Month: May 2023

Muhaarar Colt A New Rising Star

Bypassing the 2000 Guineas in favour of another confidence-building exercise in Goodwood's British EBF 40th Anniversary Conditions S. on Friday, Rosehill Racing's bargain 32,000gns Book 3 purchase Cicero's Gift (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}–Terentia {GB}, by Diktat {GB}) rewarded that patience by taking his record to three-for-three with consummate ease to become the latest TDN Rising Star. Sent off the 7-4 second favourite for the mile contest, the Charlie Hills-trained relative of the smart sprinter Cartimandua (GB) (Medicean {GB}) was settled under cover on the rail by Kieran Shoemark throughout the early stages.

Eased out of his pocket approaching the furlong pole, the bay who had won on testing ground at Newbury in October and on Wolverhampton's Tapeta in March quickly settled the issue before surging to a 5 1/2-length dismissal of the 11-8 favourite Kolsai (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). The Roger Varian-trained runner-up provides useful context to the form, having been just a half-length second to the well-regarded Canberra Legend (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in Newmarket's Listed Feilden S. last month.

 

Cicero's Gift, who holds an entry in the G1 St James's Palace S., brings Muhaarar's TDN Rising Star tally to four, with the P. G. Johnson S. winner and GII Miss Grillo S. third Be Your Best (Ire) winner currently chief among them. The dam, a smart five-furlong handicapper, has produced one black-type performer so far in the Listed Queen Charlotte S. runner-up Crossing The Line (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}). She is out of the Listed Oh So Sharp S. scorer Agrippina (GB) (Timeless Times), who produced the aforementioned Cartimandua. Successful in the Listed Kilvington Fillies' S. and Listed Cecil Frail S. and third in the G3 Ballyogan S., she went on to throw the G2 July S. third Elronaq (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). Terentia's 2-year-old colt is by Golden Horn (GB), while her yearling son of Mohaather (GB) was a 52,000gns purchase by Manister House Stud at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.

5th-Goodwood, £30,000, Novice, 5-5, 3yo, 8fT, 1:42.03, g/s.
CICERO'S GIFT (GB), c, 3, by Muhaarar (GB)
     1st Dam: Terentia (GB), by Diktat (GB)
     2nd Dam: Agrippina (GB), by Timeless Times
     3rd Dam: Boadicea's Chariot (Ire), by Commanche Run (GB)
(32,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $37,513. O-Rosehill Racing; B-Mrs F S Williams (GB); T-Charles Hills. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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The Magic Number: How Did We Arrive At 20 Kentucky Derby Starters?

This Saturday, the gate crew at Churchill Downs will wrangle the enormous, custom-made, 20-horse gate that debuted in the 2020 Kentucky Derby. While there will not be a full starting for Derby 149 due to several late scratches that exhausted the list of also-eligibles, it's become an annual rite of spring for racing fans to focus their energies on the points leaderboard, wondering who's on the bubble in that group of 20 and who isn't.

But just how did we arrive at 20 as the magic number for Kentucky Derby starters?

No other race in the United States allows for so many entries, although plenty of turf and steeplechase contests overseas do. In fact, the Kentucky Oaks is limited to 14, as are most American races, including the Breeders' Cup – possibly because it was the Puett electric starting gates that debuted in the late 1930s came in sizes of either 12 or 14 stalls, the latter becoming more common as the Thoroughbred population bloomed.

In the spring of 1974, the racing world's imagination was still afire with memories of Secretariat's legendary Triple Crown run and Derby Fever was more rampant than ever. That year, 23 horses went to the post, marking the largest field in the race's history.

By some accounts, it was a mess.

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Jim Murray summarized, “It was a race only if you consider the Battle of Jutland a race. The last time anything this wild took place on horseback the riders all had fur hats on them and went around riding down peasants.”

The comment section of the race chart printed in in the Kentucky Derby media guide doesn't even account for all 23 runners, perhaps reflecting that it was too great a task even for veteran chartcallers to sort out who did what to whom. The horses who do receive running line comments reflect a fair bit of traffic, and show that Wood Memorial winner Flip Sal pulled up lame, though it seems he was well out of the race prior to his stop at the three-quarter pole. (Impressively, though Flip Sal's injuries were traumatic, he recovered sufficiently to have a stud career at Clermont Farm in New York.)

