Santa Anita-based Hot Rod Charlie makes his points
At 0h03, on March 23, 2021 • By SANTA ANITA
I’ll Have Another, Nyquist, Hot Rod Charlie?
Team O’Neill is hopeful another Santa Anita-based three-year-old will give it a Kentucky Derby trifecta with Hot Rod Charlie after victories with I’ll Have Another in 2012 and Nyquist in 2016.
A total of 19 horses have used the Santa Anita Derby in preparation for victory in the Kentucky Derby and five of the last nine winners of the Run for the Roses have called Santa Anita home: Authentic (2020), Justify (2018), Nyquist (2016), American Pharoah (2015) and I’ll Have Another (2012). American Pharoah and Justify also swept the Triple Crown.
Under Joel Rosario, Hot Rod Charlie scored a front-running two-length triumph in Saturday’s Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds, earning the Oxbow colt 100 qualifying points for the Derby on May 1, assuring him a spot in the 20-horse field.
