The last time Charlie Cooper predicted what a Kentucky Derby contender needed to do to win, the horse executed the plan.
That was Mystik Dan, a horse owned in part by Star City farmer and former University of Arkansas at Monticello wide receiver Lance Gasaway. With 18-1 odds, Mystik Dan won in a photo finish with Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard, beating Sierra Leone by a nose and Forever Young by just an inch further apart.
The win put Gasaway and his 4G Racing ownership team in the national spotlight. Mystik Dan followed that performance with a runner-up finish in the Preakness Stakes two weeks later.
Cooper, a handicapper originally from Pine Bluff, enjoyed meeting Gasaway during last season, noting he was down to earth and nice.
“He has some good horses coming in the future and a horse called Gould’s Gold who won a stake race and finished third in Keeneland (in Lexington, Ky.) and more than likely will run at Churchill soon,” Cooper said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
But Saturday won’t be it for Gould’s Gold, named after the Gasaway family’s original hometown of Gould. Cooper said the horse will be running again in about 30 to 60 days after having two races this year.
Maybe the only horse with local interest this year is Arkansas Derby winner Sandman, a 6-1 favorite in Saturday’s Derby, scheduled for a 6:02 p.m. Central post time. NBC (KARK-4) will televise and Peacock will stream the race.
Journalism is the 3-1 favorite, but Cooper thinks Sovereignty from the 18th post will be the horse to beat at 5-1. Trained by William I. Mott, Sovereignty could win Saturday “with a clean trip,” Cooper believes.
“This well-bred colt broke his maiden against winners in a Grade III over this course as a 2-year-old,” Cooper said. “Came back 5 months later to win the Fountain of Youth in an excellent time. Four weeks later, he broke from the back to the pack to be second in the Florida Derby.”
Sandman, coming from post 17, was impressive in three starts at Oaklawn this season and, “in a race full of speed,” should finish the way he did to win the Arkansas Derby, Cooper predicts. The Mark E. Casse-trained horse gets who Cooper calls one of the nation’s best riders in Jose Ortiz.
Final Gambit (No. 3), trained by Brad H. Cox, is a 30-1 longshot, but Cooper thinks this colt will contend.
“Regally bred for this distance and another one who should appreciate the pace,” Cooper said. “He has been impressive racing strictly in Kentucky, and all he has to do is transfer his closing power for his first dirt start.”
Journalism (No. 8), training under Michael W. McCarthy, has trained extremely well over the Churchill Downs surface since leaving California, according to Cooper. Journalism reportedly had to leave the Santa Anita area in January during the California wildfires.
“Favorites hardly ever win the Derby, but this one is very capable,” he said.
For every outlet of print journalism, there’s a publisher. This race will also feature a horse named Journalism and another named Publisher (No. 13), Cooper’s fifth choice with 20-1 odds trained by Steven M. Asmussen, similar to Tiztastic (No. 14).
“A maiden has won the Kentucky Derby only once and that was in 1937, but this horse has the ability to get it done,” Cooper said of Publisher, who will have Flavien Prat aboard. “(Publisher) gets the nation’s leading rider for a long overdue trainer.”
Cooper also suggests bettors use a predicted back-and-forth pace with the large payouts to go with Tiztastic or Citizen Bull (No. 1), both at 20-1 odds. Rodriguez scratched and Baeza has entered, but no morning line was posted. All odds are as of 10:30 a.m. Friday.