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At a board meeting in late 1974, Churchill decision-makers voted to institute a 20-horse limit, giving preference to the horses with the top lifetime earnings.

This decision generated little fanfare at the time, and for several years it seemed no one really noticed anything had changed. There were 15 runners in 1975, only nine in 1976, and subsequent Derbies didn't get as high as 16. In 1981 however, there were 23 hopefuls pointing to the race and suddenly the limit was relevant again.

The field contained two coupled entries in Golden Derby/Proud Appeal and Noble Nashua/Wayward Lass. Both pairs had ownership in common, and in those days a state racing rule indicated that “in no case may two horses having common ties start in a race to the exclusion of another single entry.”

The decision of the owners to run both of their eligible horses plus the overall field cap squeezed out three runners, including Larry Barrera-trained Flying Nashua and Fred Wirth-trained Mythical Ruler. (The third horse left the track after the entry box closed.) The two owners went to court, arguing that the racing rule prohibited them from being shut out, and they won in county court; Churchill Downs appealed the decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, arguing that to let extra horses in after entries closed would be unfair to the 20 owners whose horses had qualified, and also that the state regulation did not apply to stakes races, only overnight purse races. At the 11th hour, the appeals court upheld the lower court's ruling and county court judges cleared Flying Nashua and Mythical Ruler to start.

Part of the reasoning from Judge Charles Leibson of Jefferson County Circuit Court when he allowed Flying Nashua into the race was that the horse would suffer “immediate harm” if he wasn't permitted into the Derby, regardless of where he may finish.

”That's why they run some horses that shouldn't be running at all,” Leibson was quoted as saying in the New York Times. ”Assuming this horse could run well enough to finish in the money, his loss of a chance to do so could cause irreparable harm.”

In the end, 21 horses started, as Wayward Lass ultimately scratched. Flying Nashua finished eighth, and Mythical Ruler was a distant 17th.

The rest of the story, according to reporting from the New York Times, was that the unexpected decision of Wayward Lass' ownership to enter her in the Derby and subsequently run her in the Oaks instead may have been a matter of revenge. Rider Angel Cordero Jr. had taken off Noble Nashua, the other half of the Wayward Lass entry, in favor of Flying Nashua, leading to speculation that the owner may have entered his filly just to squeeze out Cordero. Owner Carl Lizza told the Times this was not the case, and instead he had pulled his filly because he didn't like her No. 20 post position.

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The state rule on coupled entries was subsequently changed to prevent a recurrence, but the fight about the Derby field was far from over.

Initially, the 20-horse limit was predicated on the 20 horses who had the highest career earnings. That became a problem just two years later in 1983, when top contender Marfa entered the Spiral Stakes at Latonia Race Course. Latonia instituted a similar rule restricting Spiral entries to the top ten horses based on career earnings – which shut out four others. Prior to the race, track officials realized that they had the wrong earnings information for Marfa, and he actually shouldn't have made the cut-off. He was the favorite and started anyway, winning and triggering fury from the connections of Noble Home and Hail to Rome, who finished second and third.

Those connections asked the stewards to disqualify Marfa. When that objection failed, they asserted the horses, who were 17th and 21st by earnings, should be credited with the purse amounts of first- and second-place runners.

Andy Beyer, writing for the Washington Post, pointed out that there was really no good solution in the weeks leading up to the Derby. If the earnings of Noble Home and Hail to Rome had been artificially bumped to account for Marfa's ineligibility in the Spiral, they'd be pushing someone else out of the Derby field.

(Marfa's case was not helped by his eccentric personality, which led him to attack a lead pony prior to one race, bite multiple rivals on and off the track, and to run so crookedly in the Blue Grass that he was disqualified from first to fourth.)

In the end, it didn't matter. Noble Home was ultimately credited with the winner's share of the Spiral purse for the purposes of Derby eligibility, but came up with a fever the week of the race and did not start. Hail to Rome ran a disappointing eighth in the Derby Trial and his connections thought better of trying him in a bigger test.

Still, Beyer wrote, the Derby season was tarnished by the run of hotheaded threats from owners. Beyer believed the career earnings rule removed owners' and trainers' incentive to think critically about whether or not their horse belonged in the race, just so long as they qualified.

