Anneau d'Or Prepares for 3-Year-Old Return

Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) hopeful Anneau d'Or, second in photo finishes in the Nov. 1 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and the Dec. 7 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), breezed Jan. 17 as he readies for his first start as a 3-year-old, working five furlongs in 1:00 4/5 on the Tapeta surface at Golden Gate Fields. Trainer Blaine Wright added blinkers to the colt for the breeze.

"He clipped off 12s at every pole," Wright said, referring to the eighth-mile fractions. "He galloped out good and strong for us. So we'll take it day to day, get a couple of those into him, and maybe choose a race sometime next month."

The Peter Redekop-owned son of Medaglia d'Oro  is under consideration for four or five stakes in February in the lead-up to the May 2 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He has raced exclusively in California over his three starts.

Qualifying races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby next month in California include the $100,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) Feb. 1 at Santa Anita Park and the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby Feb. 15 at Golden Gate. Another race at Santa Anita for 3-year-olds—but one without Derby points—is the seven-furlong, $200,000 San Vicente Stakes (G2), a possible return spot for Juvenile winner Storm the Court.

Last year, the Redekop-owned and Wright-trained Anothertwistafate won the El Camino Real Derby. He was then second in both the Sunland Park Derby (G3) and Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) before a 10th-place finish in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

The Lewis and El Camino Real offer Derby points to their top four finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale. Anneau d'Or is second on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 12 points, trailing only Storm the Court (22).

This year, Wright is seeking to improve Anneau d'Or's finish after he fell just shy of victory in the Juvenile and Los Alamitos Futurity, races in which he pulled alongside the eventual winners in midstretch. He lost the Juvenile by a head and the Los Alamitos Futurity by a neck to Thousand Words. Those races followed an eight-length debut win on turf at Golden Gate. His three starts came without blinkers.

Video: Los Alamitos Futurity (G2)

"We've got to figure out a way to get the tables turned on those photos," Wright said. "We tried him in blinkers today. That doesn't mean he's going to (race) in them—we're just trying a couple things out. Next week we might put a horse or two in front of him, have a target and see if he will go on by them."

Wright indicated Anneau d'Or would likely have two six-furlong workouts before his 2020 debut.