Sideline Could be 'Blessing in Disguise' for Authentic

There was a time in the winter when Jack Wolf expected this weekend to be a busy and memorable time.

Wolf and his wife, Laurie, planned to travel west with their young son, Jake. A big part of it involved seeing their daughter, Elinor, play her senior weekend games for the University of Colorado women's lacrosse team.

The COVID-19 pandemic ended those thoughts as well as the Buffs' season.

The trip also involved a stop in California, specifically at Santa Anita Park, where Wolf and friends figured to have the favorite in the April 4 Santa Anita Derby (G1) in the unbeaten Authentic.

Those plans were also scrapped as racing at Santa Anita was halted March 27 to combat the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, the prospective starters in the Santa Anita Derby stayed in their stalls Saturday while Wolf spent the day at home in Louisville watching races from Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park on television and hearing about some rather familiar horses.

"I'm watching horse racing on Fox Sports 1, and they were talking about how great Authentic is and now they're talking about Nadal, and I guess the next one they'll talk about is Charlatan," Wolf said. "Obviously, we would have loved for the Kentucky Derby (G1) to go on as scheduled, but maybe that does help a horse like Charlatan. We were cramming a lot in there for him."

All three of those horses are undefeated 3-year-olds with Triple Crown aspirations trained by Bob Baffert, with Wolf's Starlight Racing owning a share of Authentic and Charlatan. 

Authentic, a son of Into Mischief , is owned by Starlight, SF Racing, Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, Fred Hertrich III, John Fielding, and Golconda Stables. He loomed as a solid favorite in the Santa Anita Derby off a 3-for-3 record and a 2 1/4-length score in the San Felipe Stakes (G2) in his most recent start.

The pandemic changed plans for Saturday and the first Saturday in May, with the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve moved to Sept. 5. 

"This might be a blessing in disguise for Authentic," Wolf said. "He has a world of talent and the points (to run in the Kentucky Derby). You hate to back off them when they are in good form, but it may work out fine as long as Bob can keep him sound between now and September, which is the $24 million question."

As Wolf mentioned, by virtue of wins in the San Felipe and Sham Stakes (G3), Authentic has 60 qualifying points, which should be more than enough to earn a spot in the starting gate for the Run for the Roses. It also means Baffert can pick a new spot for Authentic without worrying about how many qualifying points are up for grabs.

The situation is different for Charlatan. A son of Speightstown , he's owned by the same group that races Authentic, with the exception of Stonestreet Stables, which bred the colt, also being involved in the partnership.

Charlatan has yet to race in stakes company and has no qualifying points, but his two starts in maiden and allowances were jaw-dropping. Much akin to 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify , who was owned at various times by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Kumin, Charlatan did not make his debut for Baffert until Feb. 16 of his 3-year-old season and romped by a combined 16 lengths in his two races.

As dazzling as his debut was, when he won by 5 3/4 lengths, Charlatan was even more brilliant when stretched out to two turns in a one-mile March 14 allowance-level race at Santa Anita and cruised by 10 1/4 lengths.

"You're supposed to bounce off a race like his first start," Wolf said. "Not to get ahead of ourselves, but this horse looks like he has all kinds of talent. The question mark for Charlatan was two turns, and he did it impressively."

Because Charlatan needs Kentucky Derby points, Wolf said the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park, which offers a total of 170 points, could be on the horizon for the unbeaten runner.

Nadal, who won the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn, also could be in the mix for what may turn out to be a crowded starting gate for the Arkansas Derby.

"Even if they split it, that may not be enough for all the horses who want to run it," Wolf said about the Arkansas Derby, which awards 100 qualifying points to the winner.

Charlatan was priced at 5-1 and Authentic 10-1 in this weekend's round of Kentucky Derby future wagering, as of 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

Beyond the Arkansas Derby, there are question marks surrounding the other major races for 3-year-olds, making it impossible to map out schedules or targets for both horses as well as the group's grade 1 winner, Eight Rings, who has yet to race at 3.

"There's too much uncertainty," Wolf said. "At this point, you don't even know for sure when they will run the Preakness (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1)."

As much as Wolf is mindful of the dangers caused by the pandemic, he wishes Santa Anita could have continued to race without fans, as it did before the shutdown, much like Gulfstream, Oaklawn, and Tampa Bay Downs are doing now.

"I think it's a mistake," the Starlight Racing founder said about closing the racetrack. "I don't know what the local governments would have to do, but if the tracks could have figured out a way to race with the closed doors, that would have been the correct way to go. All the people are probably less exposed in the afternoon than the morning workouts, and it would give trainers races to point toward."

The pandemic has also forced 2-year-old sales to be pushed back, impacting potential buyers like Starlight, SF, and Madaket, a group of owners and bloodstock advisers Baffert dubbed "The Avengers." Wolf said his partnership with SF Racing and Madaket Stables was able to acquire one horse privately at the recent Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. He can see how the situation is causing a strain on pinhookers but believes it could, in turn, provide some bargains for outfits that continue to shop for young horses.

"The prices will probably be softer (at sales) because people need to move stock. Pinhookers' whole thing is to get yearlings and sell them in March, April, and May. Their stock has to move, or this will make the 2008 recession look like chump change," Wolf said. "Our partnership with SF didn't buy as many yearlings as budgeted last year at Saratoga and Keeneland, so we had some extra money this year. I haven't reached out to partners to find out how much they want to spend at sales, and all of this might scare some of them away, but I have great faith in the industry to pull through.

"Some of the new things we're seeing like online bidding at sales make sense and might even make the industry more economically efficient in the future."