“Ten years ago,” said William Rudy, Churchill Downs' public relations director to Beyer, “a man who thought he had the 20th best 3-year-old would go somewhere else. But now they start saying, 'We're in the top 20,' and the rule almost forces them in. It has created 20-horse fields as a matter of course, and it's working to the detriment of its original purpose.”

Some would argue that Beyer had a point as, in the intervening years, it became more and more common for 20 or even more horses to enter the race.

As added revenue from slots began artificially inflating purses at smaller tracks beyond their generally-accepted prominence, the racetrack would decide to switch the system to count restricted race earnings, then stakes earnings, and eventually graded stakes earnings.

This system still had its imperfections, as it rewarded success in sprint and turf races that don't generally hold much value for predicting success at 1 ¼ miles on dirt.

Thus, the current points system released in late 2012 and first used in 2013 was aimed at resolving these inequities, awarding more points for two-turn races late in spring than for shorter races earlier in the year. It too has been tweaked over the years, most recently leaving reserved spaces in the gate for winners of the Road to the Kentucky Derby in Japan and the United Kingdom as Churchill envisions a more global event.

There were concerns at the time of its release that the relatively light allocation of points to 2-year-old races would exclude accomplished juveniles from their biggest test the following year, but of course Nyquist would go on to demonstrate it was possible to succeed in both.

If the purpose of the system was to favor horses with the greatest chance of success, it would seem to be working. Twice, the Derby winner has been the greatest points earner, and five times the winner has been among the top five points earners. (Keep in mind, we've had two disqualifications in those intervening years.) It's also good at identifying which horses don't have a strong chance. No Derby winner other than Rich Strike has come into the race farther out than 15th on the points list, and that was Country House, who advanced via disqualification of sixth-ranked Maximum Security.

But Beyer's original fear, that the 20-horse limit would create a new way of thinking about the race's qualifications, would seem to have come true. Although there are plenty of examples of connections with qualified horses choosing to bypass the race, it has seen no fewer than 18 entries in any year since 2004.

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Hurricane Lane Steps Out Of The Last Chance Saloon

Newmarket's G2 Jockey Club S. is generally a tactical affair and Friday's renewal was no different as Godolphin's Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was able to boss another uninspiring renewal and bound back to form in no uncertain terms. Leaving connections pondering retirement after a no-show in Newbury's G3 John Porter S. last month, the 2021 Irish Derby, Grand Prix de Paris and St Leger hero was understandably lacking believers as the 2-1 second favourite for this five-runner affair.

With the even-money favourite West Wind Blows (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) giving negative signals resenting restraint in behind and outsider Outbox (GB) (Frankel {GB}) going it alone on the lead far side, it became a question of how much enthusiasm Hurricane Lane retained with just stablemate Global Storm (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) to track in what resembled a strong piece of work. That was answered with a look at William Buick's body language passing the half-mile marker and no sooner had he moved on the chestnut was the contest settled. Looking strong as he eked out a six-length advantage over the disappointing West Wind Blows, who was subsequently demoted behind Global Storm, the 5-year-old may well have enjoyed a turn in the road whose significance may only be fully appreciated later this term.

“It's been a great team effort to get the horse back, but we believed in ourselves and the horse–it was D-day for him, but throughout the Winter and into his Spring, his old demeanour had been there,” a relieved Charlie Appleby said. “We've always stated that he likes cut in the ground, but not like Newbury and that was a big ask on his first run after such a long lay-off. William said he was a different horse today and much more athletic. He worked midweek with those cheekpieces on and we were hopeful we would see that today. We will see if he is a Hardwicke horse in the summer, if the ground comes right. I always said I wanted to work back from an Arc. That might be a bit bold, but we will see.”

 

Pedigree Notes
Hurricane Lane's dam Gale Force (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}), who was successful at listed level, is also responsible for his full-sister Frankel's Storm (GB) who was runner-up in the Listed Junioren-Preis. The second dam Hannda (Ire) (Dr Devious {Ire}) produced the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. heroine Seal Of Approval (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), who is in turn the dam of the G3 March S. and G3 Princess Royal S.-placed Promissory (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), while another of Gale Force's half-siblings is the G3 Oak Tree S. third Instance (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) who produced the listed-placed Sound Angela (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}).

