King Zachary Brings Top Form Into Indiana Derby

Dale Romans never backs off from talking big and dreaming even bigger.

Where many of his training brethren like to downplay their hand, the effusive Romans isn't shy about declaring his confidence in certain runners in his barn. A visit to his shedrow will often result in a tidbit about his next potential star. In King Zachary, the Eclipse Award-winning conditioner believes he has one that is only going to keep the boastful statements coming.

"Dale's awful high on him, about half as high as I am," laughed Tom Conway, owner and co-breeder of the 6-5 morning-line favorite for the $500,000 Indiana Derby (G3) July 14. "But we're having fun with him. Very fortunate to have a horse of this caliber. I think he'll win some grade 1 races before he's through. I know he will if he doesn't get hurt."

Having run to his hype in earning his first graded stakes win last month, Conway's King Zachary aims to show his class again Saturday as the clear standout in a field of nine for the 1 1/16-mile Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand.

Up until the night of June 16, the top sophomore male runners in Romans' barn had been in a decided dry spell. Grade 1 winner Free Drop Billy ran evenly throughout his series of prep races but never fired in the first and last legs of the Triple Crown. And after throwing down a statement-making effort in the Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), Promises Fulfilled went winless in his next three outings.

King Zachary didn't come into hand in time to make any Triple Crown races, but the son of Curlin  stamped himself a candidate to become the latest second-half-of-the-year wonder when he won the June 16 Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs by 4 3/4 lengths over a field that included well-regarded Ax Man and fellow Indiana Derby entrant Funny Duck.

"He's a good horse, just coming into his own. I think the Matt Winn is going to (be) his breakthrough race," Romans said. "He came out of there training like a man, like he's figured the game out. I think he'll just keep moving forward. I look for him to run a huge race."

Romans said King Zachary was troubled with some shin issues last year that delayed his progression. After King Zachary broke his maiden in his third start March 18 at Gulfstream Park, his connections tried to get him ready for the first Saturday in May by sending him to the Wood Memorial Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G2), but he could only manage a sixth-place finish.

"We brought him back in another maiden special, and he won in the easiest of ways. So that got the old Derby beat going,"  Conway said. "Sorry to admit I had Derby Fever in the worst way. But I asked too much of him in the Wood Memorial. He just wasn't ready."

If King Zachary keeps his form pointing due north after this weekend, he'll likely get a fresh chance to take a swing at some of the division's best.

"The timing is good to try to make the (grade 1) Travers (Stakes) at Saratoga with him," Romans said of the decision to go in the Indiana Derby. "This is a really good horse. You know the (handicapping) number he ran in the Matt Winn is the same thing that (Triple Crown winner) Justify has been running."

Hours before Justify threw down the gauntlet with his Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) triumph May 5, the Rusty Arnold-trained Funny Duck uncorked a cracking run of his own when he won the Pat Day Mile Stakes presented by LG and E and KU (G3) by 4 3/4 lengths over a sloppy (sealed) Churchill Downs surface at odds of 39-1. The hot weather and fast track he faced in the Matt Winn did the son of Distorted Humor  no favors, however, as he finished fourth in the six-horse lineup.

"His last race didn't go as planned," Arnold said. "I don't know if it was the difference of two turns. He got rank going into the first turn, which he's never been, and got up on horses' heels and kind of checked back. Obviously, his best race was in the slop, and we didn't have slop that night. But he's done very well since then. We're going to give him another chance."

Shipping in from California is the aptly named Dark Vader, who was only caught in the last couple jumps when he finished third in the June 9 Easy Goer Stakes at Belmont Park. The Peter Eurton-trained son of Tale of Ekati  came home fifth in the Sunland Derby (G3) in March but rebounded with a solid optional-claiming allowance win May 11 going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita Park prior to his Easy Goer effort.

"He hasn't done anything wrong the last couple races," Eurton said. "He won here (May 11) against a nice field and went to New York, and the whole race he was on the outside a neck off and tried to fight back and got beat a neck and a nose. Two turns will be good for him, with a chance to get nice and comfy. He just keeps growing and is starting to fill out."

Saturday's card at Indiana Grand also features the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial Stakes over 1 mile and 70 yards and the $100,000 Warrior Veterans Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. A pair of notable names highlight the seven-horse Schaefer field: grade 1 winner Seeking the Soul and classic-placed Lookin At Lee.

