Rebel Loss a Means to an End for Game Winner

The prep races for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) are often rich, important stakes.

Yet, in the final analysis, they are also a means to a highly glorious end.

Which explains why owner Gary West is anything but downcast over the nose loss suffered by his juvenile champion Game Winner in the colt's 3-year-old debut, the March 16 second division of the $750,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park.

Making his first start in 134 days for trainer Bob Baffert since wrapping up the Eclipse Award with a 2 1/4-length victory in the Nov. 2 Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill Downs, the son of Candy Ride  gained a valuable dose of conditioning that should serve him well as he returns to his California base for his next start, the April 6 Santa Anita Derby (G1).

Though Santa Anita Park has been closed for racing since March 3 due to 22 equine fatalities at the current meet, which began Dec. 26, West says he's "comfortable" with recent improvements to the racing surface and has no qualms about Game Winner training and racing at the Arcadia, Calif., track.

After that, should all go well, the process will take Game Winner to the ultimate prize—the May 4 Kentucky Derby back in Louisville.

"Game Winner came out of the Rebel great. He got a lot out of the race. He's dragging the hotwalker around the barn," said West, who along with his wife, Mary, bought the Kentucky-bred for $110,000 from the Lane's End consignment to the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. "This has been Bob's plan all along. The horse was only 85% ready for that race. He will be 90-95% ready for his next start in the Santa Anita Derby and he will be 100% ready for the Kentucky Derby if he is sound between now and then.

"Bob has learned a lot over the years and he says the last thing you want to do two or three races before the Derby is turn the screws on him to the point that by the time you get to the Derby you have a tired horse on your hands. He says you are way better off racing them into total fitness than working them like crazy. Going in (to the Rebel), if we got beat, fine. I was just hoping that he would be running at the end and turn in a very creditable race, and he did all of the above."

While suffering his first loss in five starts, Game Winner, who continues to lead the NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll as he has since the beginning of 2019, was involved in some bumping at the start and was sixth in the field of 10 after the opening half-mile in the 1 1/16-mile stakes. He launched a strong four-wide move into contention under jockey Joel Rosario on the final turn and by mid-stretch was second, two lengths behind Omaha Beach. The 1-2 favorite surged in the final sixteenth and drew alongside that rival for the final strides, but could not get past as Omaha Beach dug down and held on to win by a nose in his stakes debut.

"We had to get a start in him. He is the type of horse who gets stronger with racing. He's not a great work horse. He came out well and it will set him up for the Santa Anita Derby," Baffert said about Game Winner, who has 45 points on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, a total that should be enough to lock up a spot in the Run for the Roses. "That race was a thriller and unfortunately we came up a little short, but you want to see if you belong and you are a contender. He proved that the other day. He was up against a good horse and didn't get away real smooth and had to shuffle back a bit. He had a tougher trip (than Omaha Beach), but he handled it. He could have come up empty, but he showed up and that's all you can ask for."

In the Santa Anita Derby—where there's the possibility of a rematch with Omaha Beach—and the Kentucky Derby, Game Winner will be asked to race at 1 1/8 miles and 1 1/4 miles, respectively. And West believes the added distance will only flatter his colt's talents.

"This will probably be the last time in his life that he runs a distance as short as a mile and a sixteenth," West said about the colt bred by Summer Wind Equine. "Bob says he's a true mile-and-a-quarter horse and a mile and a sixteenth is like a sprint to him. I think the extra sixteenth of a mile in the Santa Anita Derby will benefit him immensely."

Santa Anita is expected to reopen March 29 after closing to examine its track surface in the wake of the spike in breakdowns. West said he is confident the horrific situation, which occurred during a winter with a highly abnormal amount of rain, has been addressed and the necessary changes to the racing surface have been made.

"I feel more comfortable with him being at Santa Anita now than three weeks ago," he said. "I will go on record saying that Santa Anita is probably the most vetted, tested, scrutinized racetrack in the world today. I don't think there's a racetrack that has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb like Santa Anita. Even more importantly than that, I know a few exercise riders there and they will shoot straight with me, and they say the track is better than it has ever been in the history of Santa Anita. It is really in great shape. The horses are getting over it fine. They are skipping over it and these are people who know. They get on 10 or 12 horses a day and they know when the track is good or bad. I feel comfortable having our horse train and race there."

Of course, should a backup plan be needed, West said the April 13 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn would be a viable option for Game Winner's final Kentucky Derby prep.

"That being said, if anything changes in the week leading up to the Santa Anita Derby and there's something that concerns Bob or myself, we will run in the Arkansas Derby as opposed to running on a racetrack that we do not believe is safe. But I don't expect that to happen," West said. "Santa Anita had two or three times the amount of rain they had in the previous 20 years. Tracks are built for a certain climate, and I don't think Santa Anita was built for as much rain as they had. I can understand how that happened, but they probably waited too long to bring their old trackman (Dennis Moore) back and have him help straighten everything out."