Conquest Typhoon the one to beat in El Camino Real Derby

Conquest Typhoon (Stormy Atlantic) displayed excellent class on turf last

season, winning the Summer (G2) and Cecil DeMille (G3) and recording a troubled

fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). And the bay colt also showed

good synthetic form, finishing second in the Grey (G3) at Woodbine to

International Star (Fusaichi Pegasus), who opened 2015 with a victory in the

Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds.

Those performances suggest Conquest Typhoon, a finalist for the Sovereign

Award as Canada's top two-year-old, should make a seamless transition to Golden

Gate Fields' all-weather Tapeta track in Saturday's $200,000

El

Camino Real Derby (G3). The 1 1/8-mile race is part of the Road to the

Kentucky Derby series, offering the first four respective finishers points on a

10-4-2-1 scale.

Trained by Mark Casse, Conquest Typhoon will bring along top jockey Mike

Smith to Northern California and is listed as the 7-2 morning line choice among

10 rivals.

Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is often well-represented in graded

stakes at Golden Gate Fields and will send out three runners Saturday. Cross the

Line (Line of David) is listed at 5-1, the shortest price among the trio

following his local success in the January 17 California Derby and will put his

two-race win skein on the line with a returning Juan Hernandez.