Kentucky Derby 2023: Versatile Mage can do some Derby magic
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Shared Belief Back in Action in $300,000 Malibu Stakes
On Friday at Santa Anita, the featured race is the 63rd running of the $300,000 Malibu Stakes. The Grade 1 race, restricted to three-year-olds and run at seven-furlongs, has drawn a field of ten.
Shared Belief headlines the field as the morning line favorite at odds of 4-5 for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. The multiple Grade 1 winner was last seen finishing fourth as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), a loss which snapped his seven-race undefeated streak. Since the first defeat of his career, he has been training sharply at Golden Gate with two recent bullet workouts. Regular rider Mike Smith will remain aboard from post position eight.
Chitu part of a loaded quartet for Bob Baffert
Second choice on the morning line at 4-1 is Chitu, one of four horses in the race for trainer Bob Baffert. A $300,000 purchase as a juvenile, the chestnut son of Henny Hughes won three of his four starts before finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby (G1). After a five-month hiatus, he returned to win the Damascus Stakes at Santa Anita in October. Joel Rosario, aboard for his winning effort last time out, will be back in the irons and they will break from post two.
Indianapolis trying to rebound after Breeders' Cup
Also in the field at morning line odds of 6-1 is Indianapolis who also hails from the Baffert barn. Purchased for $490,000, the lightly-raced son of Medaglia d’Oro won the first three starts of his career before finishing tenth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1). He will be attempting to rebound and earn the first graded stakes win of his brief career. Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens will be aboard for the first time from post position three.
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