Kingsbarns Dominates Louisiana Derby: Kingsbarns led from start to finish to win the Louisiana Derby and earn a trip to the 2023 Kentucky Derby. The three-year-old colt bested 11 other entries to complete the 9 1/2-furlong race in one minute and 57.33 seconds. The Todd Pletcher-trained horse won by 3 1/2 lengths over Disarm. It was his third win in as many starts for the Spendthrift Farm racehorse and increased his earnings to US$657,300. The victory gave Kingsbarns 100 qualifying points which placed him at the top of the Road to the Kentucky Derby 2023 table. It also places him as one of the favorites by online sports oddsmakers for the annual race that is slated to be held on May 6.
Kingsbarns Dominates Louisiana Derby: Taking the Early Pace
Kingsbarns’ jockey Flavien Prat said that they got full control of the pace from the start of the race. Prat moved the horse and responded by going faster. Kingsbarns resumed his fast pace in the remainder of the race and never looked back en route to victory. Disarm finished second, 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Jace’s Road. Shopper’s Revenge finished fourth while Sun Thunder and Instant Coffee placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Tapit’s Conquest finished seventh while Cagliostro, Baseline Beater, Denington, Curly Jack and Single Ruler came in eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively.
Wild On Ice Emerges Victorious in Sunland Park Derby
Texas-bred Wild On Ice pulled off a shocking upset on Sunday, beating five other horses to win the Sunland Park Derby. Not nominated for the Triple Crown and was beaten in his two previous stakes starts by a total of 44 lengths, 35-1 longshot Wild On Ice gained ground on the homestretch, catched up on pacesetters Henry Q and Hard to Figure using a 20-mile-per-hour tailwind and sprinted to victory in the derby. The Grade 3 race awards 50 points to the winner plus an automatic berth to the Kentucky Derby for those nominated for the race. Since he was not nominated, Wild On Ice may never gain the points, unless his owners opted to pay USD6,000 on Monday to make the horse eligible.
Low Expectations, who has 21-1 odds before the race started, came in second followed by Henry Q (8-5). How Did He Do That (11-1) and One in Vermillion (18-1) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, and earned Road to Kentucky Derby 2023 qualifying points. Hard to Figure, who had 1-2 odds of winning the race, failed to live up to the hype and placed sixth and last. Hard to Figure is ineligible to earn Derby points as he is trained by Bob Baffert, who is still under suspension in Churchill Downs following the Medina Spirit controversy. The results may surprise the horseracing betting public, who always opt for the safest bet possible. However, taking a risk – like those bettors who chose Wild On Ice – would sometimes produce an unbelievable amount of money while having fun watching a heart-pounding race in the tracks.
