Over-subscribed Illinois Derby features Currency Swap, Our Entourage

Over-subscribed Illinois Derby features Currency Swap, Our

Entourage

An overflow field of 17 has been entered to go 1 1/8 miles on Saturday in the

Grade 3, $500,000

Illinois Derby at Hawthorne, and Currency Swap is the horse to beat.

Trained by Terri Pompay, the High Cotton colt returned from a six-month break

to run second to unbeaten Gemologist in an allowance on March 16 at Gulfstream

Park. Prior to that Currency Swap was undefeated himself in two starts,

including a three-quarter length victory in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at

Saratoga on September 5.

"He was on the farm after we took the small chip out of his ankle following

the Hopeful," Pompay explained the absence. "We got him back and he's been

great, he's moved forward all along, but still -- in the quest to go on the

Derby trail, we're a little behind the eight ball."

Though Currency Swap earned $150,000 for his Hopeful victory, the

three-year-old needs a win in Illinois Derby if he hopes to have enough graded

earnings to make the Kentucky Derby field on May 5. The projected cutoff for the

Run for the Roses could reach as high as $300,000 this year.

"I put him in the allowance race to get a race into him coming back off the

bench and he ran well, but we ran into Gemologist who is a monster," Pompay

said. "We weren't really as tight as we should have been in that race coming off

a seven-month layoff, but it's great to have him back and training well.

"I was crushed when we didn't get to go to the Breeders' Cup. I really

thought we could win the Juvenile and I knew I had a really special horse -- and

I wanted to prove it and show him off."

Pompay could make history if Currency Swap pulls off a win in the Illinois

Derby and gets into the Kentucky Derby as there has never been a female trainer

who won the Run for the Roses in its 137-year history.

"My dream is to go to the Derby, but I want to go to the Derby with a horse I

think has a really good shot," she said. "I'd love to be able to win the

Illinois Derby and have that option, and if he won there and the owners said

'Let's go!' I'd love to give Kentucky a try. He's proved to me he's a real

special horse and I'm hoping he runs a terrific race on Saturday."

Another needing the $300,000 winner's share of the Illinois Derby to make the

Kentucky Derby field is Our Entourage. Thus far, the Todd Pletcher-trained

Street Cry colt has racked up $18,000 in graded earnings from a pair of

fifth-placings in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity and Grade 2 Remsen Stakes. The

bay returned to competition on February 25, scoring a one-length win against

optional claiming rivals on the turf at Gulfstream Park.

Ring It Up, Pretension and Done Talking are all looking to throw their hats

into the Kentucky Derby ring with a win on Saturday. The former, a Chris

Richard-trained son of Toccet, made his stakes bow in the first division of the

Grade 3 Southwest Stakes and finished fourth, just missing third by a neck.

The other two both competed in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes, with Pretension

coming in fifth and Done Talking winding up 10th. Pretension, a Bluegrass Cat

three-year-old trained by Chris Grove, scored in the Sweet Envoy Stakes and was

a head second in the Damon Runyon Stakes at Aqueduct, but also ran second to the

returning Private Terms second Hakam in an optional claimer on January 4.

"The Gotham race was kind of screwed up," Grove said. "Going into the first

turn, a horse of Pletcher's came over on him and he got shuffled back. He

doesn't have to be on the lead but he likes to lay up close, two or three

lengths off the pace. So he was five or six lengths back which was a new spot

for him, and he made a real nice move to be within two lengths of Hansen, but

then Hansen just drew off."

Done Talking, on the other hand, was a length behind in fourth in the Remsen

and could improve here after making his return from a three-month layoff in the

Gotham.

Only 14 will be allowed to go in the Illinois Derby, leaving three on the

outside looking in at this point.

One race earlier on Hawthorne's Saturday card, Free Fighter will take on

eight rivals in the $60,000

Cryptoclearance Stakes going 1 1/16 miles. The Out of Place gelding was last

seen taking the Grade 3 Stars and Stripes Stakes at Arlington Park in late July.