Smile Happy 6-1 individual choice in KDFW Pool 4; Echo Zulu favored in Oaks Future Wager

The individual favorite in the first three pools of the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, Smile Happy regained that status by the time Pool 4 concluded Sunday evening.

Forbidden Kingdom nearly supplanted him as the 5-1 morning-line favorite, but the San Felipe (G2) romper drifted up to 7-1 at the end of Pool 4. Smile Happy, the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) winner and Risen Star (G2) runner-up, wound up closing at his morning-line odds of 6-1.

The mutuel field of “All Others” was again the overall choice in Pool 4, finishing at 4-1. That was a contraction from its initial price of 6-1.

Classic Causeway similarly shortened from 15-1 to 10-1, gaining support from his Tampa Bay Derby (G2) victory in the midst of Pool 4. Risen Star hero Epicenter, pegged at 8-1, climbed to 13-1.

Notable market movers include Charge It (bet down to 17-1 from 30-1), a flashy Gulfstream Park maiden winner for Todd Pletcher; Early Voting (closing at 19-1 from 30-1), whose Withers (G3) score has been boosted in subsequent preps; and Brad Cox’s undefeated Zozos (backed from 50-1 to 30-1), a resounding allowance winner at Oaklawn Park.

The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager ran concurrently with Pool 4 from Friday through Sunday, and the top two on the morning line proved to be the market leaders. Echo Zulu was trimmed from 4-1 to 5-2 favoritism, although the unbeaten champion has not raced since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). Streaking Honeybee (G3) heroine Secret Oath, expected to tackle males in the Arkansas Derby (G1) next, was backed from 6-1 into 7-2.

“All Other Three-Year-Old Fillies,” starting out at 10-1, attracted enough money to close as the third choice at 6-1. The pair of fillies slated at 8-1 both finished higher, but Davona Dale (G2) queen Kathleen O. inched up slightly to 9-1, while Nest, the Demoiselle (G2) and Suncoast S. scorer, ended up at a surprising 14-1. In contrast, Nest’s new stablemate in the Pletcher barn, UAE Oaks (G3) star Shahama, shortened from 30-1 to 24-1.

Churchill Downs reported $374,702 in total handle for Pool 4 ($284,503 in the Win pool and $90,200 in Exactas). The Oaks Future Wager handled $90,737 ($64,480 in the Win pool and $26,257 in Exactas). Bettors invested $84,591 in the Oaks/Derby Future Double. All three categories showed double-digit increases from 2021 - 16.2% for Pool 4, 15.9% for the Oaks, and 19.6% for the Oaks/Derby Future Double.

Will-pays and exacta probables can be found on the KDFW Pool 4 page on kentuckyderby.com. The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager page has the corresponding details, and the Oaks/Derby Double Future Wager figures are accessible on its page as well.

The fifth and final KDFW pool is scheduled for Mar. 31-Apr. 2. Note that is a Thursday to Saturday time frame, with wagering to close before the first Kentucky Derby scoring race on Apr. 2.