ROADSTER ENTERS THE KENTUCKY DERBY PICTURE – EDGES OUT STABLEMATE GAME WINNER IN SANTA ANITA DERBY

Owner Peter Fluor, right, leads Roadster and jockey Mike Smith into the winner’s circle after their victory in the Grade I, $1,000,000 Santa Anita Derby

Trainer Bob Baffert has another strike force for the Kentucky Derby with the lightly raced ROADSTER who edged out stablemate Game Winner to capture this year’s version of the $1 million Santa Anita Derby. The track badly needed a race like this after all the recent negative publicity, and Roadster with Mike Smith up on top provided all the thrills. Game Winner yet again had to settle for the runner up spot after the usual wide trip occurred yet again for a horse that seems to lack the killer instincts that most champions possess. It was the ninth Derby winner for Baffert, and Roadster who went off as the 3-1 second choice in the six horse field was victorious by an easy ½ length. Roadster was able to save ground the entire trip and took a nice breather in the mid part of the race. When Smith asked him for more he responded quickly in the final furlong. Roadster was beaten by Game Winner in the Del Mar Futurity and then took the rest of the year off when he developed a breathing problem. He returned to win an allowance race on March 1st and it is now all systems go for May 4th for the likely favorite in Kentucky.
Over on the East Coast TACITUS continued to rapidly improve his stock by taking the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York taking the race by 1¼ lengths over Tax. Both of these horses will be in the starting stalls in Kentucky as will be the first two finishers in the Blue Grass Stakes that was run at Keeneland in Kentucky. Those horses were Vekoma and Win Win Win. Tacitus went off at 5-2 in New York and Vecoma was favored as the 7-5 betting choice. Tacitus however has everything going for him. The son of Tapit is the first foal out of the champion mare Close Hatches, he is trained by Bill Mott and owned by Juddmonte Farms and he is ridden by Jose Ortiz.