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The Factor, ridden here by jockey Martin Garcia in March, won the $300,000 Rebel Stakes. The speedy 3-year-old gray colt could wind up as the Derby favorite if he can win the Arkansas Derby.
AP FILE PHOTO
As Uncle Mo was finishing third in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct over the weekend, race caller Tom Durkin exclaimed … “and the Kentucky Derby is up for grabs!”
It sure is.
With Uncle Mo losing for the first time, there’s a new No. 1 in The Associated Press’ latest Run to the Roses Top 10 list of Derby contenders: The Factor.
The speedy 3-year-old gray colt moves up from No. 3 and could wind up as the Derby favorite May 7 if he wins the $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday. The Factor has won his last three starts going wire-to-wire.
“He just goes and does his thing,” said Bob Baffert, who trains The Factor. “He’s one dimensional, for sure.”
Baffert has won the Derby three times. His most recent winner, War Emblem, won in 2002 going wire-to-wire.
Wood winner Toby’s Corner moves into the Top 10 for the first time at No. 6, with Baffert’s Midnight Interlude at No. 8 after winning the Santa Anita Derby. Uncle Mo slips to No. 3.
Florida Derby winner Dialed In remains No. 2.
Two promising prospects sustained injuries last week and are out of the Derby — San Felipe winner Premier Pegasus (left front leg fracture) and To Honor and Serve (left front leg strained ligament).
Another, Baffert’s Jaycito (sore foot), was scratched from the Santa Anita Derby but is on course for a final prep in the Lexington Stakes on April 23.
Less than four weeks before the Derby, the field is wide open. Uncle Mo, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner trained by Todd Pletcher, is expected to undergo routine blood work Tuesday to make sure he came out of Saturday’s race healthy.
“Uncle Mo is physically sound today,” Pletcher said the day after the race. “He did grab his quarter at the start of the race but it is very minor and insignificant. It was not a typical Uncle Mo performance.”
Plans remain for Uncle Mo to be shipped to Churchill Downs on April 18 to begin final preparations for the 1 1/4 -mile Derby.
Santa Anita Derby runner-up Comma to the Top is a Derby contender again, the Daily Racing Form reports. The news comes a week after trainer Peter Miller said he had concerns whether the gelding could get the Derby distance.