Liberty Bull Victorious In The WinStar Derby at Windy Sunland Park
Liberty Bull powerfully drove home in the upper stretch to win the $600,000 WinStar Derby by 2 lengths at Sunland Park on Sunday, March 16.
The 3-year-old colt by Holy bull was ridden by Louisiana’s star jockey Gerard Melancon who gained the mount after regular rider Eddie Razo was injured at Hawthorne Park this week.
Sent off as the 3-1 second favorite, Liberty Bull ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.82 and paid $8, $4.60 and $2.80. Liberty Bull collected $300,000 for winning the Winstar Derby for owner Kenneth Maier who purchased the colt for $30,000 in the OBS April Sale of 2007.
The Winstar Derby is one of the 2008 Kentucky Derby prep races. The earnings for Liberty Bull’s WinStar Derby, an ungraded race, would not be counted toward his qualification for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) it it has more than 20 Kentucky Derby entries for starting spots.
Screen To Screen ran a big race for trainer Bob Baffert. The Santa Anita maiden outran his 7-1 odds with jockey Aaron Gryder in the saddle. The runner-up earned a cool $132,000 for the Pegram, Glasscock and Ol Memorial Stable and returned $8.20 and $6.
Ablaze With Spirit closed well in the final stages to get third with jockey Garrett Gomez. The Steven Asmussen trainee earned $72,000 for the Heiligbrodt Stable of Houston, Texas and showed $2.80.
The pace setting No Jepordy finished 4th in the Winstar Derby for trainer Doug O’Neill followed by Deputyville, Cape Time, Poni Colada, Banker’s Way and Winsome Charm. Capetown Royal was a scratch.
Winsome Charm was the 8-5 favorite for trainer Jeff Mullins. The Silver Charm colt was unruly in the gate and never fired.
Winning jockey Gerard Melancon said, “I noticed the two favorites (Winsome Charm and Poni Colada) were acting up a bit in the gate before the start. That peaked my confidence. Winsome Charm did not show much speed. The pace was soft, and I knew I had a maiden and a longshot in front of me. So I just stayed close and waited for the turn for home. I knew I had a lot of horse turning for home.”
Horse trainer Thomas Amoss has now guided Liberty Bull to earn two stakes victories including the Smarty Jones last January at Oaklawn Park. The newly crowned WinStar Derby champ has a record of 3 wins, 2 seconds and 1 third from 6 starts. His career bankroll stands at an impressive $403,592.
