Astrology, a runner-up to Santiva in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club and the winner of the Grade 3 Iroquois, will make his three-year-old debut in the $800,000 Grade 3 Sunland Derby on Sunday. The Sunland Derby is the 12th race on the Sunday card at Sunland Park and is schedule to go to post at 5:45 Mountain Time (7:45 ET / 4:45 PT).
Twelve other horses will line-up alongside Astrology, including:
- Beer Meister - winner of the Turf Paradise Derby on February 26th.
- Nacho Saint - 4th place finisher in the G3 Gotham behind Stay Thirsty, Norman Asbjornson and Toby's Corner.
- Sinai - 5th in the San Vicente behind The Factor, Sway Away and Premier Pegasus.
- Fusa Code - winner of the Boarderland Derby at Sunland back on February 26th.
- Ruler On Ice - A son of Roman Ruler that ships in from Parx after recently winning an N1X at 8 1/2 furlongs.
- Behold de Buy - Runner-up to Fusa Code in the Boarderland Derby.
Considering how strong the San Vicente has turned out, Sinai has got to be considered a major player in this spot. Check out the splits for Sinai in the San Vicente below. Notice anything strange?
1/4: 23.32
1/2: 20.63
3/4: 24.29
Final: 13.46
A sub :21 split going into the half-mile? I know, I know - that's par for the course at Santa Anita these days. Still, it's hard not to have a double-take when your looking at splits like that.
Astrology, for all his success last fall, is coming off a major layoff and needs to show improvement form his juvenile form to win first time off-the-shelf.
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | ML |
| 1 | Ruler On Ice | J. Valdivia, Jr. | K. Breen | 8/1 |
| 2 | R Skydiver | A. Medellin | H. Dominguez | 12/1 |
| 3 | Fusa Code | J. Shepherd | S. Asmussen | 8/1 |
| 4 | It's My Party | J. Bourdieu | C. Hartman | 12/1 |
| 5 | Behold de Buy | K. Tohill | J. Salisbury | 12/1 |
| 6 | Supreme Ruler | J. Court | W. Fires | 20/1 |
| 7 | Sinai | M. Garcia | B. Baffert | 6/1 |
| 8 | Nacho Saint | J. Bravo | K. Breen | 7/2 |
| 9 | Twice the Appeal | C. Santiago Reyes | J. Bonde | 15/1 |
| 10 | Beer Meister | G. Corbett | M. Ortiz, Sr. | 15/1 |
| 11 | Astrology | J. Leparoux | S. Asmussen | 5/2 |