Hannda, who is kin to the G3 Concorde S. winner Hamairi (Ire) (Spectrum {Ire}), hails from the family of the Derby and Irish Derby-winning sire Harzand (Ire) and another British Champions Fillies & Mares heroine in Emily Upjohn (GB) both by Sea The Stars (Ire). Gale Force, who was bought for 300,000gns by Charlie Gordon Watson Bloodstock at the 2019 Tattersalls December Mares Sale, also has the unraced 3-year-old filly Brisbane Road (GB) (Australia {GB}).

Friday, Newmarket, Britain
JOCKEY CLUB S.-G2, £125,000, Newmarket, 5-5, 4yo/up, 12fT, 2:33.86, gd.
1–HURRICANE LANE (IRE), 131, h, 5, by Frankel (GB)
     1st Dam: Gale Force (GB) (SW-Fr, SP-Eng), by Shirocco (Ger)
     2nd Dam: Hannda (Ire), by Dr Devious (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Handaza (Ire), by Be My Guest
(200,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Godolphin; B-Normandie Stud Ltd (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £70,888. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng, Ire & Fr, 12-7-0-3, $2,777,840. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Global Storm (Ire), 131, g, 6, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Travel, by Street Cry (Ire). (200,000gns Wlg '17 TATFOA; 260,000gns 2yo '19 TATBRE). O-Godolphin; B-Grenane House Stud (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. £13,450.
*3–West Wind Blows (Ire), 131, c, 4, Teofilo (Ire)–West Wind (GB), by Machiavellian. *TDN Rising Star. O-Mr Abdulla Al Mansoori; B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Simon & Ed Crisford. £26,875.
Margins: 6, NO, 9. Odds: 2.00, Evens, 4.50.
Also Ran: Outbox (GB), Jewel In My Crown (GB).
*West Wind Blows finished second, but was disqualified and placed third.

 

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Weekend Lineup Presented By Del Mar Ship & Win: Long And Winding Road To The Kentucky Derby

There was a time not so long ago that the undercard for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs was similar to a bad warm-up act at a major rock concert. Something to sit through while waiting for the main attraction.

It's not that way any more.

Saturday's 10-hour, 14-race extravaganza, which gets under way at 10:30 a.m. ET and runs until 8:30 p.m., has a little something for everyone. There are eight graded stakes, half of them Grade 1, featuring some of the best turf and dirt runners around going short and long. Similarly, Friday's G1 Kentucky Oaks card is a 13-race marathon with six graded stakes. It's not just the horses that have to display stamina.

Post time for the Oaks on Friday is 5:51 p.m., with Saturday's Derby scheduled for 6:57 p.m. Both races will be televised on NBC and streamed live on Peacock.

The main event, the Kentucky Derby, has taken a number of twists and turns in the lead-up to the race, including on Friday morning with the announcement that Skinner, the third-place finisher in the G1 Santa Anita Derby, will be scratched because of an elevated temperature. That followed Thursday's news that saw three defections:  Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move (elevated temperature), Japanese runner Continuar (trainer's decision), and G2 Wood Memorial winner Lord Miles (by order of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission).

Those four scratches permitted the three also-eligibles (Cyclone Mischief, Mandarin Hero, and King Russell) into the Derby field, but it also will leave one of the stalls empty in the 20-horse starting gate.

Friday

12:43 p.m. – Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs

Rich Strike, the 80-1 upset winner of the 2022 Kentucky Derby (G1), headlines a deep field of seven for the $600,000 Alysheba (G2) for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Trained by Eric Reed, Rich Strike will be making his first start of 2023 after closing his 2022 campaign with an off-the-board finish in the Clark (G1). Sonny Leon retains the mount and will break from post three.

While Rich Strike may be the sentimental favorite, the betting public figures to key in on a trio of established older runners – Art Collector, West Will Power, and Last Samurai.

Trained by Bill Mott, Art Collector was a 4 ½-length winner of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) prior to running second in the New Orleans Classic (G2). The earner of more than $4 million, Art Collector will be ridden by Junior Alvarado and break from post one.

Second in the Clark last fall and recent winner of the New Orleans Classic, West Will Power has earned more than $1 million in compiling a 15-6-7-0 record. Trained by Brad Cox and will be ridden by Flavien Prat and break from post four.

Last Samurai, an earner of more than $2 million and a three-time graded stakes winner, comes into the Alysheba off a narrow defeat in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) on April 22. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Last Samurai will break from post two and be ridden by Luis Saez.

