Arkansas Derby Results: Super Stock's Value Jumps After OP Earnings

It is official. The 2021 Kentucky Derby Prep Season comes to a close in final fashion at Oaklawn Park with the annual renewal of the of the $1 Million Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8th. On the line were a lucrative amount of Kentucky Derby Points, 100-40-20-10, to be exact. 

The heavy favorite coming into this race at 1/9 was Bob Baffert's Concert Tour #5 owned by Gary and Mary West. His win in the Rebel Stakes (G2) set the table for a win in this race. Ridden by accomplished jockey Joel Rosario, everyone was vying to catch this pair. But would they?

At the break, all 6 entrants exited the gate accordingly. The question was, would Baffert's ace try to take the lead and wire the field? Rosario tried to go to the front, but Brad Cox's Caddo River #2 at 3/1 got the jump on the prohibitive favorite. Florent Geroux already had 3 winners on the day, and he was going to do his best to make it a 4th.

Around the first left hand turn, Rosario gave chase, keeping his colt modulated at a strong rate. Geroux knew he was being shadowed, and elected to accelerate along the backstretch. As the crowd focused on this dual up front, Steve Asmussen's Super Stock #1 (12/1), with Ricardo Santana aboard, was tracking the leaders throughout.

With the best view, Santana guided his mount from the inside lane to the 3-path. Now, full of run and ready to take aim at the leaders, he kicked for home with less than a furlong left. Baffert's favorite began to fade, finishing 3rd behind Cox's entry (2nd). Asmussen's long shot reigned supreme, making him now a 5x winner of this race. Even more important is the fact that his father, Keith, is a part-owner in the horse.

Super Stock #1 earns an automatic birth into KYD147 with this signature win (he earned 9pts. before the ARK Derby), and the final running time was 1:50.92. That gives his HOF trainer a 2nd entry for the "Run for the Roses," as Midnight Bourbon should also make it to Churchill as well. 

As for the rest of the KYD Points distribution . . . Caddo River #2 ups his ante and that puts him in, giving Cox a 3rd Derby horse, along with Essential Quality and Mandaloun.

Baffert's Concert Tour #5 did not have to "win" this race, since the colt already had a ticket punched for the Churchill Starting Gate. Still, his failure to impress when asked weakens the HOF trainer's hand, especially after Medina Spirit also faded in the stretch in the Santa Anita Anita Derby. His other Derby horses, like Hozier #3 (who ran last in the ARK Derby), and Spielberg will need some defections if they are wanting to draw into to the Top 20.

As for Peter Miller's Get Her Number #4, who finished 4th, he is in the same predicament, needing some help to make it to 147.

Once again, join me for my latest rundown from the NTRA Poll, and our weekly Kentucky Derby Top 10 Contenders List, which I also have the honor of writing this week. It is only 3 weeks until the "First Saturday in May!" Get ready with Horseracing.net/us!