Super Ninety Nine, Oxbow face off in Rebel

Hall of Fame trainers Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas will each saddle a pair

of runners in Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000

Rebel

at Oaklawn Park, and one of those four is the likely favorite for the 1

1/16-mile contest.

Super Ninety Nine, one of Baffert's entrants, appears the one to beat off an

11 1/4-length romp on February 18 in the local prep, the Grade 3 Southwest over

a sloppy, sealed track.

The chestnut son of Pulpit returned in that spot off an 18-day break

following a 3 1/4-length score at Santa Anita in his sophomore debut. He earned

a 103 BRIS Speed rating for that Santa Anita optional claimer, and continued in

the same fashion with a 101 Speed figure for the Southwest. Jockey Rafael

Bejarano was aboard for both starts and retains the mount on Saturday.

Oxbow stuck around the New Orleans venue to try the Grade 2 Risen Star last

out, and had the lead in the stretch before being passed late in the lane. He

wound up only a half-length behind the winner in fourth, and will get a jockey

switch to Mike Smith for his Oaklawn debut.

Baffert's other Rebel runner, Den's Legacy, boasts just two career victories.

One of those came on the synthetic Polytrack at Del Mar and the other when

taking the Grade 3 Generous over Hollywood Park's turf. The Medaglia d'Oro colt

finished second in his past two on conventional dirt tracks, the Grade 3 Sham

and Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis, and will get a rider change to Robby Albarado while

competing outside of California for the first time.

Also shipping for the first time are the Todd Pletcher-trained Delhomme and

Ron Ellis-conditioned Treasury Bill.

Treasury Bill is also lightly raced with three starts, taking his maiden at

Santa Anita in his sophomore bow prior to a rallying second in the Grade 2 San

Vicente. The Lemon Drop Kid chestnut will be stretching out past seven furlongs

for the first time in the Rebel and brings jockey Joseph Talamo in from

California for the ride.

Title Contender will be looking to turn the tables on Carve in the Rebel

after being caught by that one in an optional claimer last month. The win gave

Carve a perfect two-for-two mark for trainer Steve Asmussen, who's tabbed Corey

Nakatani to pilot the First Samurai gelding. Title Contender, on the other hand,

has yet to score since breaking his maiden in September. He followed up with an

eighth-place run in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and an 11th in the CashCall

Futurity for Baffert, but has since been switched to the shedrow of Wayne

Catalano. The dark bay son of Pulpit will have Luis Quinonez in the irons for

the first time Saturday.

Hardrock Eleven, runner-up in a Sam Houston stakes in late January, and

Stormy Holiday, fourth in a trio of black-type contests in his past three, round

out the Rebel field.

One race prior to the Rebel, My Miss Aurelia heads a field of seven fillies

and mares in the Grade 3, $150,000

Azeri

going 1 1/16 miles. The champion filly suffered her first loss when second in

the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic and followed that up with a half-length third

in the Grade 1 La Brea to close out her three-year-old campaign last out.

The Smart Strike filly will try to get back to her winnings ways in the Azeri

in advance of a possible run in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 12,

but first will have to withstand the likes of Azeri defending champion Tiz Miz

Sue, Grade 3 winner and last year's Azeri runner-up She's All In, and Don't Tell

Sophia, who romped by 7 1/4 lengths in the Pippin prior to a 6 1/2-length win in

the Bayakoa over the local track.