Strike It Smart, and Son of Rocket. The last Kentucky Derby winner to use the Arkansas Derby as a prep was Grindstone, who broke from an outside post and finished second at Oaklawn in 1996 and returned to win at Churchill Downs three weeks later. The last horse to win both races was Sunny's Halo in 1983. Monarchos arrived at Aqueduct Tuesday afternoon on a flight from Louisville, where he had been stabled at Churchill Downs. Ward's colt has galloped over the Aqueduct racing surface each day since his arrival.
Smart horses like to look around when they get to a new place.
Monarchos is the 4-5 morning line favoriteand will have regular jockey Jorge Chavez in the irons. His primary challenge may come from the barn that is home to Point Given as trainer Bob Baffert sends lightly-raced Congaree into the Wood. The son of star-crossed 1992 Derby favorite Arazi lost his only race at two, but has romped to a pair of easy victories this year and makes his stakes debut in the Wood. He's got a lot of foundation in him and he's ready to go. So far, everything's worked out.