Seeking the Soul upset a bunch that included top-level winners Diversify and Hoppertunity to win the Nov. 24 Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) at Churchill Downs, but he hasn't run since finishing fifth in the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

"He's doing real well," said trainer Dallas Stewart. "We gave him some time. He had a good year, obviously—a strong campaign. We just jogged him a lot this winter. Kind of what we did with (champion mare) Forever Unbridled. We've just been training him. He loves to train, so he hasn't missed a day."

Lookin At Lee's best moment to this point, arguably, came in defeat when he overcame the inside post position and went on to finish second in the 2017 Kentucky Derby. The Steve Asmussen trainee ended a 14-race losing skid when he won an optional-claiming allowance race at Churchill Downs May 5, but he most recently finished eighth in the June 16 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1).

"He didn't get away at all, didn't run at all. Bad race," Asmussen said of the Stephen Foster. "He's trained fine since. Hopefully, we can get a good run out of him. The mile and 70 yards is probably a little short for him. But the timing is good. It's impossible to gauge his last race. Too bad to be true. It was freakishly humid that night."

Entries: Indiana Derby (G3)

Indiana Grand, Saturday, July 14, 2018, Race 9

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 3 yo
• 9:48 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Trigger Warning (KY)	Irwin J. Rosendo	119	Mike L. Rone	8/1
2	2Blame the Rider (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	124	Doug F. O'Neill	6/1
3	3Givemeaminit (LA)	Marcelino Pedroza	117	Dallas Stewart	20/1
4	4Dark Vader (OH)	Corey S. Nakatani	121	Peter Eurton	8/1
5	5The Money Dance (IN)	Jesus Lopez Castanon	124	Michael E. Lauer	20/1
6	6Axelrod (FL)	Florent Geroux	117	Michael W. McCarthy	5/1
7	7Title Ready (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	121	Steven M. Asmussen	12/1
8	8King Zachary (KY)	Robby Albarado	124	Dale L. Romans	6/5
9	9Funny Duck (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	124	George R. Arnold, II	10/1

Entries: Michael G. Schaefer Memorial S.

Indiana Grand, Saturday, July 14, 2018, Race 5

• STK
• 1m 70y
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 7:24 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Guest Suite (KY)	Robby Albarado	124	Neil J. Howard	8/1
2	2Seeking the Soul (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	124	Dallas Stewart	3/5
3	3Pioneer Spirit (KY)	Florent Geroux	124	Brad H. Cox	6/1
4	4Siem Riep (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	121	Ben Colebrook	15/1
5	5Papa Zulu (KY)	Emmanuel Esquivel	119	Kelly Rubley	12/1
6	6Lookin At Lee (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	121	Steven M. Asmussen	5/1
7	7Nun the Less (KY)	Santo Sanjur	117	Cipriano Contreras	15/1

Entries: Warrior Veterans S.

Indiana Grand, Saturday, July 14, 2018, Race 7

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Turf
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 8:26 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Fifth Title (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	120	Ian R. Wilkes	12/1
2	2Siem Riep (KY)	Jesus Lopez Castanon	120	Ben Colebrook	9/2
3	3Swagger Jagger (FL)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	124	Michael J. Maker	6/1
4	4One Mean Man (KY)	Alex L. Canchari	118	Bernard S. Flint	30/1
5	5My Bariley (KY)	Hugo Sanchez	124	Anthony J. Granitz	7/2
6	6Convict Pike (KY)	Robby Albarado	118	George R. Arnold, II	15/1
7	7Dalarna (KY)	Emmanuel Esquivel	118	Kelly Rubley	8/1
8	8Nun the Less (KY)	Santo Sanjur	118	Cipriano Contreras	15/1
9	9Dot Matrix (NY)	Florent Geroux	120	Brad H. Cox	4/1
10	10Zambian Dream (CHI)	Rodrigo Vergara	118	Richard E. Castillo	20/1
11	11Lanier (KY)	Marcelino Pedroza	118	Troy Newton	12/1
12	12Cammack (IL)	Julien R. Leparoux	120	Chris M. Block	15/1
13	13Rhinestone Romeo (IN)	Rodney A. Prescott	118	Jay J. Holden	30/1
14	14Blue Sky Kowboy (IL)	Julio E. Felix	118	Michele Boyce	12/1