Derby Spotlight: Roadster

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I was at Del Mar the day Roadster made his career debut. The word was out. Bob Baffert had already said publicly that this guy was his “next Justify”. So the debut win was not a surprise.

It is also not surprising that he won the Santa Anita Derby. He needed to if he was going to make the Kentucky Derby.

No matter how you slice it, Roadster is a major threat to win the Kentucky Derby. Just the fact that he’s trained by Bob Baffert means you have to respect him. But I can’t get past the fact that Mike Smith chose Omaha Beach over Roadster. Smith and Baffert just teamed up to win the Triple Crown with Justify. Is Smith going to jump off a horse that he thinks is the most-likely Derby winner? I can’t see it.

I wish I had more to knock with Roadster. But I don’t. And I don’t think jockeys always make the right decisions. But Mike Smith has been aboard both horses, and he chose the other guy. So I’ll be using Roadster defensively in my wagers but not on top.