Zulu Tackles Full Blue Grass Field

With a hefty $1 million purse and 170 Road to the Kentucky Derby points on the line, the April 9 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) drew a full lineup of youngsters whose connections hope a stop at Keeneland paves a way to the Run for the Roses.

Lightly raced but heavily appreciated as a still-developing talent, Zulu—trained by Todd Pletcher for Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Stonestreet Stables—drew post 4 under Javier Castellano for the 1 1/8-mile test. He was installed by oddsmaker Mike Battaglia as the 5-2 favorite in a field of 14, with two also eligibles.

The Bernardini   colt won his first two starts by a combined 9 1/4 lengths before his second-place finish to Mohaymen by 2 1/4 lengths in the Feb. 27 Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) last time out. Javier Castellano has the mount.

"He's done well since the Fountain of Youth," Pletcher said. "We kind of surveyed all of our options and felt like the Blue Grass was a good fit for him timing-wise. We weren't making any secrets about the fact we didn't want to run against Nyquist and Mohaymen, so it just seemed like with those horses going in the Florida Derby (gr. I), we wanted to put ourselves in the position of instead of being third choice, being possibly the favorite.

"At least for the morning line we handicapped it properly, and now we need him to move forward and improve and handle the 1 1/8 miles and the big field and all those things. But we're pleased with the decision we made to go the Blue Grass route." 

"You can never be disappointed with that, runner-up to a very good horse," Charlie O'Connor of Ashford Stud said of Zulu's Fountain of Youth performance. "We're very happy with our spot, very happy with the draw, and we'll go in with no excuses.

"I think he's a very tough horse; he broke his maiden very impressively, his allowance was very good, his third race was very good. He's a big battler, which you need for these kind of races."

Albaugh Family Stable's Brody's Cause returns to the site of his greatest victory, the 2015 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (gr. I), for trainer Dale Romans. The Giant's Causeway   colt finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), also at Keeneland, but failed to fire when seventh as the favorite in his only start this year, the March 12 Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II). He is the 4-1 second choice on the morning line and will be piloted from post 6 by Luis Saez. 

"On the way over (to Keeneland for the draw), I spoke to the owners and I said, 'If you could hand-pick a post, what would you pick?' They said, 'We'd take 5, 6 or 7,' so we split it and got the 6. We're thrilled. He's a horse that likes to come from off the pace. It looks like there should be enough pace in the race and hopefully our jockey, Luis Saez, can navigate a good trip from slightly off the pace."

Also in high regard are Donegal Moon (5-1) from post 2, and Cherry Wine (12-1) from post 3, although trainer Dale Romans said the latter may run in the Wood Memorial (gr. I) instead, depending on how the New York race comes up. Post positions for the Wood will be drawn April 6.

American Dubai ships in from Oaklawn Park for trainer Rodney Richards, who hopes to get the son of E Dubai back to the form that saw him run third in the Feb. 15 Southwest Stakes (gr. III). In his most recent start, the maiden winner was thirteenth in the March 19 Rebel Stakes (gr. II) won by Cupid. He drew the 10 hole and is 20-1 on the morning line.

Completing the field are Lookin for a Kiss, Crescent Drive, Laoban, Twizz, Goats Town, Cards of Stone, Zapperini, Star Hill, and My Man Sam. The also eligibles are Pinson and Hint of Roses. All starters will carry 123 pounds.

The Blue Grass, race 10 of 11 with an approximate 6:00 p.m. ET post time, caps a blockbuster Saturday of racing at Keeneland, where a total of five stakes worth $2.25 million will be run. Another highlight of the card is the $500,000 Central Bank Ashland (gr. I), featuring top Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) contenders Cathryn Sophia and Rachel's Valentina.