Bodemeister to head the Arkansas Derby field at Oaklawn Park while Secret Circle is installed as the second choice
Trainer Bob Baffert has been going from strength to strength in this year’s Oaklawn Park meet, and looks like Baffert with his two standouts will bow out of the meet with a massive win in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby, after his fast developing
3-year-old colt, Bodemeister, drew the outside post and for that he has been declared the 9 to 5 favourite in the field of 11.
With two graded stakes under his belt, and a strong contender for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, stable mate Secret Circle got post number 5, and will be sent as the 5 to 2 second choice under jockey Rafael Bejarano.
“Secret Circle has been getting the distance so far,” said Baffert. “He hasn’t shown me he can’t get it – they can all get it until they show you they can’t.”
“This’ll be a good race with some nice horses in there,” he continued. “I think Bodemeister will be tough. These are two really good horses and even though I don’t like to get ahead of myself, it’s always special just to have a horse that has a chance in the
Kentucky Derby, so hopefully we wind up with one of those on Saturday.”
Veteran jockey, Mike Smith, who won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic last year riding, Drosselmeyer, has also won the Arkansas Derby back in 2008, and Baffert has arranged the jockey for the Zayat Stables owned, Bodemeister, which makes the colt’s chances
of winning the race all the more bright.
The Kentucky homebred son of English Channel, Optimizer, is due a big performance after four consecutive below par performances including an eighth place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. But in his last race he snapped his off the board losing
streak and turned in a massive second place finish to winner, Secret Circle in the Grade 2 Rebel Stales.
Optimizer will break from post number 7, carrying 118 pounds with the odds of 30 to 1.
Henry Dominguez trained Isn’t He Clever could be the dark horse here, as he invades from New Mexico with the deserving odds of 6 to 1, while the Steven Asmussen trained 15 to 1 choice, Sabercat could spur up a surprise and land am upset of a lifetime.
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