Bodhisattva and Trevor McCarthy won the Federico Tesio for trainer Jose Corrales. Photo by Laurie Asseo.
Bodhisattva, the Laurel Park-based runner who finished last in the Grade 1 Preakness last month, will make his next start Sunday in the Grade 3 Pegasus at Monmouth Park, trainer Jose Corrales said yesterday.
Bodhisattva, a California-bred son of Student Council, was cross-entered in both the Pegasus, a $150,000 event, and the $500,000 Ohio Derby, an ungraded race run at Thistledown, in Cleveland.
Corrales said that the possibility of bad weather in Cleveland had pushed him to make the easier trip up to New Jersey. Bodhisattva did not appear to take to the sodden track on Preakness day.
“I don’t want to have an excuse for the horse, when I think he’s training really well,” Corrales said.
The richer Ohio Derby has attracted a more accomplished field that includes Grade 3 Illinois Derby winner Whiskey Ticket, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby runner-up Far Right, Preakness show horse Divining Rod, and Grade 1 Wood Memorial runner-up Tencendur, among others. Bodhisattva, who would have had the services of Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza — “Victor’s an old friend,” said Corrales — was lined at 12-1.
He is 8-1 in the morning line for the Pegasus. He’ll break from the two-hole under regular rider Trevor McCarthy.
“I expect that he runs a good race,” said Corrales.
The talented Mr. Jordan, trained by Eddie Plesa, is the 5-2 favorite in the Pegasus. The flashy gray son of Kantharos won his first three races in ultra-impressive fashion before undergoing knee surgery in December 2014. He has made two subsequent starts, finishing second in both the Tamarac Stakes and the Tarpon, the latter after being disqualified after crossing the wire first, both at Gulfstream Park.
Todd Pletcher trainee Chipit, two-for-two in his short career, is the 3-1 second choice. Kiaran McLaughlin trainee Good Pick Nick, recently second against allowance foes at Belmont, is 4-1; and another Pletcher runner, Dontbetwithbruno, is 5-1 after finishing third in the Parx Derby.
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21dI4mvnoXs”]Tekton, a Tony Dutrow trainee, is 6-1 after obliterating allowance rivals at Pimlico by 10 lengths. Ambidextrous Alex (20-1) and Instant Replay (8-1) round out the field.
Bodhisattva, who has won three of 12 races and earned $165,095, has done his best running on or near the lead. He won the Federico Tesio Stakes, prior to the Preakness, in front-running fashion after deploying a stalking style in his two earlier victories. But Corrales doesn’t want to predict where his horse will be placed in the 1 1/16 mile Pegasus.
“I don’t really like to put too much detail in the race before the race,” Corrales, a former jockey said, “because it changes as soon as the gate opens.”
‘ I don’t really like to put too much detain in the race before the race” Whatever that means…. I hope Mr. Corrales proves me wrong Sunday, but I don’t understand why he blames a wet track for Bodhisattva”s poor race at the Preakness. One of his best races was on the slop in March in the Private Terms. Just saying….
It means there was a typo – it should have read “detail” and not “detain” – now fixed. I think his point about that was that the horse pretty much packed it in once he started getting dirt in the face, which I think he was mostly able to avoid in the Private Terms. Whether you agree with that assessment or not is a different story.
Thanks, for the explanation. I read article last night after a 6 hour nightmare trip from Baltimore to Bethany Beach, so please forgive my snark as I was a little punch drunk! I looked at the P.P’s for the Pegasus and I don’t see any world beaters in there, so its now or never for Bodi to step up!
6 hours?!?! Yeesh – that’s a mess. Agreed – it’s a manageable field unless Mr. Jordan returns to his 2yo form.