Caddo River Battles Concert Tour, Six Others in Rebel

Owner and Arkansas resident John Ed Anthony has won the Rebel Stakes (G2) five times, the most of any owner in the race, and will be back in the $1 million contest March 13 at Oaklawn Park with Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prospect Caddo River.

A homebred son of Hard Spun  for Anthony's Shortleaf Stable, Caddo River will make his first start since his frontrunning, 10 1/4-length romp in the Jan. 22 Smarty Jones Stakes at a mile at Oaklawn. He'll stretch out an extra sixteenth of a mile for Saturday's race, which offers Road to the Kentucky Derby points on a 50-20-10-5 scale to its top four finishers. The Brad Cox trainee has returned to Oaklawn off a trio of five-furlong works at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, most recently a 1:00 1/5 move March 6.

"This will be my first adventure to the races since last year with COVID restrictions and everything," Anthony said. "As it turns out, I've had my shots, and it seems that the pressure is relenting a bit, so I do intend to attend the races this weekend with my wife, Isabel."

Anthony, with his former Loblolly Stable, previously won the Rebel with Temperence Hill (1980), Vanlandingham (1984)—both eventual champions—Demons Begone (1987), Pine Bluff (1992), and Dalhart (1993).

"It's been a long time since we won the Rebel, but it's good to be back participating, and hopefully, we'll have some luck," Anthony said.

Video: Smarty Jones S. (BT)

Caddo River will break from the rail in the eight-horse field and will have Florent Geroux aboard for the third straight time. Geroux also piloted Caddo River to a 9 1/2-length mile maiden win Nov. 15 at Churchill Downs, the colt's third of four starts.

"We'll see how it goes," Cox said. "(Caddo River is) doing great. We couldn't ask him to be training any better. He hasn't missed anything. He's on a great schedule and training like the part."

Bob Baffert, the winningest trainer in Rebel history, has entered a pair of 3-year-olds making only their third start in Saturday's race. The Hall of Famer has won the Rebel seven times, including with eventual 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah . His top prospect this year is Gary and Mary West's unbeaten homebred Concert Tour. The Street Sense  colt will receive a two-turn test after catching stablemate Freedom Fighter to win by a hard-fought half-length in the Feb. 6 San Vicente Stakes (G2) going seven furlongs at Santa Anita Park.

"The timing's right for this horse, Concert Tour. He's sort of on the same path as Nadal," Baffert said, referring to his 2020 San Vicente and Rebel winner. "It's all about timing. This race happened to come up perfect timing for him. So, we'll stretch him out. We're getting close now. I just want to see a good effort out of him, see how he's going to ship, how he's going to handle the ship, then shipping to run against some really nice horses. This is where we start to see if they're fit or not on the road to the Derby."

Concert Tour tuned up for the stretch out with a six-furlong work in 1:11 2/5 March 6 at Santa Anita. He'll retain jockey Joel Rosario in post 7.

Video: San Vicente S. (G2)

Baffert also entered Hozier, who broke his maiden second time out Feb. 15 racing 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita. The Pioneerof the Nile colt is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Golconda Stable, Siena Farm, and Robert Masterson. He was a $625,000 purchase with agent Donato Lanni from Taylor Made Sales Agency in 2019 at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale in New York.

"I would have preferred an allowance race for him, but we just couldn't get them to fill out here," Baffert said. "It's tough. So, I thought, 'Well, he's doing good and maybe like Spielberg (second to champion 2-year-old male Essential Quality in the Feb. 27 Southwest Stakes, G3, at Oaklawn) he'll get a little piece of it or something.' If things go crazy on the front end, you never know."

Also coming from the West Coast is Peter Miller-trained Get Her Number, a Dialed In  colt owned by Gary Barber making his first start since winning the Sept. 26 American Pharoah Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita. 

Making a delayed seasonal bow will be Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith, and Spendthrift Farm's Keepmeinmind. The last-to-first winner of the Nov. 28 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) was originally set to make his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest Stakes, which was moved from Feb. 15 to Feb. 27 due to severe winter weather. Following lost training from frozen tracks at Oaklawn, trainer Robertino Diodoro aimed the Laoban  colt for the Rebel instead of running two weeks earlier in the Southwest.

At 2, Keepmeinmind was second and third, respectively, in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) and TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1). Both races, run at 8 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland, were won by Cox-trained Essential Quality.

The Kentucky Jockey Club was Keepmeinmind's first win in four starts. He breezed five furlongs in 1:02 1/5 March 5 at Oaklawn under jockey David Cohen, who will ride Saturday from post 6.

Cohen said Keepmeinmind has mentally matured since the Kentucky Jockey Club and ranked him as one of the best he has ridden along with Proud Tower Too, winner of the 2005 Malibu Stakes (G1) and 2006 Gulf News Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1).

"Seeing him develop and being part of his early career, before he's ever run, a lot of times you get on these horses when they're already good," Cohen said of Keepmeinmind. "But the way he's doing it, and does it so effortlessly, he's still not even at his full potential. I've got to think he's one of the top two I've ever sat on."

Erv Woolsey and Keith Asmussen's Super Stock, third in the Breeders' Futurity, is entered for his first race since finishing second in the Oct. 25 Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs. Last out allowance winners Big Lake and Twilight Blue complete the field.

Entries: Rebel S. (G2)

Oaklawn Park, Saturday, March 13, 2021, Race 11

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo
• 5:16 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Caddo River (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Brad H. Cox	9/5
2	2Big Lake (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	117	Steven M. Asmussen	12/1
3	3Hozier (KY)	Martin Garcia	117	Bob Baffert	12/1
4	4Get Her Number (KY)	Javier Castellano	119	Peter Miller	8/1
5	5Twilight Blue (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	119	Joe Sharp	15/1
6	6Keepmeinmind (KY)	David Cohen	119	Robertino Diodoro	4/1
7	7Concert Tour (KY)	Joel Rosario	117	Bob Baffert	2/1
8	8Super Stock (KY)	Joseph Talamo	117	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1