Keeneland

IT’S a huge weekend stateside on the Kentucky Derby trail and Sky Sports have the three big trials covered tonight from Keeneland, Aqueduct and Santa Anita.

Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and top two-year-old, Essential Quality tops the Grade 2 Blue Grass in Keeneland (Sky Sports 11.35pm) in a field of nine and breaking from stall four. He made a very pleasing return to action at Oaklawn Park, winning the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes by over four lengths to remain unbeaten.

Highly Motivated, a Chad Brown-trained son of Into Mischief, is his chief market rival but would have to step up on his Gotham Stakes third at Aqueduct.

The Grade 1 Ashland has a field of six fillies headed by the Todd Pletcher-trained Malathaat, a daughter of Curlin who is unbeaten in her three two-year-old runs for Shadwell.

The Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland both carry qualifying points for the Derby and Oaks on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first four finishers.

Older fillies go to post for the Grade 1 Madison headed by Bell’s The One, winner of the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs and third behind Gamine in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last season. She headlines a field of seven fillies and mares on her 2021 debut.

Sconsin finished a half-length behind Bell’s The One in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and will be ridden by Irishman James Graham. Also in the line-up is Wesley Ward’s 2019 Queen Mary Stakes second Kimari who comes of a win at Oaklawn Park.

The field for the Grade 3 Commonwealth (9.24pm) includes the now Brad Cox trained Hidden Scroll (Florent Geroux) who changed hands for $525,000 last November.

Aqueduct

The New York track also hosts a full card of graded races tonight with the nine-furlong Grade 2 Wood Memorial (10.58pm) taking centre stage.

The Wood has a well matched field with Chad Brown represented by the Klaravich Stables duo of Risk Taking (morning-line favourite) and Crowded Trade.

Since Brown added blinkers, Risk Taking (Medaglia d’Oro) has won his two races including the Grade 3 Withers here at Aqueduct.

The James Jerkens-trained Weyburn narrowly defeated Crowded Trade in the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct at big odds in early March.

Godolphin has Essential Quality in the Blue Grass and an interesting runner here in Prevalence.

A homebred son of Medaglia d’Oro, Prevalence will make his stakes debut for trainer Brendan Walsh in his third career start after winning a maiden race by eight and a half lengths and an allowance race, both at Gulfstream Park.

Candy Man Rocket will be seeking a bounce-back effort after finishing 11th in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby for Bill Mott, while Brooklyn Strong won the Grade 2 Remsen here in December with last week’s Florida Derby winner Known Agenda in third.

Earlier on the card, Mind Control aims for a third Grade 1 win when he faces four rivals in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap (8.25pm). The Saffie Joseph-trained Mischevious Alex and Irad Ortiz is the likely favourite off a pair of wins on his two 2021 starts, including the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint Stakes.

Santa Anita

Tonight’s Santa Anita card is highlighted by the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby (11.20pm) which Bob Baffert has won a record nine times. He runs the morning-line favourite Medina Spirit and the maiden winner Defunded. It offers 100 qualifying points for the Derby.

Medina Spirit finished second to Baffert’s sidelined Life Is Good in the Sham and San Felipe, and between those two races, he won the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes.

It’s an open race and John Sadler runs a dual turf winner in Rock Your World a son of Candy Ride who may take a hand at bigger prices.

Baffert’s 2020 champion sprinting filly Gamine makes her first start since the Breeders’ Cup in the four-runner six-furlong Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita tomorrow night.

She dominated the Grade 1 Longines Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park, winning by 18 and three-quarter lengths, and romped by seven lengths in the Grade 1 Longines Test Stakes at Saratoga in stakes- record time.