Peter Pan Stakes (G3) winner BLENDED CITIZEN takes on four rivals going nine furlongs at Los Alamitos on Saturday in the $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby (G3) under jockey Kyle Frey.
The Doug O’Neill-trained sophomore boasts three wins from 11 career starts, including the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) and Peter Pan. The bay son of Proud Citizen sandwiched a fifth in the Blue Grass Stakes (G2) between those two scores, and enters this spot off an unplaced run in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Blended Citizen has been installed as the 9-5 second choice on the morning line and breaks from post 2.
AX MAN is the 6-5 morning-line favorite after finishing third in the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs last month. Prior to that the Bob Baffert pupil wired the Sir Barton Stakes by 6 3/4 lengths over a sloppy, sealed track at Pimlico on the Preakness Stakes (G1) undercard. The Misremembered colt also captured an allowance/optional claimer by 8 1/2 lengths on April 8 at Santa Anita Park under Drayden Van Dyke, who takes back the mount here.
DRAFT PICK broke his maiden by 5 1/2 lengths in his sixth career start and immediately took his stakes bow next out in the Affirmed Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita on June 10. Trained by Peter Eurton, the Candy Ride sophomore keeps Joe Talamo in the irons while going for his second straight graded victory.
KING CAUSE ran fifth in the Lazaro Barrera Stakes (G3) and Affirmed in his past pair, and will attempt to earn some stakes credit in this spot under Evin Roman. ONCE ON WHISKEY stretches out to 1 1/8 miles while facing stakes rivals for the first time in the Los Alamitos Derby. He also gets a jockey switch from Van Dyke to Flavien Prat.
