HOT SPRINGS -- Cupid didn't scare a lot of owners and trainers off with his impressive victory in the March 19 Rebel Stakes.
Six of the horses who finished behind Cupid in his 1 1/16th mile victory in 1:43.84 will take on the Bob Baffert-trained colt again Saturday in the $1 million Arkansas Derby.
Four others, all who have run at least once at Oaklawn but did not race in the Rebel, are entered in Saturday's feature race.
Wednesday, Cupid drew the No. 10 post position, which is not great but not horrible for a horse with his speed, although he could be challenged for the lead by Todd Pletcher-trained Gettysburg, the only true shipper in the 12-horse field.
Cupid was made the 2-1 morning line favorite, followed by: Whitmore at 9-2, who got a favorable draw in the No. 8 hole; Suddenbreakingnews, 5-1, breaking from post No. 4; Gettysburg, who drew the 12 hole, is 6-1; and American Pioneer, 8-1, will break from post 5.
The other seven horses have morning-line odds of at least 10-1, but the fact the field is full means anything can happen.
Generally, in races of a mile or more, especially with a full field, trainers prefer not to be on the far outside or pinned on the rail, where many a good horse has found himself behind a wall coming down the stretch.
There may be a couple of value plays. American Pioneer, because who wouldn't like to get an 8-1 return on their money, was impressive in breaking his maiden at Oaklawn, in a race run about 30 minutes after the Rebel, winning by almost 4 lengths and running the 1 1/16 mile in 1:44.54.
Another money play could be Dazzling Gem, who ran third in the Louisiana Derby on March 26.
Dazzling Gem was undefeated in two Oaklawn starts before going to New Orleans, where he was bumped and was four wide. Jockey Joe Talamo is flying in from Southern California to ride Dazzling Gem for the first time.
Jockey changes can make a difference.
A case can be made for Creator and Unbridled Outlaw, both are 10-1 in the morning line.
Creator was closing ground on Cupid in the Rebel, rallying from 14th place, 15 lengths behind, to third, beaten by 3 lengths. He's ridden by Richard Santana Jr., Oaklawn's leading jockey.
Unbridled Outlaw led most of his last race at Oaklawn against older horses in his 3-year-old debut before finishing second, and that was back on March 19, a few races before the Rebel. So he'll be plenty fresh Saturday for trainer Dale Romans.
Whitmore, second in the Rebel and the Southwest, seems to be improving and has worked well coming into the Derby. He is co-owned by trainer Ron Moquett and Harry Rosenblum, both Oaklawn veterans.
Suddenbreakingnews is intriguing. He opened his 3-year-old campaign by winning the Southwest, rallying from 12th place at the head of the stretch to win by 2¾ lengths.
That made him the favorite in the Rebel, but he had a troubled trip, almost having to stop at one point around the far turn, but he made up eight places in the stretch and finished fifth. Before that race he had never finished worse than second, with three victories and two second-place finishes.
Gettysburg gets some attention because he is trained by Pletcher, who has hired John Velazquez to fly in to ride in the Derby. Pletcher, considered one of the best trainers in the country, has won the Arkansas Derby four times, most recently with Danza in 2014.
Discreetness, 20-1, is trained by longtime local favorite Jinks Fires. Discreetness won the Jan. 18 Smarty Jones, running the mile in 1:38.05, but in his past two races -- going against many of these same horses -- he has back-to-back seventh-place finishes.
Gray Sky and Luna de Loco will open at 30-1.
Gray Sky was fifth in the Smarty Jones and sixth in the Rebel.
Luna de Loco ran 13th in the Southwest but came back to win an allowance race March 12.
It is a good field. A full field. One that apparently is not afraid of Cupid.
Sports on 04/14/2016