Super Stock punched his ticket for the 147th Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park with a 2 1/2-length score in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1).
The victory came at the expense of the highly-regarded duo of Caddo River and Concert Tour, second and third respectively, while Dialed In’s second runner in the race, Get Her Number, was just three lengths from the winner in fourth.
As expected, Caddo River and Concert Tour staged an early battle for the lead, making their way through a half-mile in :46.51, with Super Stock, in post 1, riding the rail about three lengths from the front.
The running order didn’t change until upper stretch, when Concert Tour took the lead and looked poised to win. Super Stock and jockey Rafael Santana, Jr. had different plans though, as they came out into the middle of the track and ran by the pacesetters and drew away late for the win.
The final time for the 1 1/8-miles on a fast track was 1:50.92.
“We never, ever imagined in our wildest dreams that we would be able to compete in racing at this level,” said Marilyn Asmussen, the wife of co-owner Keith Asmussen and trainer Steve’s mother. “To see your son successful at what he’s chosen to do in life, there’s no bigger reward for a parent than that. This will be embedded in our hearts forever.”
Super Stock’s big payday upped his earnings to $804,762, with a record of 2-2-2 in eight starts for Asmussen and co-owner Irv Woolsey. More importantly, the victory earned the colt 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge, assuring him a starting spot in the May 1st Run for the Roses. Super Stock placed in both the Street Sense S. and Iroquois S. (G3) in his two prior starts at Churchill Downs.
Super Stock was bred in Kentucky by Pedro and P. J. Gonzalez. The bay colt is out of Super Girlie and is a half-brother to Grade 1-placed Boujie Girl.
Super Stock’s win pushed Dialed In’s lifetime progeny earnings past the $20 million mark; he is one of only three active sires in his generation to surpass that milestone.
