Looking Ahead: Getaway Car and Authentic Gallop highlight new Derby prep

Mar 14, 2025 Sara Dacus/TwinSpires.com

Getaway Car (inside) and Caldera dueled to the wire in the Sunland Park Derby (Photo by Coady Media)

The Road to the Kentucky Derby heads to Colonial Downs for the first time in the history of the series. The Virginia Derby (G3) shifted from a late-summer turf race to a dirt contest that is the centerpiece of a special three-day meet. The prep has attracted a nine-horse field and a sold-out crowd, and it is this weekend’s sole Kentucky Derby qualifying event.

Bob Baffert-trained Getaway Car, named after a Taylor Swift song, is the 9-5 morning line favorite. In his last effort, he nosed out Caldera to win the Sunland Derby and earn 20 points towards Kentucky Derby eligibility. The son of Curlin held the lead for most of the race, and Caldera, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, challenged him in the stretch. The two battled all the way to the finish line, where Getaway Car narrowly secured the win. The pair were nine lengths ahead of the rest of the field.

The Sunland Derby brought Getaway Car’s record to three wins from seven career starts. Last summer, he won the Best Pal S. (G2) at Del Mar before second place finishes in both the American Phaorah S. (G1) at Santa Anita and the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). The Virginia Derby will be his second start as a sophomore.

Sunland Derby winner Getaway Car (right) goes to @ColonialDowns for Saturday's Virginia Derby! 🏇

He currently sits in 7th on the @KentuckyDerby leaderboard with 36 points. 🌹 pic.twitter.com/9Llkf1rppj

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 13, 2025

Baffert has only started one other horse at Colonial Downs, and he is looking for his first win at the track.

Authentic Gallop is 10-1 on the morning line. With two wins at Oaklawn Park in his last three starts, he is an intriguing prospect moving up in class. In his most recent start, he raced with blinkers off and beat the competition by a head. The first four finishers were separated by only 1 3/4 lengths.

Trainer Tom Amoss said that Authentic Gallop is a developing colt who is still learning how to be competitive, and he has focused on developing this edge in recent works. Amoss also feels like his last race gave the sophomore a better understanding of racing.

“Bottom line he is a good horse,” Amoss said. “The question is, is he a ‘now’ horse? When they mentally get a better understanding of it a lot of good things can happen. I think that last race could have done that for him.”

Authentic Gallop is a son of 2020 Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Authentic.

Amoss is a New Orleans native and was inducted into the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame in 1998. He won the 2019 Kentucky Oaks with Serengeti Empress.