Keeneland Select Derby Prep Hotlist - Sunday, March 27

Keeneland Select Derby Prep Hotlist

Sunday, March 27, 2022

By Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt

The $500,000 Sunland Park Derby (G3), Fair Grounds – race 11

Race 11 – The Sunland Park Derby is a Kentucky Derby prep race at a distance of 1 1/8 miles that offers qualifying points of 50, 20, 10, 5. (8) Straight Up G shipped to Sunland Park last month for Richard Baltas to win the Mine That Bird Derby which is the prep race for this stake. He won the race with a front running effort going 8.5 furlongs as the even money favorite. He has a chance to repeat that front-end victory as the only horse that really prefers to go to the lead early in the race. (4) Slow Down Andy showed a lot of promise as a 2-year-old with 2 wins from 2 starts including the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) over Messier who came back to win his next start by 15 lengths. In his 2022 debut, Slow Down Andy disappointed when he showed very little when a distant sixth in the Risen Star (G2). He does have a class edge over this field if he can bounce back to his efforts from 2021. (5) Bye Bye Bobby has a pair of seconds at Sunland Park, both times less than a length behind the winner of 3-year-old stakes races.  (2) Classic Moment ships to Sunland for Steve Asmussen and his top rider Joel Rosario comes with him. Last time he was third in the Mine That Bird Derby after two tries on the Kentucky Derby trail. Betting strategy:  Exacta box: 2, 4, 5, 8. Trifecta box: 2, 4, 5, 8.