Reride Takes Aim at Mine That Bird Derby
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Photo: Keeneland/Coady Photography
Reride
Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred Reride will take on a field of eight other 3-year-old males, including Riley Allison Stakes winner Runaway Ghost and runner-up Beautiful Game, in Sunland Park's $100,000 Mine That Bird Derby.
The 1 1/16-mile race Feb. 25 features the return of four Riley Allison contenders in all.
Reride, a Steve Asmussen trainee, has won three of his four starts, including the seven-furlong Big Drama Stakes Jan. 13 by a nose at Delta Downs last time out.
The Candy Ride colt broke his maiden in his debut at Churchill Downs June 8 by 6 1/2 lengths and returned to win an Oct. 25 allowance race at Keeneland. He then finished sixth in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) back at Churchill.
The colt, who drew the rail for Sunday's race, will be ridden by Alfredo Juarez Jr.
His main competition, Joe Peacock's homebred Runaway Ghost, has a similar record. Although he broke his maiden second time out, the Ghostzapper colt trained by Todd Fincher only missed his May 12 debut by a head. In his second start, in June, he won going five furlongs. Both races were at Santa Anita Park.
At the stakes level, Runaway Ghost added a 7 1/2-length victory in the Nov. 11 Golden Nugget Stakes, going six furlongs on the all-weather track at Golden Gate. He then finished fifth in the Dec. 9 Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity (G1) at the Mine That Bird distance.
Millennium Farms homebred Beautiful Game is the second entry for Asmussen. The Even the Score colt has a record of 3-1-2 in seven starts, and the Riley Allison was his best finish in stakes company. He will leave post 2 with jockey Enrique Gomez.
Teed Off Stable's Pinpoint finished fourth in his stakes debut in the Riley Allison, followed by Trooper, who went on to an eighth-place finish in a Sunland Park allowance race Feb. 13.
A horse that represented himself well in that same allowance race is the Alberto Amparan-trained Trigger Warning, who galloped off to a 7 1/4-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong contest. His only other victory was at 5 1/2 furlongs, and he finished 13th and last in the Jan. 13 Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds.