The Kentucky Derby picture has been thrown wide open with Uncle Mo's defeat in Saturday's Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. On the West Coast, neither Silver Medallion nor Anthony's Cross were able to do anything in the Santa Anita Derby to solidify their credentials for the Run for the Roses. Silver Medallion, owned in part by Mike Ryan, and Anthony's Cross, trained by Eoin Harty, finished fourth and fifth, respectively, behind Midnight Interlude, the 13-1 winner. Silver Medallion, which went off as the 5-2 favorite due to a couple of scratches, pressed the early pace before tiring and finishing three and one-half lengths behind the winner. Anthony's Cross, the 3-1 third choice, was another two lengths back. "I had a perfect trip," said Garrett Gomez, rider of Silver Medallion. "He was travelling like a million dollars until the three-eighths pole. When I got [there], he still traveled good, he just wasn't traveling the same." Neither Harty nor Steve Asmussen, Silver Medallion's trainer, were ready to commit their charges to the Kentucky Derby and will make their minds up in the coming weeks.
RYAN BASKING IN SUNSHINEDerek Ryan will be hard pressed to top My Sunshine Gal as his best-ever claim. He took the 3-year-old filly for $25,000 at Tampa Bay Downs on March 26 (a race she won by 12 lengths off the drop from stakes company) on behalf of Wisteria Lane Stable and entered her back in Saturday's $75,000 Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies Stakes, a race she won by almost six lengths. Jockey Ron Allen, Jr. had the filly involved early and had opened up a 2-length lead when straightening for home. She cruised home in 1:22.13 for seven furlongs and returned $9.40 to win at the windows. "I went in for another horse the day before [claiming My Sunshine Gal] and got outshook," Ryan said. "If I hadn't been outshook, I wouldn't have got her, so it worked out."