Alysheba Entries

4:04 p.m. – Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs

Secret Oath, winner of last year's Kentucky Oaks (G1), returns to the scene of her biggest triumph as she headlines a field of 10 for the $750,000 La Troienne (G1) for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Secret Oath has earned more than $2.1 million in her career with more than $400,000 of it coming this year with a victory in the Azeri (G2) and a runner-up finish on April 15 to Clairiere in the Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn Park. Tyler Gaffalione, who was aboard for the two starts in 2023, has the call Friday and will break from post position four.

Four other Grade 1 winners are in the field headed by defending La Troienne champion Pauline's Pearl. The others are A Mo Reay, Society, and Search Results.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Pauline's Pearl returns to the races following an off-the-board finish in the Beholder Mile (G1) at Santa Anita on March 11. Joel Rosario has the mount and will break from post position nine.

Trained by Brad Cox, A Mo Reay comes into the La Troienne off a victory in the Beholder Mile (G1) at Santa Anita in March. Florent Geroux has the mount and will break from post position 10.

Society, who won the Cotillion (G1) in September for Asmussen, returned to the races April 8 with a third-place finish in the Madison (G1) going seven furlongs at Keeneland. Jose Ortiz has the mount and will break from post position seven.

Search Results, winner of the 2021 Acorn (G1) and runner-up in that year's Kentucky Oaks, returns to the races off a six-month layoff for trainer Chad Brown. Search Results will break from post two under Flavien Prat.

La Troienne Entries

5:51 p.m. – Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs

Wet Paint has been installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite for Friday's 149th running of the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies that drew a field of 14 plus three also-eligibles.

Trained by two-time Kentucky Oaks winner Brad Cox, Wet Point swept the Oaklawn Park series of races for 3-year-old fillies by taking the Martha Washington (Listed), Honeybee (G3) and Fantasy (G3). Flavien Prat, who was aboard for all three of those victories, has the call Friday and will break from post position seven.

Cox also will send out Botanical (4-1) and The Alys Look (15-1).

Botanical has won her past four starts over the all-weather surface at Turfway Park. Chris Landeros, who was aboard for all of those victories, has the mount Friday and will break from post position six.

The Alys Look was third in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in her most recent start. Javier Castellano, who won the 2016 Oaks on Cathryn Sophia, has the call Friday on The Alys Look and break from post position two.

Third choice on the morning line at 8-1 is Southlawn. Trained by Norm Casse, Southlawn has won her past two starts with the latter coming in the Fair Grounds Oaks. Rey Gutierrez, who has been aboard for both of those victories, has the call Friday and will break from post position four.

Co-fourth choices at 10-1 are Affirmative Lady and Pretty Mischievous.

Affirmative Lady is trained by Graham Motion. Winner of her past two starts since adding blinkers, Affirmative Lady comes into the race off a triumph in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2). John Velazquez, who won the 2021 Oaks on Malathaat, has the call Friday and will break from post 13.

Brendan Walsh trains Pretty Mischievous. Winner of the Rachel Alexandra (G3) and runner-up in the Fair Grounds Oaks, Pretty Mischievous will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and break from post position 14.

In addition to Cox, Todd Pletcher will be seeking to add to his Oaks victory total when he sends out Gambling Girl (15-1) in a bid for a record-tying fifth Oaks triumph. Second in the Gazelle (G3) at the Oaks distance of 1 1/8 miles, Gambling Girl will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and break from post position three.

Pletcher also has Stonestreet Stables' Julia Shining (15-1) on the also-eligible list. A full sister to 2021 Oaks winner Malathaat, Julia Shining was third in the Ashland (G1) in her most recent start.

Kentucky Oaks Entries

Saturday

12:04 p.m. – Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs

Champion Goodnight Olive puts her seven-race win streak on the line Saturday when she takes on five rivals in the $750,000 Derby City Distaff (G1) for fillies and mares going seven furlongs on the main track.

Trained by Chad Brown, Goodnight Olive closed her 2022 campaign with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), a victory that clinched the Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter.

Goodnight Olive made her 2023 debut a winning one in the Madison (G1) on April 8 at Keeneland, also at seven furlongs. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount and will break from post two.

Derby City Distaff Entries

4:31 p.m. – Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes

Cody's Wish, winner of last fall's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (GI), makes his 2023 debut Saturday when he tops a field of 11 entered for the Churchill Downs (G1) going seven furlongs on the main track. Trained by Bill Mott, Cody's Wish won his final four starts of 2022 with one of those victories coming in the Forego (G1). Junior Alvarado has the mount and will break from post seven.

