HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Timberlake indicated his intent to be a significant player on the Triple Crown trail Saturday, when he won his 3-year-old debut in determined fashion in the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel at Oaklawn Park. Timberlake won his first start in about four months and nailed down his first win at two turns. He secured 50 points for the Kentucky Derby – and pushed his career earnings to more than $1 million. The Rebel was the richest of four stakes on a 12-race card in which an estimated 46,000 people were ontrack, according to Oaklawn. Handle from all sources topped $19.9 million. Timberlake ($3.60) was a two-length winner over Common Defense, while it was another three lengths back in third to Northern Flame. Woodcourt was fourth and Diamatic was fifth, with the second- through fifth-place finishers earning points on a scale of 25-15-10-5. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Timberlake was content to settle in fifth behind a wall of runners, with Carbone moving to the lead from his rail post and setting fractions of 23.20 seconds for the opening quarter, 47.67 for the half-mile and 1:12.93 for six furlongs. Timberlake advanced on the final turn, came five wide into the stretch, worked his way past the leaders, then was clear late, while covering 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44. “He was great today,” said jockey Cristian Torres, who won the richest race of his career. “He was focused in the paddock and the post parade, very relaxed. I was confident, but that made me more confident. Going into the gate, he was focused and I knew he was going to run big for me." Timberlake (93 Beyer Speed Figure) settled well and unleased his bid in the later stages.  "As soon as I took him out at the three-sixteenths [pole], he just started going," Torres said. "Honestly, he did everything. He was just cruising.”   Timberlake was making his first start since running fourth to eventual champion Fierceness in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita. The Breeders' Cup was his first around two turns, and it came following his victory in the Grade 1 Champagne. Trainer Brad Cox said prior to the Rebel that the race became a target because of it’s timing and the ability to start Timberlake back at a distance of 1 1/16 miles rather than jumping right to 1 1/8 miles for the Risen Star, which was run last week at Timberlake’s base of Fair Grounds. “I thought he ran a big race,” Cox told Oaklawn publicity from Saudi Arabia, where he saddled Saudi Crown to a third-place finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup. “He was a little wide around the far turn, looked like he may have been getting a touch tired late, but overall it was a great run off the layoff.” Cox said Timberlake would return to his Fair Grounds base and that decisions on his next start would be made after discussions with WinStar Farm. The remaining order of finish in the Rebel was Carbone in sixth, Just Steel, Next Level, Magic Grant, Mena and Tejon Pass. Timberlake, who is a son of Into Mischief bred by St. Elias Stables, has now won 3 of 6 starts for earnings of $1,094,350. The next race in Oaklawn’s series for 3-year-olds is the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby on March 30.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.