Three months away from the Kentucky Derby and Bolt D’Oro and Good Magic have emerged as top picks out of the gate. Bolt D’Oro is listed as the favorite at 4/1 and Good Magic is next at 6/1, according to Sportsbook.ag.
There are six other horses that have favorable odds of 10/1 or better. Mask is at 7/1, McKinzie and Montauk are 17/2, while Ax Man, Catholic Boy and Instilled Regard check in at 10/1.
The first leg of the Triple Crown, known as “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports,” should provide plenty of drama on May 5. Below is a look at some of the contenders and a few long shots.
Contenders
Bolt D’Oro
The pick of several handicappers has this 3-year-old son of Medaglia D’Oro winning the Run for the Roses. The horse was snubbed at last month’s Eclipse Awards when if failed to win 2017 2-Year-Old Champion.
Owner/trainer Mick Ruis told bloodhorse.com that his horse will have to prove his ability.
“I guess he’s got to show it on the track,” he said. “We still think we have the best horse out there. … We’ve got to let him show what he’s got. We can say he’s the best, the other guys can say they’re the best, but I guess we’ve got to show it.”
Good Magic
The horse that won the honor away from Bolt D’Oro has many thinking he is the better horse, if not the better bet. He beat a stacked field at the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile in November, going off at 8-1 and beating the favorite Bolt D’Oro by 5 ¼ lengths.
Trainer Chad Brown said the horse runs better every race.
“I thought he was a winner every step of the way,” he said. “I didn’t know who was coming behind him, but I loved the way he was traveling.”
McKinzie
A Bob Baffert-trained horse should never be discounted and this colt is no exception. The winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity also captured January’s Sham Stakes at Santa Anita. The blinkers were removed in that race and he responded as the 1/5 pick, winning with a time of 1:36.58.
Two races that are on the radar would be the San Felipe Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby. If he has success at those the odds may tighten up for the Derby.
Longshots
Avery Island
A very attractive price at 12/1. This colt broke his maiden with a five-length victory at the Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct in November. Jockey Joey Bravo was impressed by the preformance.
“It’s always exciting to have 2-year-olds coming around,” he said. “If you look at this horse, he’s big and he’s just going to keep growing into himself. I have some high expectations.”
Principe Guilherme
Another 12/1 pick that could be a surprise in May. The horse won a December claiming race by nearly 12 lengths, which put him immediately on the Kentucky Derby watch list.
Before that race he won a wire-to-wire race at Churchill Downs in November by six lengths.
