of training (Feb. 12-22) to snow and arctic temperatures.

“We missed two works,” said Laura Moquett, who assists her husband and regularly gallops Whitmore, a career winner of almost $4.3 million. “That stunk. And he went five-wide. Had he gone on the rail and missed two works, maybe it would have been even. Had he had the two works and gone five-wide, maybe it would have been even. But doing both – missing two works and going five-wide – it’s not possible.”

Whitmore has had two half-mile works since the Hot Springs. Miller has kept a small string of horses at Oaklawn, but he opted to send C Z Rocket back to Southern California following the Hot Springs. The gelding has posted two works at his home base, San Luis Rey Downs.

“We were torn,” Miller said. “Leave him there or bring him home? Just with the weather there and everything like that, we thought it was prudent to bring him back.”

C Z Rocket was flown back to Arkansas Wednesday. He and Whitmore figure to again have plenty of pace to chase Saturday with the presence of Grade 1 winner No Parole, 2020 Breeders’ Cup fourth Empire of Gold, multiple stakes winner Mr. Jagermeister and Grade 3 winner Strike Power, who has the fastest 6-furlong time of the 2021 Oaklawn meet (1:08.91).

“Lots of pace,” Miller said. “There’s definitely lots of pace. We’re just going to leave it up to Flo.”

Let Round 3 begin.