DEL MAR, Calif. – The postponement of the Kentucky Derby has allowed several late-developing 3-year-olds a chance to make the field, as well as a reprieve for a colt who was headed the wrong direction three months ago. Thousand Words, whose early promise at 2 had largely failed to translate at 3, continued his second act with a victory on Saturday in the $98,000 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar, which came at the expense of the West Coast’s top-ranked Derby prospect, Honor A. P. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more The race will be pored over numerous times between now and the Derby on Sept. 5. Thousand Words earned a Derby berth via the victory, which was worth 50 points on the system Churchill Downs uses to determine the field should more than the maximum 20 enter. He is headed in the right direction, but whether he will improve enough to take on the likes of Tiz the Law in five weeks is debatable. A bigger debate will be regarding Honor A. P., the Santa Anita Derby winner, who seemed to go through the motions yet still finished second. He is certainly far better than what he showed on Saturday, and certainly will need to be better than that when he gets to Kentucky. Only four went to the post for the Shared Belief from an original field of six. Uncle Chuck, like Thousand Words trained by Bob Baffert, was scratched as expected to go to the Travers Stakes next Saturday at Saratoga. Anneau d’Oro was scratched in favor of the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9. Thousand Words was coming off a second-place finish to Uncle Chuck four weeks ago in the Los Alamitos Derby, an improved performance over his prior two, in the San Felipe (fourth) and Oaklawn Stakes (11th). He also had trained well here, including a drill one week prior to the Shared Belief in which he appeared to be going better than stablemate Cezanne. Despite those encouraging signs, he was still a distant third choice. Honor A. P. was understandably sent off a heavy favorite, at 1-5, but Cezanne, coming off a moderate win against allowance company and making his stakes debut, was the second choice at 5-2, perhaps because Flavien Prat chose him over Thousand Words. :: Play Del Mar with DRF! Visit our Del Mar shop for DRF PPs, Picks, Betting Strategies, and Clocker Reports Thousand Words, with Abel Cedillo, was 9-1, and the longshot Kiss Today Goodbye 34-1. Thousand Words broke best from the inside post in the 1 1/16-mile race and took the early lead, with Cezanne just outside him. Honor A. P. trailed early, but as the field went around the first turn and the pace slowed, jockey Mike Smith allowed Honor A. P. to advance all the way to second, just behind Thousand Words. As the field raced down the backstretch, Thousand Words continued to lead, and then Cezanne split horses to move back into second as Honor A. P. was kept three paths wide. Thousand Words continued to lead into the lane, with Cezanne unable to make up any ground, and Honor A. P. was not accelerating, either. Only when the seemingly overmatched Kiss Today Goodbye began to close late did Honor A. P. engage and make up any ground, but by then it was too late. Thousand Words held on to win by three-quarters of a length. Honor A. P. was second, a half-length better than Kiss Today Goodbye, with Cezanne another neck back in third. All four were separated by 1 1/2 lengths in a race that went in 1:43.85 on the fast main track. “We didn’t need Uncle Chuck,” Baffert said as he headed toward the winner’s circle. “That was a weird-run race.” “Since he got down here, I’ve noticed a big difference. The real Thousand Words showed up today.” Thousand Words, by Pioneerof the Nile, was a $1 million yearling purchase by Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm. He won the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity last year in only his second start, and in February won the Robert Lewis, but then went off form. He is now 4 for 7 lifetime. “He just soured-out on me,” Baffert said. “I mismanaged him. We freshened him and got him going well again.” Baffert was able to be ontrack because a 15-day suspension that was scheduled to start Saturday -- handed down by Oaklawn Park stewards after two of his horses were disqualified from races there for medication violations in May – has been appealed. Del Mar’s stewards on Saturday they said were informed by the Arkansas Racing Commission that under Arkansas racing rules a stay is automatically granted when a suspension is appealed. Honor A. P. was cutting back from the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby, which was one of several factors Smith cited as impacting his performance Saturday. “It’s shorter than he wants to go,” Smith said. :: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more Most significantly, though, Smith said Honor A. P. “left there a little sluggish” and was “off the bridle” midway through the race. Despite that, “he’d have won if it was a mile and an eighth,” he added. Smith said jockeys not being allowed to work horses in the morning here at Del Mar, a change from policy at Santa Anita, is detrimental to Honor A. P.’s progress. “He ran well,” Smith said. “Certainly we’d have liked to have won. But I need to be on him and work him. It hurts me not to get on him. I have to get on him.”