Cyberknife, Taiba Set to Duel Again in Saturday’s Pennsylvania Derby

A field of 11 three-year-olds is exercise set to rush inwards Saturday’s Keystone State Derby at Parx Racing, and the $1 1000000 run features a deep field of operations with several contenders.

The morning-line favorite is Taiba, the Bob Baffert-trained colt who won the Santa Anita Derby nearly sextet months ago, at 5-2. If Taiba and jockey Mike Ian Douglas Smith earn their back Grade 1 stakes win Saturday, and so it testament gift Baffert a enter fourth win inwards the race.

Taiba, though, is softly raced. He’s only raced twice since the Santa Anita win. He ruined a unsatisfying 12th inwards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, and deuce months ago, he squared off with Cyberknife inwards a fierce extend duel at the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes, with the Brad Cox-trained colt winning the thriller by a neck.

Those II testament fulfill upwards once again inwards Bensalem on Saturday. Emily Post time for the PA Derby is 6:10 pm ET, and FanDuel TV testament broadcast the race.

Taiba drew the eighth stake for the mile-and-an-eighth race

“He likes to live in the clear, so that is good,” Baffert said. “He doesn’t the likes of beingness on the inside. i would instead live the v of the six, but this testament live ok. Cyberknife is a toughened horse; they are all sound horses inward here. Million-dollar races are not easy; they are not supposed to be easy. As always, you have got to break.”

Strong Season for Cyberknife

Cyberknife, the 3-1 back selection on the morning line, is the to the highest degree established horse inwards the field. Taiba’s half-brother, as both were sired by Gun Runner, has quatern wins inward his last vi races. That includes the Haskell, where he ruined the Roman mile and an eighth inwards a Monmouth Park enter 1:46.24 and beat Taiba past a head.

His only if blemishes in that stretchability were finishing 18th inwards the Bluegrass State Derby, where he was a victim of an super immobile start up and and then faltered as he went very wide-cut coming out of the net turn, and a second-place goal inwards last-place month’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes. The Brad Cox-trained colt led for to the highest degree of the race before Epicenter simply took o'er coming out of the net turn of events to win by to a greater extent than five lengths.

Cox thought of holding Cyberknife out until the Breeders’ Cup inwards Nov but decided otherwise after a recent workout.

He had a really salutary breeze last-place weekend,” Cox said. “Time wise it wasn’t anything looney fast, but it’s how he’s doing, how he looks, how he’s acting. This is 1 in conclusion swing over at a Grade 1 (stakes) around deuce turns for square 3-year-olds.”

Given how he’s performed over the summer, Cyberknife is my cull here. It won’t live an soft run as Taiba gave him fits inward the Haskell and the line of business has other effected runners. However, exterior of the Kentucky Derby, he’s performed comfortably against toughened horses.

He will break out from the fifth gate and has Florent Geroux aboard.

Penn Derby Full of Graded Stakes Winners

Other spinning top horses in the field of force include Zandon, Tawny Port, and Elwyn Brooks White Abarrio. Beyond them, Skippylongstocking, We the People, and Simplification also feature stratified stakes wins on their resumes.

Zandon, hasn’t won since April’s Grade 1 Blue Gunter Grass Stakes at Keeneland, but the Chadic Brown-trained colt has finished inwards the money in every take up since. That includes third-place showings inward the KY Derby and Travers with a second-place finish behindhand Epicenter in the July 30 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga.

At 5-1 on the morning line, Zandon is the third select on the morn line. He drew the indoors post, and Joel Rosario testament get under one's skin the ride.

Tawny Port, another colt from Cox’s barn, ruined tertiary inwards the Jim Dandy and won the June 25 Grade 3 Buckeye State Derby before that. At 6-1 on the morn line, he is seeking his 3rd graded stakes win, and he’ll interruption seventh. Irad Ortiz, Jr. testament sit him.

On the out of doors testament follow Edward Douglas White Jr. Abarrio, who starts at 8-1 on the morning time line. After a partner off of wins betimes inward the yr at Gulfstream Park, inward the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes and the Grade 1 Florida Derby, the Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained colt has come to the get on simply at one time – sec set in the Ohio River Derby – inwards his shoemaker's last trey starts. Luis Saez gets the setting on Saturday.

Here’s the draw poker for the PA Derby: 1. Zandon, Book of Joel Rosario, 5-1; 2. Icy Storm, Jeremy Laprida, 30-1; 3. type B Dawk, Frankie Pennington, 20-1; 4. Skippylongstocking, Edwin Gonzalez, 10-1; 5. Cyberknife, Florent Geroux, 3-1; 6. We the People, Flavien Prat, 12-1; 7. Tawny Port, Irad Ortiz Jr., 6-1; 8. Taiba, Mike Smith, 5-2; 9. Simplification, Paco Lopez, 10-1; 10. Naval Aviator, Abner Adorno, 20-1; 11. E. B. White Abbario, Luis Saez, 8-1.