Inside the Trip: Super Saturday Preview

El Kabeir looks to have a shorter trip in the Gotham Stakes. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
Racing fan in America? This Saturday is a treasure trove of big races from coast-to-coast. And don’t forget, if you plan on following the Dubai World Cup meeting on March 28 (likely to feature California Chrome, Constitution, Ron The Greek, Main Sequence, and many others), you should probably be up for their big day of prep races, known as Super Saturday, which begins at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time.
The recent races of several key horses running in stakes events at Tampa Bay Downs, Aqueduct, and Santa Anita are all worth revisiting in advance of the monster day ahead.
Tampa Bay Downs
Ocean Knight returns for the biggest race of the season at Tampa Bay Downs, running in the Tampa Bay Derby, after a hard-fought victory in the Sam F. Davis on January 31. In that last start the three-year-old son of Curlin broke from gate eleven and was stuck wide throughout. He covered a commodious amount of ground, going farther than all but one of his competitors in the 12 horse field. By the time they reached the finish, the Kiaran McLaughlin trainee ran 59 feet (about seven lengths) more than second-placer Divining Rod, 24 feet (about 2 ¾ lengths) more than the third-place finisher My Johnny Be Good, and 38 feet (about 4 ½ lengths) more than Ami’s Flatter in fourth.
While winning the Sam Davis by just a neck, Ocean Knight averaged 37.7 MPH, at least 0.4 MPH more than the rest of the field. Divining Rod averaged 37.3 MPH, My Johnny Be Good came in at 37.2, and Ami’s Flatter at 37.0.
This Saturday Ocean Knight breaks from gate two and should have a more ground-saving, and energy-saving, trip.
One race prior to the Tampa Bay Derby brings us the Grade 3 Hillsborough on the turf. Stephanie’s Kitten, a hard-charging second in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, makes her seasonal return to the races. In that last prestigious event, she covered 69 feet (about 8 lengths) more than wire-to-wire winner Dayatthespa, and ran the fastest final quarter and eighth. This race is notably shorter at just 8 ½ furlongs, but drawn cozily in two, she is likely to get a much better trip in this obviously softer spot.
STEPHANIE'S KITTEN WINNING THE FLOWER BOWL LAST FALL

Aqueduct
El Kabeir has also had the unfortunate luck of wide trips in his last few starts. In the Withers on February 7, he ran second after breaking from gate seven and was wide from the jump. Far From Over snuck up the inside under an eye-catching rally to win by 1 ½ lengths, but it would seem imprudent to ignore El Kabeir’s wide trip. He ran 53 feet more than Far From Over, the equivalent of 6 ¼ lengths. Two starts back in the Jerome, El Kabeir covered more ground than the next five subsequent finishers, running 18, 25, 47, 56, and 44 feet more than them, respectively. He was drawn in gate eight on that occasion, and despite the trip, still managed a 4 ¼ length victory.
It’s possible the wide trips have slipped under the radar as El Kabeir was the longest individually-priced chance in the most recent Kentucky Derby Future Wager, sent off at 47-1. Now, he is drawn in gate four for the Gotham and with Far From Over bypassing the race and Ocean Knight rerouted to the Tampa Bay Derby, there is no escaping El Kabeir is the favorite.   
Santa Anita
Bronzo enters the Santa Anita Handicap following two very wide trips in his two previous races. On January 10 in the San Pasqual, Bronzo was sixth behind Hoppertunity, who had it all his own way with an inside trip. Bronzo was not so lucky. Drifting wide throughout, the Chilean import covered 77 feet more than the winner to finish 4 ¾ lengths behind him. However, as there is about 8.5 feet for every length, Bronzo’s extra distance covered equates to 9 lengths more than the Hoppertunity, a huge margin.
In his subsequent start in the San Antonio, Bronzo ran a decent fourth behind the elite duo of Shared Belief and California Chrome, with the familiar Hoppertunity a well-beaten third. Yet again, though, Bronzo suffered a wide trip. While Shared Belief has repeatedly covered extra ground in his starts, running 25 feet more than California Chrome and 48 feet more than Hoppertunity, Bronzo went even farther than Shared Belief, covering 11 feet more than the winner. As such, that suggests he went even farther than the other three rivals that finished in front of Bronzo.
Shared Belief is going to be very difficult to beat, but if Bronzo was able to work out a ground-saving trip under new jockey Tyler Baze, he might have a chance to make a bigger impact in the placings.
Mackenzie Kirker-Head contributed to this report.