Tensions Boil Over in Santa Anita

Tensions ahead of the Kentucky Derby reached new heights as jockeys came to blows at the Santa Anita Derby over the weekend.

Lookin’ at pressure
Garrett Gomez had race to forget on Lookin’ at Lucky in the Santa Anita. Lucky was the favorite in the race but ended up in third after being squeezed at the rail by Who’s Up. Gomez unleashed his frustrations at Victor Espinoza, who was aboard Who’s Up, punching his rival jockey almost as soon as he dismounted. Gomez’ frustration at his failure to win was compounded by a poor assessment of his performance by trainer Bob Baffert. In Baffert’s eyes Gomez gave Lookin’ at Lucky an horrendous ride, certainly not what the jockey needed to hear. Baffert has indicated that he is considering replacing Gomez as jockey for the Kentucky Derby. Such a move would be far from shocking as the loss won’t help Lucky’s Kentucky Derby odds and it has dropped from first place in the AP’s list of contenders after 6 weeks on top.

Fairytale finish in Santa Anita
While there was plenty of trouble off the track, the story in the race was heart-warming. Sidney’s Candy won the race by four and a half lengths, the horse is owned by weight-loss queen Jenny Craig and was named after her late husband. The colt was a wire-to-wire winner in Santa Anita and is good prospect for Churchill Downs, ranked fourth by the AP. Bettors should be wary however as Sidney’s Candy has never previously started on dirt. The Santa Anita performance will have done plenty to assuage the doubters but we won’t get any real answers until the colt runs at Churchill Downs.

A new front runner
While Sidney’s Candy was going wire-to-wire and Garrett Gomez was anything but Lucky out west, a new favorite for the Kentucky Derby emerged as Eskendereya romped home to a nine and three quarter lengths victory in the Wood Memorial at the Aqueduct. This was the second straight dominant victory for the Todd Pletcher trained horse after an eight and a half length win in its previous start. The recent dominant run was enough for Eskendereya to unseat Lookin’ at Lucky at the top of the AP rankings.

Other contenders to keep an eye on as derby day nears include sixth ranked Noble’s Promise and ninth ranked Dublin which both race this weekend.

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