By Liane Crossley
Special to NKyTribune
Undefeated Justify is the morning-line favorite at 3-to-1 for Saturday’s 144th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Twenty-one Thoroughbreds have been entered in the 1 ¼-mile race for three-year-olds with a post time of 6:50 p.m. NBC television coverage begins at 2:30 with pre-race broadcasting starting at noon on NBCSN.
Justify (Photo courtesy Benoit Photography)
Trainer Todd Pletcher has four entrants as he seeks his third Derby victory while Bob Bafftert’s two colts are trying to give him his fifth victory in the Run for the Roses.
Other notable duplications are in the pedigrees as four runners (Combatant, Flameaway, Justify and Mendelssohn) are sired by the late Scat Daddy and three (Good Magic, Solomini and Vino Rosso) are sons of Lexington-based Curlin. Eighteen of the hopefuls are seeking to become the 110th Kentucky-born winner. The other entrants took their first breaths in Ontario, New York and Florida.
The field in post-position order is:
1. Firenze Fire (Florida)
Consistent in top shelf company, Firenze Fire comes to the Derby after finishing fourth in the Wood Memorial Stakes at New York’s Aqueduct on April 7.
Kentucky connection: He is trained by East Coast-based Jason Servis, whose brother John won the 2004 Kentucky Derby with Smarty Jones.
2. Free Drop Billy (Ky.)
Named for a golf term and for an owner’s friend, Free Drop Billy won at Churchill Downs in June in his first career start and was third in Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes on April 7 in his most recent effort. His trainer Dale Romans is a lifelong resident of Louisville.
Kentucky connection: He was sold for $200,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale. His sire Union Rags resides at Lane’s End in Versailles.
3. Promises Fulfilled (Ky.)
The budget-priced colt will be a sentimental favorite by virtue of his Louisville-raised trainer Dale Romans—who also trains Free Drop Billy—but he is a likely longshot in the wagering due to his poor performance in the Florida Derby on March 31. His name refers to his owner’s charmed life that includes his 44-year marriage his grandchildren.
Kentucky connection: He was sold for $37,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale. His sire Shackleford resides at Darby Dan Farm in Lexington.
Flameaway (Photo courtesy Coady Photography/Keeneland)
4. Flameaway (Ontario)
One of the most experienced horses in the field, Flameaway has made nine starts including his runner-up performance in Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes on April 7 and victory at that track in October. His maternal grand sire Fusaichi Pegasus won the 2000 Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky connection: As a newly turned yearling, Flameaway was sold at Keeneland’s January sale for $150,000.
5. Audible (N.Y.)
Audible comes to Louisville with a four-race winning streak capped by the Florida Derby on March 31 at Gulfstream Park. He is seeking to join 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide as the only New York-born horse to win the Derby. He is one of four entrants trained by Todd Pletcher who won last year’s Derby with Always Dreaming and the 2010 edition with Super Saver.
Kentucky connection: His sire Into Mischief calls Spendthrift Farm in Lexington home.
6. Good Magic (Ky.)
The winner of Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes on April 7 was voted North America’s champion two-year-old colt last year after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The first part of his name is derived from his dam Glinda the Good.
Kentucky connection: He was sold for $1-million at the Keeneland September yearling sale. His sire Curlin resides at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Lexington.
7. Justify (Ky.)
Justify capped his three-race unbeaten streak with a triumph in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7. He is trained by Bob Baffert who won the Kentucky Derby with eventual Triple Crown hero American Pharoah in 2015 and Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002).
Kentucky connection: He was purchased for $500,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
8. Lone Sailor (Ky.)
Lone Sailor comes to the Derby after two consecutive runner-up performances at Fair Grounds in New Orleans including the Louisiana Derby on March 24. He was the first contender to arrive at Churchill Downs where he has been stabled since April 4.
Kentucky connection: He was sold at the Keeneland September yearling sale of $120,000.
9. Hofburg (Ky.)
Hofburg has raced just three times including his second-place finish in the Florida Derby on March 31.
Kentucky connection: He was born and raised at his owner’s Juddmonte Farms in Lexington. His sire Tapit resides at Gainesway in Lexington.
10. My Boy Jack (Ky.)
With a price tag of just $20,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale, My Boy Jack symbolizes the idea that any Thoroughbred can become a Kentucky Derby contender. His feel-good story includes the fact that his trainer and jockey (Keith and Kent Desormeaux) are brothers. He finalized his place in the starting gate by winning Keeneland’s Lexington Stakes on April 14. With 10 starts, My Boy Jack is the most raced horse in the line-up.
Kentucky connection: My Boy Jack was bred by and born at the farm of former Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones. His sire Creative Cause is at Jones’ Airdrie Stud in Midway.
