McKinzie Makes His Return in Pennsylvania Derby

He was supposed to be The One, the latest charge to take up the mantle of becoming the next great thing out of a barn that routinely cranks out the most superior members of their generation.

Early in the year—before his big, red stablemate Justify made his debut—McKinzie was the name Hall of Famer Bob Baffert would lead his effusions with when talking about his contenders for the 2018 Triple Crown series. It was a distinction of high honor considering the number of exceptional sophomores the legendary conditioner has honed for the five-week exercise. And with a grade 1 win already to his credit and a lone defeat in which he crossed the wire first, the son of Street Sense  was proving worthy of shouldering the expectations out of the most scrutinized shedrow on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The best-laid plans flew in McKinzie's face, however, as a hind leg injury discovered in late March knocked the colt out of the Triple Crown races. His aforementioned teammate ended up grabbing the baton and jamming it down everyone's throats en route to becoming the 13th horse to sweep the American classics, leaving the colt initially tagged as Baffert's top 3-year-old with a monster task of working his way out of the shadows.

"He was my Derby horse," Baffert said of McKinzie. "And then he fumbled the ball, and Justify picked it up and ran it all the way in. He had a good backup."

While not a full-circle journey just yet, circumstances are in place to put McKinzie back atop the Baffert hierarchy with Justify now enjoying retirement. The one-time divisional standout will take his first step toward reminding pundits why he was so well-regarded when he faces nine challengers Sept. 22 in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing.

Last time McKinzie was in a race, it was a bittersweet outing that nonetheless proved Baffert had a special one on his hands. In his second start of 2018, the colt got his head down over multiple grade 1 winner Bolt d'Oro following a stirring stretch duel in the March 10 San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park, but he was disqualified to second when those two made contact in the lane.

That is the only blemish McKinzie has had since debuting at Santa Anita in October. After breaking his maiden by 5 1/2 lengths, he headed to the Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity (G1), where he benefited from his stablemate Solomini's errant running in the lane and was elevated to first via disqualification.

He took his sophomore debut on the square, winning the Jan. 6 Sham Stakes (G3) by 3 1/2 lengths before his San Felipe slugfest. As much as Baffert called McKinzie's subsequent injury a 'gut punch,' not having to send the bay colt in against Justify during the Triple Crown may prove to be a beneficial intangible as he attempts to regain his foothold in the 3-year-old ranks.

"He's always had a lot of quality, but I think that time off really helped him," Baffert said. "He didn't have to run against Justify, so that was a big plus. He's grown up a little bit and … just the athleticism is there. He's going to be up against it having not running in a long time, but what he has going for him is he is a very good horse. The quality is there.

"The thing about him is he's a gutsy horse. He digs deep, he fights. If it comes down to two horses, he wins those photos."

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, McKinzie will have Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith in the irons Saturday, when he stands as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the field of 10 out of post 8.

Where McKinzie is trying to show he still has it in the 1 1/8-mile Pennsylvania Derby, Juddmonte Farms' homebred Hofburg is aiming to prove to his connections he is everything they have believed he could be.

The Bill Mott-trained son of Tapit  has been a buzz horse since breaking his maiden March 3 on second asking at Gulfstream Park. That Mott sent the chestnut colt into the Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) off that maiden victory spoke volumes about his belief in his charge's talent, and in the days leading up to Hofburg's third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), the Hall of Fame conditioner was arguably the most confident trainer on the backside not named Baffert.

"He has all the credentials," said Garrett O'Rourke, U.S. manager of Juddmonte Farms. "He is a son of Tapit. He is an absolutely beautiful horse with fantastic energy and temperament. I think the expectations are there, we've just not seen the best of him yet due to bad luck. I think that's what frustrates Bill going into even the (Kentucky) Derby. He had high hopes for that day and he got bounced around all over the place, and so I think it's a feeling of when is his day going to come to where he gets to run his race and things work out for him?

"I think we all have faith that he's going to do it on a big day. I don't know if it's going to be Saturday or whatever, but we feel like we have a really good one, and we're getting impatient waiting for him to prove it."

Hofburg had a confidence boost last time out when he won the 1 1/8-mile Curlin Stakes July 27 at Saratoga Race Course by five lengths. Plans for him to start in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) had to be scrapped, however, when he spiked a fever a week out from the 10-furlong race.

His workouts since then have indicated he is well over the ailment, and in an effort to put a finer edge on Hofburg's late-running style, Mott added blinkers to the colt's last breeze—a bullet four-furlong move in :47.45 Sept. 16 at Saratoga—and will race him in blinkers for the first time Saturday.

"We're aware of the fact this is a speed-favoring track that won't play into his strengths," O'Rourke said of the 3-1 morning-line second choice. "But I think you have to adapt somewhat. I think that is what Bill is doing in sharpening him up a little bit. You're always looking for an extra length here or there, and I think that's what Bill is searching for."

It wouldn't be a major 3-year-old stakes race this year without graded stakes winner Bravazo showing up. The hard-knocking D. Wayne Lukas trainee will be making his ninth start this season and sixth straight against grade 1 company when he breaks from the outside post 10.

The son of Awesome Again  hasn't won since taking the Feb. 17 Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford (G2), but he rarely fails to give an honest account of himself. After finishing second to champion Good Magic in the betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) July 29, Bravazo notched a third-place run in the Aug. 25 Travers Stakes.

"I look for him to run a bang-up race, but I don't by any means think this is an easy race for him," Lukas said. "It's very competitive. It turned out tough, but every time you put up a million dollars, they'll show up.

"I have great respect for the Baffert horse even though he hasn't run, because Bob is not going to send a horse across the country if he's not ready to run. He's got some seven-eighths works in him, and I think he's probably the horse to beat. We'll be tough, we'll keep them honest. He earns a check every time. Maybe our number is coming up."

Graded stakes winner Instilled Regard will ship from Belmont Park to make his first start since his fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. The son of Arch will also debut for trainer Chad Brown since being transferred to the East Coast from Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's barn.

Entries: Pennsylvania Derby (G1)

Parx Racing, Saturday, September 22, 2018, Race 11

• Grade I
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo
• 5:45 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1First Mondays (MD)	Frankie Pennington	117	John C. Servis	15/1
2	2Hofburg (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	117	William I. Mott	3/1
3	3Instilled Regard (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	122	Chad C. Brown	15/1
4	4King Zachary (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	119	Dale L. Romans	20/1
5	5Core Beliefs (KY)	Joseph Talamo	122	Peter Eurton	10/1
6	6Axelrod (FL)	Joe Bravo	122	Michael W. McCarthy	5/1
7	7Mr Freeze (KY)	Robby Albarado	122	Dale L. Romans	12/1
8	8McKinzie (KY)	Mike E. Smith	122	Bob Baffert	5/2
9	9Trigger Warning (KY)	Irwin J. Rosendo	117	Mike L. Rone	20/1
10	10Bravazo (KY)	Luis Saez	122	D. Wayne Lukas	6/1