By Joe Bianca
One has steadily gotten better all year, one appeared unlikely to meet expectations before a surface switch, and both will seek their first Grade I victory in Saturday's Hollywood Derby at Del Mar.
Red Baron Barn, Rancho Temescal and Mark Glatt's Sharp Samurai (First Samurai), once entered for a $75,000 tag, has won four stakes and five of six starts since getting on turf this spring including a sweep of the GIII La Jolla H. and GII Del Mar Derby on the seaside course. The versatile gelding continued his ascent in the GII Twilight Derby Oct. 28 at Santa Anita, surviving an early pace duel and kicking clear to a comprehensive victory.
It seems improbable that one of the horses Sharp Samurai has been beaten up on reverses fortunes, but he'll have an imposing foe in Coolmore and Team D's 'TDN Rising Star' Mo Town (Uncle Mo). A promising victor of the GII Remsen S. as a juvenile last fall, the $200,000 Keeneland September buy went winless in four starts this season before producing easily his career-best effort when tried on turf Oct. 12 at Belmont. The bay rallied from off the pace that day to romp by 6 1/2 lengths for a field-best 102 Beyer.
Another late-blooming 'TDN Rising Star', Souper Tapit (Tapit) has an upset chance. Graduating on debut despite a brutal trip Feb. 18 at Fair Grounds, the Live Oak homebred was off the board in his next two outings, but bounced back to capture the GIII Marine S. on the Woodbine all-weather track May 28. The bay is winless in two turf tries since, but encountered major traffic trouble in the stretch of both races, and could show a lot more with a clean trip.
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