Pyro falters to 10th in Blue Grass Stakes

The result of the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland all but guaranteed something about the Kentucky Derby.

Big Brown, the undefeated winner of the Florida Derby, will be favored at Churchill Downs in 20 days.

Pyro, generally considered the other top 3-year-old in the country, failed to ignite in his synthetic track debut, finishing 10th of 12 as the even-money favorite in the Blue Grass.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who had started the meet slowly, got well in a big way in the Grade I as he finished 1-2 with 8-1 shots Monba and Cowboy Cal.

Troubled early when last in the Fountain Of Youth at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 24, Monba, a son of Maria’s Mon, won for the second time in as many starts at Keeneland, edging his stablemate by a neck under jockey Edgar Prado. The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.71 and both colts earned themselves a start in the Derby.

Visually impressive in a pair of stakes wins in Louisiana to begin his 2008 campaign, Pyro never got involved in the Blue Grass and may simply need conventional dirt to do his best work. He will get such a surface in Louisville.

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In the two other graded stakes at Keeneland, Rutherienne, a 6-1 shot, won for the ninth time in 11 starts in the $200,000 Jenny Wiley and Prado directed 4-1 shot Rebellion to victory in the $400,000 Commonwealth.

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Jockey Mike Smith continued to clean up in major stakes races at Oaklawn Park, winning the $1-million Arkansas Derby with 2-1 favorite Gayego. Unfortunately for the Hall of Fame rider, Saturday was the final day of the meet at the Hot Springs track.

A week after taking the Apple Blossom with Zenyatta and the Oaklawn Handicap with Tiago, Smith guided Gayego, another California shipper, to a win over Z Fortune in the Grade II.

Trained by Paulo Lobo for owner Cubanacan Stables, Gayego, a Gilded Time colt, earned a trip to Louisville for the Derby with his third win in five starts.

In prevailing by three-quarters of a length after a pace-pressing trip, Gayego completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.63 and proved he could handle conventional dirt. All of his local races had come on synthetic surfaces at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita.

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Tiz West won for the second time in as many starts on turf, winning the $109,900 La Puente Stakes at Santa Anita. Victor Espinoza rode the 7-2 fourth choice for owner Gerald Ford’s Diamond A Racing Corporation and trainer Richard Mandella.

Earlier, Santa Teresita, the 2-1 favorite, won her third in a row for Equine Prep Management and trainer David Hofmans, rallying from last under Joe Talamo in the $78,650 Santa Lucia Handicap.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com