Top two from San Felipe work for Santa Anita Derby

Arcadia, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Dortmund and Prospect Park, first and second in this month’s San Felipe Stakes, each had a workout Saturday morning ahead of the Santa Anita Derby on April 4.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Dortmund covered six furlongs at Santa Anita in 1:12 with his regular jockey Martin Garcia aboard.

“Dortmund is tall,” Baffert said. “He’s got a good mind on him; he’s a smart horse. He gets a little rambunctious in the paddock, but other than that, he’s pretty good.

“I’ve seen Dortmund stumble and break a little awkward but he can get up in the next jump and be right there. He’s really quick and very athletic, for a big horse. Big horses aren’t that way, usually. I’ve worked him in the mornings; you can stop and go with him.”

Baffert will send Eclipse Award champion American Pharoah back to Oaklawn Park for the Arkansas Derby on April 11. The colt won Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes in his season opener on March 14.

“Pharoah has a very efficient, kind of effortless stride,” Baffert noted. “He does things really, really easy. I think he can handle any surface, whether it’s deep, fast, whatever. He’s fast, but he’s not a speed-crazy type.”

San Felipe runner-up Prospect Park, trained by Cliff Side Jr., worked six furlongs at San Luis Rey Downs in 1:10.40 under jockey Joe Steiner.

Categorized in: Horses