Wright Hopes Anneau d'Or Can Rebound in Arkansas Derby

Trainer Blaine Wright is done with trying to figure out what went wrong with Anneau d'Or's first start at 3.

Back in mid-February, Wright was as confident as everyone else that the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) runner-up would turn in a solid effort in his season debut.

Anneau d'Or, quite logically, was bet down to an even-money favorite in the second division of the Feb. 15 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2). After all, the son of Medaglia d'Oro 's final races at 2 for owner Peter Redekop were a head loss at 28-1 odds to 2-year-old champion Storm the Court in the Juvenile and a second-place finish, a neck behind the highly touted Thousand Words, in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2).

"We came within a head and a neck of an Eclipse Award," Wright said.

Yet in the Risen Star, Anneau d'Or turned in a highly disappointing run. Equipped with blinkers and ridden by Joel Rosario—both for the first time—the $480,000 2-year-old buy was bumped at the start and never recovered while finishing ninth, 12 3/4 lengths behind the victorious Modernist.

"I still don't know what to make of his race in the Risen Star, and I'm not dwelling on that anymore," Wright said. "You come away from that race saying, 'Huh?' The horse was happy, healthy. Was it one thing? A combination of a lot of things? Who knows?"

Wright is now focused on the future, specifically May 2 when Anneau d'Or will return to the races in the first division of the $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/8-mile stakes could assure the bay colt of a spot in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

"He's doing good—otherwise, we wouldn't be here," said Wright, who was the leading trainer at Emerald Downs in 2016-17 and second in the standings the past two seasons. "We still have to prove he's coming along as a 3-year-old, but he's training forwardly and we're doing a few things differently."

One of the changes involved shipping from Wright's winter base at Golden Gate Fields in California to Oaklawn Park the Sunday before the Arkansas Derby. For the Risen Star, the colt arrived the Wednesday before race day.

Wright is also taking the blinkers off and putting Juan Hernandez, who rode Anneau d'Or in his three starts before the Risen Star, back in the saddle. They will break from post 8.

"It was a catastrophe from the start," Wright said about the Risen Star. "We got in late Wednesday and had some curveballs thrown at us, and with a young horse, you never know how they react to all of that. He traveled well, even though it was the first (time) he flew. It's just one of those things where you take a deep breath and let's work toward another race."

The Arkansas Derby looms as an important litmus test for Anneau d'Or as it should provide some insight into whether the Risen Star was merely a glitch and he rates among the top 3-year-olds, or if he has fallen victim to the malaise that has gripped the Juvenile field, which has combined for just two wins from 17 starts since the World Championships.

Before the Risen Star, Anneau d'Or turned in three strong starts at 2, winning his debut on turf at Golden Gate by eight lengths prior to the two graded stakes engagements. To get back on track as one of the division's leaders, he'll need a return to top form against a classy array of 10 rivals that includes trainer Bob Baffert's undefeated Charlatan; Gouverneur Morris, who was fourth in the Curlin Florida Derby (G1); and Runhappy Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner Basin.

In a racing season turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright was hoping to run his 3-year-old in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) as a final prep for the Kentucky Derby. But when the Run for the Roses was moved from Saturday to Sept. 5, and the Arkansas Derby shifted from April 11 to Saturday to plug the void, Wright joined the long list of horsemen who saw the Oaklawn stakes as a highly inviting backup plan.

The nine-furlong test can also earn Anneau d'Or a ticket to the Run for the Roses as it will award 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers.

"We want to accumulate some points for the Kentucky Derby," said Wright, whose colt already has 12 qualifying points. "That's why we're here. Our goal was the Santa Anita Derby, and it's a shame he didn't get to run there because he flourishes over that track. But this is a competitive enough field, and you have to show you belong. If you don't belong with these horses, you probably don't want to move along on the Triple Crown trail. We'll find out Saturday."

Wright and Redekop gained Triple Crown experience last year in the Preakness Stakes (G1) with Anothertwistafate, a son of Scat Daddy bought for $360,000 from the Wavertree Stables consignment at the 2018 Ocala Breeders' Sales June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale. The grade 3-placed El Camino Real Derby winner has been sidelined since finishing 10th in the second leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course.

A Seattle Times story reported that Wright was the first locally based trainer to send out a Triple Crown starter since 1956, and he's hoping to making it two in a row with Anneau d'Or.

Bred by Highland Yard and the first foal out of the Tapit  mare Walk Close, Anneau d'Or was purchased by Redekop and his bloodstock adviser, Alistair Roden, for $480,000 from the Tom McCrocklin consignment at the 2019 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

"I wasn't involved in the purchases," said Wright, who started training on a regular basis in 2006 and has 783 winners from 3,864 starters with earnings of $14.7 million. "Alistair Roden and Mr. Redekop picked him out, and if you see him in the flesh, you know what they liked about him. He's a big, beautiful, imposing horse. He had a super workout at the sale, and anybody could have bought him there. I was lucky enough to have him dropped off in my hands. 

"They are picking out good horses and making me look good."

If Anneau d'Or can run to expectations Saturday, his connections will be looking better than ever.