Kentucky Derby Prep - Lane’s End Stakes is Wide Open

The 38th Lane’s End Stakes is about as wide open a Kentucky Derby prep you’ll see this year.

Five horses captured stakes as a juvenile or sophomore, but two have won only on the grass: Bittel Road, twice last year going 1 1/16 miles at Saratoga and Keeneland, and Jack Spratt, victorious two months ago traveling a mile at Gulfstream.

But Bittel Road failed to hit the board on California synthetic surfaces in his last two outings, finishing fourth to Pioneer of the Nile. Jack Spratt finished second in a maiden race at Turfway last fall, but ran 10th in Gulfstream’s Fountain of Youth on Feb. 28. 

Three others have an advantage over the field, likely to number 10, since they scored on Turfway Park’s Polytrack.

Loch Dubh broke his maiden last year, culminating a three-race winning streak with a two-length victory in the six-furlong Prevue at the Florence, Ky., track. However, the son of Friends Lake on Feb. 16 finished 6 ¼ lengths behind Old Fashioned in the mile Southwest at Oaklawn.

West Side Bernie took Turfway’s Kentucky Cup Juvenile Cup by three widening lengths at 1 1/16 miles last September. Then the son of Bernstein was runner-up to Big Drama in the Delta Jackpot in December and third to Saratoga Sinner on Jan. 31 in the Holy Bull at 1 1/8 miles, Saturday’s distance. Injuries later knocked both winners off the Triple Crown trail.

Parade Clown captured Turfway’s WEBN Stakes by 2 ¾ lengths at a mile on Feb. 7. The colt has won twice and finished second in four times at Turfway since breaking his maiden at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 8. 

The Lane’s End started out as the Spiral Stakes in ’72 when the distance was a mile and the purse was $10,000. Big Dot triumphed.

In ’82, the race becomes the Jim Beam Spiral Stakes, the purse is raised from $50,000 to $150,000 and the distance is increased to 1 1/16 miles. Good N’ Dustry wins.
Six years later, the contest is 1 1/8 miles and Kingpost scores. 

During the next decade, four winners score in five Triple Crown events: ’90, Summer Squall, Preakness; ’91, Hansel, Preakness and Belmont; ‘’92, Lil E. Tee, the only KentuckyDerby champ from the race; and ’93, Prairie Bayou, Preakness.

In ’02, a new sponsor takes over and it becomes the Lane’s End. Perfect Drift triumphs.

There’s a batch of name jockeys riding in this year’s  $500,000 contest. Edgar Prado, who won the 2008 with Adriano, climbs aboard the Kelly Breen trainee West Side Bernie for the first time. Garrett Gomez, ’07 and ’08 Eclipse Award winner, will ride conditioner Todd Pletcher’s Bittel Road.

Kent Desormeaux will be aboard Bill Mott’s Hold Me Back, making his ’09 debut after finishing a distant fifth in the Remsen lasy November. Desormeaux was aboard the son of Giant’s Causeway when he took a 1 1.16-mile allowance contest at Keeneland in October.

Cornelio Velasquez hopes to end the four-race losing streak of A. P. Cardinal, who his maiden last September. The closest the son of A. P. Indy got to the winner’s circle since then was runner-up to Danger to Society in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Gulfstream in January.

Eibar Coa is Parade Clown’s new jockey, a big upgrade that ought to propel the son of Distorted Humor to the winner’s circle.