Trainer Peter Miller has two entrants in the race: C Z Rocket and Get Her Number.

A two-time runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), C Z Rocket returns to Churchill Downs for the first time since the summer of 2020. Eighth in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) in March in his most recent start, C Z Rocket will break from post two and be ridden by Flavien Prat.

Get Her Number was third at Keeneland in last month's Commonwealth (G3). Joel Rosario has the mount and will break from post five.

The two horses that finished in front of Get Her Number in the Commonwealth, Hear Mi Song and Hoist the Gold, also return in the Churchill Downs.

Churchill Downs Entries

5:27 p.m. – Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs

Santin will face nine rivals as he goes for a repeat victory in the $1 million Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1). Trained by Brendan Walsh, Santin is unbeaten in two starts over the Matt Winn Turf Course with the other victory coming in the Arlington Million (G1) in August. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount Saturday and will break from post eight.

Among the chief rivals to Santin are Spooky Channel and Up to the Mark.

Trained by Jason Barkley, Spooky Channel won the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2) at Fair Grounds in his most recent start. Joel Rosario has the mount and will break from post nine.

Up to the Mark, who finished a neck behind two-time Breeders' Cup winner Modern Games (IRE) in a third-place finish in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland last month in his stakes debut for trainer Todd Pletcher, will break from post five and be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr.

Turf Classic Entries

6:57 p.m. – Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

Four-time Grade 1 winner Forte is the 3-1 morning line favorite for Saturday's 149th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1). Trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Todd Pletcher, Forte has won six of seven starts and has posted Grade 1 victories in the Hopeful, Breeders' Futurity, Breeders' Cup Juvenile and most recently in the Florida Derby. Irad Ortiz Jr., who is seeking his first Kentucky Derby victory, has the mount on Forte and will break from post position 15.

Pletcher will saddle two other starters Saturday: Tapit Trice and Kingsbarns.

Tapit Trice, the second choice on the morning line at 5-1, has won his past four starts with the most recent coming in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) on April 8. Luis Saez has the mount and will break from post position five.

The undefeated Kingsbarns (12-1) comes into the Run for the Roses off a front-running victory in the Louisiana Derby (G2). Jose Ortiz has the mount and will break from post position six.

Third choice on the morning line at 8-1 is Angel of Empire for trainer Brad Cox. Angel of Empire comes into the Kentucky Derby off a 4 ¼-length victory in the Arkansas Derby. Prior to that, he won the Risen Star (G2). Flavien Prat, who won the 2019 Derby on Country House, has the mount and will exit post position 14.

Angel of Empire will be one of four starters for trainer Brad Cox, who has a Kentucky Derby victory by Mandaloun in 2021 on his resume. That win came via the disqualification of Medina's Spirit for a medication violation detected in a post-race test.

Cox's other entrants are Hit Show (30-1), Verifying (15-1), and Jace's Road (50-1).

Fourth choice on the line at 10-1 is Derma Sotogake (JPN).

Derma Sotogake comes to Kentucky off a 5 ½-length victory in the UAE Derby (G2). A winner of four of eight starts and earner of $1.1 million, Derma Sotogake will be ridden by Christophe Lemaire for trainer Hidetaka Otonashi from post 17.

Another trainer seeking to add to his Kentucky Derby win total is Bill Mott.

Mott, who won the Derby in 2019 with Country House via the disqualification of Maximum Security for interference, will send out Rocket Can (30-1). Fourth in the Arkansas Derby in his most recent start, Rocket Can will be ridden by Junior Alvarado from post position 18.

One other rider will be seeking another Derby victory: Joel Rosario. Rosario, who won the 2013 Derby on Orb, will ride Disarm (30-1). Trained by Steve Asmussen, Disarm was third in the Lexington (G3) in his most recent start. Disarm will start from post position 11.

Three horses have drawn into the field from the also-eligible list: Dale Romans trainee Cyclone Mischief (30-1); Japan's Mandarin Hero (20-1), the latter an impressive runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby; and Arkansas Derby runner-up King Russell (50-1), bred and owned in part by former Kentucky Gov. Brereton C. Jones.

Kentucky Derby Entries

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