Express Kid Faces Tough Test in Sunland Park Derby

Early speed is likely to shape the outcome of the $500,000 Sunland Park Derby, a 1 1/16-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier Feb. 15 with three contenders that won last out in front-running fashion and another who chased blazing fractions only to miss by a neck. Express Kid, the 3-1 morning-line favorite, is one of the front-runners, coming into the Sunland Derby off a 6 1/4-length win in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes during which he never saw another horse. That performance caught the attention of owners Bradley and Sharon Kleven, who have horses at Turf Paradise and Sunland Park with trainer Justin Evans. They asked Evans to contact trainer Wade Rarick, whose barn is near Evans' barn at Turf Paradise, and tell him they were interested in the horse. Apparently, the Klevens were among several interested because then-owner Steve Haahr offered the California-bred son of Bodexpress with Paramount Sales in a Fasig-Tipton Digital Flash Sale Jan. 5-9. "When it came down to the last day, Brad had told me the number he had in mind and when we went over that, I decided to take a nap because I needed to go out to barn in the afternoon," Evans said. "Then, I get a phone call from Brad, 'Hey, I bought you that horse.' Man, that is a good way to wake up. You're waking up to a dream." Kleven went to $800,000 to buy Express Kid, who has won three of five career starts and faces his stiffest test yet in the Sunland Derby. While the colt seems to be at his best as the pacesetter, Evans said he has shown enough versatility to handle the other speed in the race. "I like where we are, being on the fence. Maybe if they want to go real fast, we'll let them do the heavy lifting and sit right off of it. If not, maybe we find ourselves going our own pace on the front end and have enough to kick on for the finish," he said. "He is a very classy horse and handles everything." The Springboard Mile gave Express Kid 10 points toward qualifying for a spot in the Kentucky Derby (G1) starting gate, and 20 are available to the Sunland Derby winner. The points allocation for Sunland Park's premier race for 3-year-olds is 20-10-6-4-2 to the top five finishers. Express Kid will break from post 1 with Juan Hernandez aboard. The other potential pacesetters in the race include 7-2 second choice Bricklin, a colt by Nyquist owned by Imagine Racing and trained by Rodolphe Brisset. Bricklin made his 2026 debut Jan. 3 at Oaklawn Park, where he won a 1-mile $115,000 allowance optional claiming race in front-running fashion by 3 1/4 lengths. Bricklin earned an 84 Equibase Speed Figure for his Oaklawn performance, compared with the 96 ESF earned by Express Kid in the Springboard Mile. Bricklin will break from post 6 with Cristian Torres in the saddle. Forty Twenty, a homebred son of Candy Ride (ARG) campaigned by Randy Howg, is anticipated to be vying for the lead early as well. Trained by Robertino Diodoro, the bay colt comes into the Sunland Derby off his maiden win Jan. 15 at Turf Paradise. Leading at every point of call, he won his second start by 12 lengths going 6 furlongs and earned an 87 ESF for the effort. Two other challengers in the field finished second in their most recent starts but they applied serious pressure to the pacesetters. Ed and Susie Orr's Way Beyond finished second by a nose last out in the 1-mile Riley Allison Derby at Sunland Park. Way Beyond was never more than a length behind pacesetter Truly Unbelievable in the Riley Allison for three-quarters of a mile, then took the lead in deep stretch, only to be pipped at the wire by Daneyko, who is also entered in the Sunland Derby. Way Beyond is trained by Steve Asmussen and will be ridden from post 5 by his son Keith Asmussen, who was aboard in the Riley Allison. Sharons Beach gave a similar performance in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden optional claimer Jan. 23 at Santa Anita Park, but Panic Stable's gelded son of Omaha Beach chased fractions of :21.98, :44.52, and 1:09.54 set by Liam Smith. Sharons Beach lost by a neck. The gelding is trained by Jonathan Thomas and will be ridden from post 2 by John Velazquez. Sharons Beach has been cross-entered in a 1-mile maiden special weight Feb. 16 as Santa Anita. Sunland Park Oaks Two races prior to the Sunland Derby will be the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks, a 1-mile qualifying race for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) that will allocate points on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis to the top five finishers. Heavy morning-line favorite Bottle of Rouge will be looking for her first points for owner Jill Baffert, the wife of trainer Bob Baffert. The gray or roan daughter of Vino Rosso has done little wrong so far with two wins and a second from four career starts. Her only off-the-board finish was a sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) that followed a win in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1). Bottle of Rouge is 6-5 in the morning line and will leave from post 4 with Hernandez in the saddle. Both Red White and Blue Racing's Pashmina and Reddam Racing's homebred Cashed are seeking to grow their qualifying points totals. Pashmina has 7 points so far from a third in the Untapable Stakes, while Cashed has 5 points from a second in the Starlet Stakes (G2). Pashmina, a daughter of Constitution, comes into the Sunland Oaks off a fourth in the Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. She is trained by Rob Atras and will be ridden by Torres. Cashed ran second by a neck last out in the Jan. 17 Leigh Ann Howard California Cup Oaks on the Santa Anita turf. The daughter of I'll Have Another, who won the 2012 Kentucky Derby for J. Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O'Neill, has never finished off the board but her maiden win Sept. 27 is her only victory. Cashed is trained by O'Neill and will be ridden Edwin Maldonado.