Top 3-Year-Olds Almost a Given

With 38 days until the Kentucky Derby, there is no doubt about the identity of the two best 3-year-olds in the country.

Events of recent Saturdays have left it clear that Monarchos, the monstrous winner of the Florida Derby, and Point Given, who made a successful return March 17 in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, are clearly at the head of their class.

Monarchos, a 3-year-old son of Maria’s Mon who was a maiden when the Gulfstream Park meet began in January, is now a three-time winner for owners John and Debby Oxley and trainer John Ward.

His wins against maidens and allowance runners were impressive, but Monarchos looked extra special in the Florida Derby.

Against 12 rivals, the gray colt, who was bred in Kentucky by J D Squires, lagged for the first half-mile under jockey Jorge Chavez, then began moving while extremely wide, took over the lead with a little more than a quarter of a mile to run and extended his margin from there.

Jerry Bailey, who rode runner-up Outofthebox, thought Chavez might have moved too soon on Monarchos. However, Monarchos sustained his run. What was a two-length lead a furlong from the finish was 4 1/2 lengths at the wire.

Monarchos has the right man calling the shots in Ward, who also trains the Eclipse Award-winning mare Beautiful Pleasure.

With only five races on the books, the colt only figures to get better. His next start is supposed to come in the $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 14 at Aqueduct.

Point Given, running for the first time since winning the Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 16, was kept wide and in the clear by jockey Gary Stevens, took the lead around the far turn and was never seriously threatened in the stretch.

Trained by Bob Baffert for Prince Ahmed Salman’s Thoroughbred Corp., Point Given should be even better in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 7, a race that should also attract, among others, Crafty C.T., Startac, I Love Silver and Palmeiro.

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Other notes, thoughts and opinions:

Balto Star isn’t as good as his win in Saturday’s $600,000 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park makes him look. The son of Glitterman was helped considerably when Keats, who probably would have made the lead in the Grade II, broke poorly, leaving Balto Star to control things up front over a track which, historically, is extremely speed-favoring.

Sure, the final time of 1:47 1/5 was the third fastest in the history of the stakes and he won by nearly 13 lengths, but there was no 3-year-old of any quality behind Balto Star and many horses have looked impressive when they’ve been able to make the lead by themselves.

A perfect example was Songandaprayer in the Fountain of Youth last month at Gulfstream Park. Two speed horses were eliminated at the break that day and the son of Unbridled’s Song went gate-to-wire.

Under different circumstances in the Florida Derby, Songandaprayer proved he’s not a legitimate Kentucky Derby contender. He finished fifth, demonstrating he’s a one-dimensional speed horse. . . .

With Chris McCarron remaining in town to ride Bienamado in the $400,000 San Juan Capistrano on April 14, Laffit Pincay has picked up the mount on Millennium Wind in the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes the same day at Keeneland. Pincay worked Millennium Wind, who was second in the Louisiana Derby in his most recent start, for trainer Dave Hofmans Wednesday morning at Hollywood Park. The colt went seven furlongs in 1:24 3/5. . . .

Chilukki, a multiple-stakes winner, has been retired. A daughter of Cherokee Run trained by Baffert for Stonerside, Chilukki finished her career with 11 wins in 17 starts and earned a little more than $1.2 million.