Stirred Up and Brigand will represent Bob Baffert in the Jerome Handicap at Aqueduct
Horses who failed in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby prep races have a place to go to and pick up some earnings for the other two legs of the Triple Crown, and since to acquire a spot in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, the runners do have to have some
considerable bankroll to make the field, some of them will try the Grade 2, $200,000 Jerome Handicap over a distance of one mile at the Aqueduct Racetrack on 21 April, 2012.
The one mile Jerome Handicap on dirt would give the connections some direction as to what should be the next step for their once Kentucky Derby hopefuls.
Veteran trainer Bob Baffert had long pulled out Stirred Up and Brigand from the Kentucky Derby trail, as both of them failed to amass enough earnings to be eligible for the 5 May $2 million even at Churchill Downs.
Robert V. LaPenta owned Stirred Up broke his maiden at third asking on 3 March, 2012, at Santa Anita going over a distance of 1 1/16 miles, and immediately after that, Bob Baffert pointed the Lemon Drop Kid colt to the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby at
Sunland Park on 25 March, 2012.
At about 1 1/8 miles, Stirred Up over the dirt track against unheralded colts like himself finished on the money in third to winner, Daddy Nose Best.
On the other hand, the Kaleem Shah owned 3-year-old colt, Brigand did himself a favour by breaking his maiden at first asking last year in July, which gave him enough time to prepare for the spring/season meet and amass enough earnings to find a spot in
the Kentucky Derby.
However, other than placed finishes in the graded stakes races, Brigand never looked like Kentucky Derby material. He finished second in the Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile Championship, and then turned in a fourth place finish in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes
at Del Mar last year.
Pace setting colt of the Wood Memorial, The Lumber Guy, weakened in the end, but he will probably head the Jerome Handicap, which has reeled in seven 3-year-old colts and geldings.
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