11. Bolt d’Oro (Ky.)
Bolt d’Oro took an unusual path back to his Kentucky roots. After being sold for $630,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s yearling sale in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., he learned his early lessons under saddle in Montana where his sessions included mountain trail rides. He has raced exclusively in California where he was third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar last year and was runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7.
Kentucky connection: His sire Medaglia d’Oro is a stallion at Darley in Lexington.
12. Enticed (Ky.)
Trained by Lexington native Kiaran McLaughlin, Enticed is a proven commodity at Churchill Downs with a victory last year in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. He was second in the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct near New York City on April 7 in his most recent start.
Kentucky connection: His sire Medaglia d’Oro resides at Darley in Lexington.
13. Bravazo (Ky.)
Bravazo is trained by legendary D. Wayne Lukas, who at age 82 rides on the track each morning alongside the Thoroughbreds in his care. Lukas has won the Derby four times—Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (’95), Grindstone (’96) and Charismatic (’99). Bravazo stamped his Derby ticket by winning the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans on February 17 prior to finishing unplaced in that track’s Louisiana Derby on March 24 in his most recent start.
Kentucky connection: He is owned and bred by the legendary white-fenced Calumet Farm in Lexington that is now owned by Kentucky native Brad Kelley. Under previous ownership, Calumet Farm won the Kentucky Derby a record eight times. His sire Awesome Again is at Adena Springs in Paris.
Mendelssohn (Photo courtesy Dubai Racing Club)
14. Mendelssohn (Ky.)
Mendelssohn returns to Kentucky after traveling the world. His most impressive victory came in the United Arab Emirates Derby on March 31 in his final Derby prep. Winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in California last year, Mendelssohn also was an upper level performer in England and Ireland. He shares his name with 19th century German composer Felix Mendelssohn.
Kentucky connection: At $3-million, he was the most expensive yearling at the 2016 Keeneland September sale.
15. Instilled Regard (Ky.)
Instilled Regard races primarily in California but a foray to New Orleans produced a stakes victory in the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds in January.
Kentucky connection: He was sold for $110,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
16. Magnum Moon (Ky.)
Undefeated in four starts, Magnum Moon prepped for the Kentucky Derby with a victory in the Arkansas Derby on April 14. He is one of four entrants trained by Todd Pletcher who won last year’s Derby with Always Dreaming and the 2010 edition with Super Saver. Magnum Moon carries the so-called “curse of Apollo” in reference to that 1882 Derby winner, who is the only winner who did not race as a two-year-old. His name is derived in part from his sire Malibu Moon.
Kentucky connection: He was sold at the Keeneland September yearling sale for $380,000. His sire Malibu Moon is at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington.
17. Solomini (Ky.)
Never worse than third in six career starts, Solomini comes to the Derby after finishing third in the Arkansas Derby on April 14. He is trained by Bob Baffert who won the Kentucky Derby with eventual Triple Crown hero American Pharoah in 2015 and Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002).
Kentucky connection: He was a sold at the Keeneland September yearling sale for $270,000. His sire Curlin calls Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Lexington home.
18. Vino Rosso (Ky.)
One of four entrants from the barn of two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso cemented a starting berth by winning the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct near New York City on April 7. His moniker is Italian for red wine.
Kentucky connection: The $410,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase is a son of Curlin, who resides at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Lexington.
19. Noble Indy (Ky.)
Noble Indy solidified a place in the Kentucky Derby line-up when he won the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds in New Orleans on March 24. His name is a nod to his sire Take Charge Indy and his dam Noble Maz. He is one of four entrants trained by Todd Pletcher who won last year’s Derby with Always Dreaming and the 2010 edition with Super Saver.
Kentucky connection: Noble Indy was offered at the Keeneland September yearling sale but his owner deemed the price insufficient on a final bid of $45,000.
Combatant (Photo courtesy Holly Smith Photo)
20. Combatant (Ky.)
Combatant has never been worse than fourth in seven career starts and comes to the Derby after being fourth in the Arkansas Derby on April 14.
Kentucky connection: He was a $320,000 purchase at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
Blended Citizen will draw into the race if another horse scratches
21. Blended Citizen (Ky.)
Blended Citizen won the Jeff Ruby Steaks Stakes at Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky on March 17 and then finished fifth in Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes on April 7. He is trained by Doug O’Neill, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2012 with I’ll Have Another and 2016 with Nyquist.
Kentucky connection: Blended Citizen was sold at the Keeneland September yearling sale. His sire Proud Citizen is a stallion at former Kentucky Governor Brereton C. Jones Airdrie Stud in Midway.
Lexington-based freelance writer Liane Crossley is a lifelong lover of Thoroughbred racing who has held a variety of jobs in both barns and offices. Her favorite part of the industry is being with the horses and the people who share her passion for them. She can be reached at crossleyliane@yahoo.com
