Asmussen Strikes Gold in the Lexington Stakes

Making his first start outside California, Quintons Gold Rush made himself at home Saturday in Kentucky.

The fourth-place finisher in the Santa Anita Derby two weeks earlier, the 3-year-old Wild Rush colt earned himself a spot in the Kentucky Derby 13 days from now with a 2 3/4-length victory over Fire Slam and a dozen others in the $325,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.

Making his debut for trainer Steve Asmussen after winning one of four starts for Mike Mitchell at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita, Quintons Gold Rush couldn’t have gotten a better trip in the Grade II, something that couldn’t be said about several of those behind him.

Second to longshot Dashboard Drummer for about three-quarters of a mile, Quintons Gold Rush, the 5-1 fourth choice, took over under jockey Jerry Bailey and was never challenged through the stretch. He ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.82 for owners Satish Sanan, who races as Padua Stables, and Jay Manoogian.

Quintons Gold Rush pushed his graded stakes earnings to $258,500, leaving him 17th on the list of horses expected to run in the Kentucky Derby. Twenty will be allowed to start in the race.

“It was an impressive win,” said Bailey, who said he and agent Ron Anderson would decide in the next couple of days who their Derby mount would be. One of Bailey’s other options is Read The Footnotes, the Nasha, Remsen and Fountain of Youth winner who hasn’t run since disappointing last month in the Florida Derby.

“He’s got a long stride and that really works to his advantage,” Bailey said of Quintons Gold Rush. “He got himself into second with ease and the fractions were moderate.”

Fire Slam, who doesn’t have enough earnings to qualify for the Derby field, finished a neck in front of 4-1 favorite Song Of The Sword, who remains a candidate for the world’s most famous race.

“He’s never run a bad race,” said Jennifer Pedersen, who trains Song Of The Sword for owner Ernie Paragallo. “Did you see the way he finished? If we have the earnings, we’re in the Derby.”

The on-track attendance at Keeneland for the Lexington was a record 31,028, breaking the mark of 29,687 on April 15, 2000.

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Megahertz, the 2-5 favorite, did what she was supposed to do in the $200,000 Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita, handling her four opponents with another wicked stretch run.

Disqualified and placed last for interference in the Santa Ana Handicap when 7-10 on March 27, the 5-year-old Pivotal mare had a spot of trouble when trying to split horses at the top of the lane, but she quickly recovered and sailed past 7-2 second choice Noches De Rosa to win by a length in 2:00.71 for the 1 1/4 miles on turf.

Trained by Bobby Frankel for owner Michael Bello, Megahertz was ridden by Alex Solis, who was in Dubai riding Pleasantly Perfect to victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup the day she was disqualified in the Santa Ana. The English-bred has now won six of nine on the Santa Anita turf course.

“She’s a very good mare,” Frankel said after his eighth stakes victory of the meet. “The only mare I’ve had that can kick like her was Toussaud. I think you can run her a lot. She doesn’t take too much out of herself.”

With the victory, Megahertz joined Astra, who won in 2001 and 2002, as the only back-to-back winners of the Santa Barbara.

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In what amounted to a well-paid workout, Ten Most Wanted ($2.40) cruised to a 6 3/4-length win over five outclassed rivals in the $250,000 National Jockey Club Handicap at Hawthorne.

Trained by Wally Dollase for a partnership that includes J. Paul Reddam and Michael Jarvis, the 4-year-old Deputy Commander colt completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.54 under jockey David Flores. It was the fifth win in 13 starts for Ten Most Wanted, whose victories as a 3-year-old included the Travers at Saratoga and the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.

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Mieszerski reported from Arcadia.