MESSIER, FORBIDDEN KINGDOM MEET IN SANTA ANITA DERBY SHOWDOWN

The most anticipated head-to-head matchup of the Kentucky Derby prep season is all set as Messier and Forbidden Kingdom lead a field of six entered Wednesday for Saturday’s Grade 1, US$750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

Messier, 15-length winner of the Robert B. Lewis (G3) on Feb. 6, drew post 4 and was installed as the even-money favorite on Jon White’s morning line. Hall of Famer John Velazquez again will be in the irons for trainer Tim Yakteen.

The speedy Forbidden Kingdom, blowout winner of the March 5 San Felipe (G2) in his two-turn bow, drew directly inside of Messier in post 3 and is 6-5 on the morning line. Juan Hernandez again will be aboard for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella.

Messier (103) and Forbidden Kingdom (98) earned the first- and third-highest Beyer Speed Figures by a 3-year-old going two turns this season with their respective wins, according to Daily Racing Form.

The second-fastest Beyer Speed Figure overall by a 3-year-old? A six-furlong maiden win on March 5 by Taiba, who was entered for his first try versus winners in the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby. The $1.7 million son of Gun Runner drew post 6 and is 4-1 on the morning line.

Armagnac joins Messier and Taiba as the third former Bob Baffert runner in the Santa Anita Derby field, all of whom now are trained by Yakteen. Armagnac, a Quality Road colt, was a well-beaten sixth in the San Felipe in his first try versus winners.

At Santa Anita Wednesday, Yakteen was going through his morning paces three days before taking center stage for the West’s premiere Kentucky Derby prep. The former Baffert assistant’s only previous starter in the Santa Anita Derby was in 2011 with California-bred Bench Points, who finished seventh.

In his workouts ahead of Saturday’s race, Messier has drawn raves from morning observers, particularly a bullet six-furlong drill in 1:11.4 on March 27. The Canadian-bred son of Empire Maker returned to breeze five furlongs in a sharp 1:00.6 last Saturday.

“We couldn’t be happier with how he’s coming into the race,” Yakteen said.

In the wake of Forbidden Kingdom’s front-running score in the 1 1/16-miles San Felipe, Mandella has continued to try to get the quick colt to be a little more “settled.” After a brief illness last month, Forbidden Kingdom got back to work with a six-furlong move in 1:14.0 on March 24. That was followed by a seven-furlong drill in 1:26.6 on Thursday.

On Wednesday, he returned with a three-furlong blowout in 37.0 seconds.

“He’s going to have to go a little farther this time, and someday he’ll need to settle,” Mandella said. “But it’s not that we’re wanting to change (his running style) too much.”

Forbidden Kingdom already has qualified for the Kentucky Derby with the 50 points he earned in the San Felipe. But for Messier, it all comes down to Saturday. The colt had been ineligible to earn Derby points while trained by Baffert.

A win would be enough to qualify for the classic because the Santa Anita Derby offers points on 100-40-20-10 scale to the top four finishers. A second-place finish also might be enough to put him in the Kentucky Derby.

In this weekend's Kentucky Derby Future Wager, Messier was installed as the 8-1 co-third choice among 23 individual betting interests. In Nevada, he is trading as the 6-1 co-favorite with Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Epicenter.

“I completely respect Forbidden Kingdom. He’s a very gifted horse to do what he did last time and to be able to keep going,” Yakteen said. “But the additional distance may be an equalizer. I have the utmost confidence in Johnny, and our horse is doing great. I think he’ll play the race at the break and take it from there.

“I think our horse is going to run absolutely lights out,” he added.