With this week’s Saudi Cup, I’ll debut our older horse rankings. Bob Baffert’s Charlatan sits atop the list, and can reinforce his position with a win overseas.

This 4-year-old and up, or handicap division, appears somewhat undistinguished after the top four. I will be very interested to see how the division develops as the year goes on, and I expect the three year olds will have a big impact at the end of the season. It seemed there were a rash of retirements after the Breeders Cup and the Clark this year, and many of the top 3-year olds of 2020 were sent to stud as well. Perhaps the uncertainty of the economy and the pandemic hastened those decisions ?

We had two Kentucky Derby prep races last weekend, with Mandaloun jumping up in a big way to win the Risen Star, and Rombauer coming from a mile back to win the El Camino Real. Proxy and Midnight Bourbon confirmed the form of the Lecomte by being back in the mix in the Risen Star. I’m not ready to make a bold move with any of them in the rankings, which will sit tight until after the Southwest. You could make a case to put Mandaloun as high as fifth, particularly off the 98 Beyer, and how he did it, running wide most of the way. The Southwest Stakes will give us one more piece of information, as I’ve been keen to see what happens with Jackie’s Warrior in his second try off the street out.