Caldera has a Rough Trip, Nearly Scores Anyway!

Close one for Caldera (#2) at Oaklawn Park today in the Bath House Row Stakes , vying for an automatic berth in the Preakness awarded to the winner. It was a rough and tumble trip with traffic jams and a couple of roadblocks thrown into his path, but he did some maneuvering and made a very strong late bid, finishing 2nd by half a length (officially posted as 3/4 length). We were very happy with his performance especially with the less than ideal trip. Rafael Bejarano was in the irons again. 

Valiant effort overall and could set him up nicely for his next race. 

Praying he comes back in good order and starts looking for that next challenge, wherever it may be. ❤️

MRH RACE RECAP:

[Video of race at bottom with commentary]

Caldera was a solid second in the Bathhouse Row at Oaklawn.

Away better than he was at Fair Grounds, he found himself in third early and jockey Rafael Bejarano smartly maneuvered him out into the clear heading into the first turn. The pace was pretty moderate, with the half posted in :49.42. Caldera seemed to idle on the second bend and Bejarano had to push on him a bit to hold his position approaching the stretch behind six panels in 1:14.70.

Caldera continued to fight on as they entered the lane, but he was in a slightly tricky spot behind the lugging out #3 First Division with a possible path between that one and #1 Hymn if he wanted to try and split horses. Caldera continued to level off and build momentum as favorite and eventual winner #7 Instant Replay closed down the outside. Bejarano eventually guided Caldera to the outside of First Division and inside of Instant Replay, but Instant Replay had a clearer path and a bit more momentum and bested Caldera by 3/4 of a length.

Coming off of that disappointing try last out, it was great to see the real Caldera back and show so much heart and determination. He still takes a very long time to get going—which contributed to the bit of traffic trouble he found this time—but he did a lot right today and still seems to have more room for improvement left in him.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas was pleased with the effort and thought it would be beneficial to Caldera both physically and mentally. If he bounces out of this one in good order, he’ll be seriously considered for either the G1 Preakness or the Sir Barton S. on the Preakness undercard.

UPDATE:

Caldera earned a solid 90 Beyer Speed Figure for Saturday’s effort, and is en route as we speak back to Churchill Downs. We will touch base with Mr. Lukas in the coming days to discuss with him future plans and see how Caldera has bounced out of the Bathhouse Row Stakes and handled the ship back to Kentucky.

Check out the accompanying video for a closer look at Caldera’s trip featuring commentary from Joe Moran and Brian DiDonato. We hope you’ll find it interesting and informative.