The US$1 million Gr.1 Pennsylvania Derby is perhaps the race which divides the haves and the have nots. Either you have it in you to win the Breeders' Cup or you have not...
3YOs competing here will eventually be expected to face older horses at the Breeders’ Cup.
Hall of Famer and this year's Triple Crown trainer, Bob Baffert brings to the table shall we say, McKinzie, who will be making both his East Coast debut and his first start since March after an injury knocked him off the Kentucky Derby trail.
Ridden by another Hall of Famer, Mike Smith, the Street Sense colt has been working well and will be Baffert's way to the securing the crown again in 2018.
Top conditioner, Bill Mott's charge, Hofburg will be hoping to knock McKinzie off his Breeders' Cup trail under Irad Ortiz, Jr. The colt was forced to miss the Gr.1 Travers Stakes because of a fever, earlier this year. He's going be wearing blinkers in this one. He was out classed in the Kentucky Derby but he was fantastic in the Curlin Stakes.
Alexrod is on the up and coming. He should be prominent throughout the race.
Bravazo is a very hard working horse, he tries hard but he may be outclassed here.
The Pennsylvania Derby is the highlight of Saturday’s card and will be one of three graded stakes races, along with the Gr.1 Cotillion Stakes and the Gr.3 Gallant Bob Stakes.
Click here to watch winner race Pennsylvania Derby 2017
1st West Coast (B. Baffert, M. Smith), 2nd Irap (D. O'Neill,M. Gutierrez), 3rd Giuseppe the Great (N. Zito, L. Saez), 4th Game Over (J. Navarro, K. Carmouche), 5th Talk Logistics (E. Plesa, Jr., F. Pennington), 6th Outplay (T. Pletcher, J. Velazquez), 7th Timeline (C. Brown, J. Castellano), 8th Irish War Cry (G. Motion, F. Lynch), 9th Term of Art (D. O'Neill, D. Van Dyke), 10th Watch Me Whip (D. Romans, R. Albarado)
1.First Mondays (J. Servis, F. Pennington), 2.Hofburg (W. Mott, I. Ortiz, Jr.), 3.Instilled Regard (C. Brown, J. Ortiz), 4.King Zachary (D. Romans, C. Lanerie), 5.Core Beliefs (P. Eurton, J. Talamo), 6.Axelrod (M. McCarthy, J. Bravo), 7.Mr Freeze (D. Romans,R. Albarado), 8.McKinzie (B. Baffert,M. Smith), 9.Trigger Warning (M. Rone,I. Rosendo), 10.Bravazo (D. Lukas,L. Saez)