April 16, 2016 
Call the hogs, batter the okra and pour ya a glass cause it’s Arkansas Derby day, y’all. As the final major prep on the road to Churchill Downs, the Ar-Kansas Derby is always loaded with talented youngsters and plenty of intrigue. Why, last year’s Arkansas Derby propelled one American Pharoah all the way to the Triple Crown. The 2016 edition most likely will not produce a Triple Crown heroine, but it could very well catapult this year’s Kentucky Derby champion. And just like last year, the leading contender hails from the barn of Bob Baffert.
(courtesy of Santa Anita Park)
The white haired horseman’s hopes of a Triple Crown rebound are riding on a white haired son of Tapit named Cupid (by Pretty N’ Smart x Beau Genius). Purchased as a yearling for $900,000 by “Money-aint-a-thing Magnier, Smith and Tabor”, Cupid will carry plenty of expectation around the 1-1/8 mile track for what will be just his fifth career start. So far, he’s proven he can hang. After losing his first two career starts, both sprints, Baffert stretched him out to two turns and he’s never looked back. His gutty wire-to-wire score in the Rebel here at Oaklawn last month showed a colt beginning to catch on to this whole “Oh, so I just run fast and make sure no one passes me” deal.
“He’s definitely shown that he’s not a sprinter,” said Baffert. “He’s come around quickly since January and matured a lot. He can be a bit of a handful. Like most Tapits, he can get excited. We’ve put a lot of work into him to keep him focused and in getting him to relax.”
Even if Cupid and jockey Martin Garcia can contain his immaturity and penchant for lazily lumbering from the starting gate, he’ll have to contend with a stout field of 12, including a trio of proven closers— Suddenbreakingnews, Whitmore and Creator—primed to pounce on his pace.
A couple other colt to keep an eye on is American Pioneer. The Gary and Mary West owned son of Awesome Again gets his first shot at stakes company in just his third career start, but flashed a load of talent his last trip around the Oaklawn dirt.
And don’t count out the Toddster. Trainer Todd Pletcher will send out a bright young Pioneerof the Nile colt named Gettysburg in a bid for his 5th Arkansas Derby.
But the story of the day is the white haired duo of Baffert and Cupid. The sport’s most recognizable face and his beautiful grey beast with the cuddly name, it’s made for TV magic just waiting to happen.
#Cupid says, "Happy Arkansas Derby Day!" pic.twitter.com/plyR6DNXF3
— Mary Rampellini (@DRFRampellini) April 16, 2016
And it all goes down Saturday, at Oaklawn.
