Rebel Stakes - can Brad Cox guide Caddo River to victory?
Brad Cox
The horses are front and center in the $1,000,000 Rebel Stakes, the 11th of 12 races on the card Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
All but one of the eight entrants is coming off a win in their most recent effort.
However, the trainers of those horses, especially in this 50-20-10-5 points Kentucky Derby prep race, garner the same if not more attention. Horses compete for a Triple Crown for just one year of what can be a two- or three-year career, but the trainers are a constant for decades.
The Rebel has five horses in the field that are trained by three Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer recipients, two of which are Hall of Fame members. The cumulative number of races won and prize money accumulated by the trio is nothing short of staggering.
Brad Cox - Caddo River
The slight favourite for the Rebel Stakes is Caddo River at 9/5. He is trained by Brad Cox, the 2020 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer recipient after finishing second in earnings. Cox, who began his career in 2005, has 1521 wins in 6025 races with total earnings of $82.6million.
Owendale delivered a third-place finish in the 2019 Preakness Stakes for Cox, the Triple Crown highlight of his 16-year career. The Kentucky native just turned 41 on March 3, so he still has plenty of time to add numerous accomplishments to his already glossy resume.
Bob Baffert - Concert Tour and Hozier
The sport's most recognisable trainer, and by a large margin, the bespectacled and white-haired Hall of Famer Bob Baffert is a staple on Triple Crown race telecasts. The 68-year-old native of Arizona has trained the last two Triple Crown winners, American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018.
During a career that has spanned 40 years, his horses have won 3,101 races in 13,588 starts. The total earnings during that time have topped $315million. He has a pair of entries in Saturday's Rebel Stakes, with Concert Tour at 2/1 odds and Hozier at 12/1.
Baffert is known for limiting starts for his 2-year-olds, as Justify became the first Triple Crown winner that didn't race until becoming a 3-year-old. Concert Tour could be following a similar path, who didn't break his maiden until January 15 at Santa Anita Park.
He followed that win with a victory at the San Vicente Stakes on February 6 and is a favourite for the Rebel despite coming into the race without any Derby prep race experience. Hozier was also held off the track until 2021 and broke his maiden on February 15, also at Santa Anita.
Steve Asmussen - Super Stock and Big Lake
The 55-year-old Hall of Fame trainer is a staple at Oaklawn Park and has accumulated over $347million in earnings over a 35-year career. He has three Triple Crown race wins, including the 2007 Preakness with two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.
His horses have won 9,225 races in 44,785 starts. Neither of his entrants in the Rebel is considered a top Triple Crown contender, but Asmussen has a knack for pulling off upsets at Oaklawn. Super Stock is at 6/1 odds, and Big Lake will open at 12/1 in the morning line.
