New faces across the board
As the drama of the 132nd Kentucky Derby continues to unfold, one will find the stage filled with a refreshing cast of new characters seeking the glory that is the Race for the Roses. Jockeying legends Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens and Pat Day, who between them own six Derby-winning mounts, have left the scene for curtain calls; John Velasquez, an heir apparent to the void left by these giants of the sport, is sidelined with a broken shoulder. Rising stars like Rafael Bejarano, Garret Gomez and John McKee, and stalwarts like Corey Nakatani and Alex Solis are set to finally take the ring of bronze. Perennial Derby trainers D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito failed the audition, no Derby mounts, replaced by upstart alternates Michael Matz, Dan Hendricks and Michael Trombetta who bring their respective horses Barbaro, Brother Derek and Sweetnorthernsaint, fresh and prepared to face the fight of a mile and a quarter. However, the most intriguing new faces this Derby Day may well be the ones you won’t see at Churchill Downs. Its impact may well determine the outcome of this wide-open affair. Their names are Benchmark, Sweetsouthernsaint, Point Given, Broken Vow, Aptitude, King Cugat and Strategic Mission, sires whose progeny will be represented in the Kentucky Derby for the first time, and who will benefit from being sired by a Kentucky Derby Winner. Kentucky Derby.
The father of Dan Hendricks-trained brother Derek, Benchmark is the son of classic racer great Alydar, who won the hearts of racing fans with his memorable duels with Triple Crown winner Affirmed. Benchmark was a graded stakes winner at 1 1/8 miles and a graded stakes sprinter and, in his first four vintages to compete, he has been a helpful sire of California breeds and a handful of stakes winners. . Brother Derek is by far the most impressive son of his and is certainly the best class in this year’s West Coast contingent. As talented and experienced as brother Derek is, the Derby may be the place where his flaws are revealed. In his only race outside of California and in a field of more than eight horses, the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile at Belmont, he finished fourth. With a penchant for getting excited at the post parade, jockey Alex Solis must help brother Derek find a way to handle the large boisterous crowd of Churchill Downs. However, Brother Derek’s meteoric rise to prominence is a hopeful sign that Alydar’s brave blood has gotten a much-needed revival.
Sweetnorthernsaint, a gelding by Florida stallion Sweetsouthernsaint, has become something of a wild card in the Derby mix. It seems that the further Sweetnorthernsaint runs, the better, and this should give anyone who is handicapped in the Derby something to think about. His jockey, Kent Desormeaux, has practically declared the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes his to lose. Considering the fact that the Belmont Stakes is more of a jockey’s race than an endurance test, you’d better be prepared to back up his bold words. Sweetsouthernsaint, with two vintages to compete, was a precocious two-year-old from Florida who never made it to the Derby track due to injuries. But, as a son of the prolific late Saint Ballado, the sire of current Horse of the Year Saint Liam, as well as champion distaffer Ashado, who were both Grade 1 winners at 1 1/4 miles, and sporting a classic stay. Under a dose index of 1.22, Sweetsouthernsaint’s offspring seem capable of going the distance. Sweetnorthernsaint’s dose of 1.33 suggests that the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree and if the Michael Trombetta-trained gelding gets a clean ride, harvests could be good.
Point Given, Broken Vow, Aptitude, Strategic Mission and King Cugat are stallions represented in the Kentucky Derby by members of their first crop, which certainly pleases their breeding farms, but also adds an unknown element to the calculus of handicaps. Point Determined is a Maryland-bred son of Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Point Given, and is owned by The Bob and Beverly Lewis Trust, which has won the Kentucky Derby twice before, with Silver Charm and Charismatic. Point Determined has butted heads with Brother Derek, AP Warrior and Bob and John all winter in California, and comes into the Derby without a stakes win under his belt. However, driving him to a second-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby, a series of bullet jobs since, and with Rafael Bejarano in the irons, he’s a dangerous horse. Point Given entered the Kentucky Derby as the prohibitive favorite, and had he not been subjected to that race’s torrid pace, the next Horse of the Year would have been a Triple Crown winner, racing superstar, and considerably more valuable than his $50,000. stud fee. Bob Baffert, who trained Point Given as well as Point Determined, may be a bit more subdued these days, but, with three live shots in this year’s Derby, along with the Sinister Minister and Bob and John, he’s in Louisville prepared for the bear. . A one-point victory would also be a poignant and fitting epitaph for the late Bob Lewis, one of the true gentlemen of racing, who passed away this February.
Broken Vow, the father of the Steven Asmussen-trained Private Vow, is the son of memorable 1990 Derby winner Unbridled, who also sired Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone, Preakness winner Red Bullet and Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker. Though Private Vow has only raced twice this year, beaten by attorney Ron both times at Oaklawn Park, he remains an experienced horse with a graded stakes win on the Churchill Downs strip and recent bullet work there, to start. Broken Vow was a late development grade stakes winner with an impressive female family. Her mother and her grandmother, sired by Nijinsky II and Blushing Groom, respectively, were stake producers. When you add the sire of Private Vow’s dam, the main broodmare sire, the Vice Minister, you have a horse that, on paper, has a classic winning pedigree.
The sire of the latest Steppenwolfer, Aptitude, finished second in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and is himself a Horse of the Year son and producer of the AP Indy stakes racer. Armed with the most intriguing pedigrees, Aptitude offers a variety of classic blood close to his pedigree, including the aforementioned AP Indy, Derby winners Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Northern Dancer, as well as inbreeding with Buckpasser. As a four-year-old, Aptitude won two grade ones, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Hollywood Gold Cup, and one grade two, the Saratoga Breeder’s Cup, at 1 1/4 miles. More anecdotal than anything else, Steppenwolfer’s great-great-grandmother’s father was the great Citation, Triple Crown winner. Lawyer Ron may have had Steppenwolfer [named after the rock band Steppenwolf] number all winter at Oaklawn Park, but, if the pace of the Derby is as close as expected, he may be the one to ride the magic carpet to the winner’s circle.
Sailing into the Derby is Seaside Retreat, a stakes winner in Canada that also placed in the Grade 2 Lane’s End on Turfway Park’s Polytrack surface. Seaside Retreat sire King Cugat was a winner of graded stakes on turf in 9 and 11 furlongs, and graded stakes in 12 furlongs. Son of the impeccably bred Kingmambo, who sired Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, the King Cugat offspring seem much better suited to running hard on grass. However, Seaside Retreat’s recent work at Churchill Downs has convinced his Canadian trainer Mark Casse and regular jockey Patrick Husbands to meet up at the Derby.
The light but gritty Lexington Stakes winner Showing Up is a son of Strategic Mission, a New York stallion whose first crop consists of just 14 named colts. Barclay Tagg trains undefeated Showing Up, the younger half of the two-horse Derby delegation and two trainers from Lael Stables of Roy and Gretchen Jackson that includes another undefeated colt Barbaro, a possible morning line favorite who is trained by Michael Matz and will be ridden by the always dangerous Edgar Prado. Tagg, who caught lightning in a bottle with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, certainly has his work cut out for him. Not only does Showing Up have only three career starts for him, but his father, Strategic Mission, a son of Mr. Prospector, was a turf racer and only good at it. Named for Woody Allen’s old saying that “80 percent of success is showing up,” Showing Up will have to do a lot more than that if it’s to get the Jackson family into the winner’s circle.
As difficult as the Derby road is, simply showing up is certainly an achievement. Getting to the finish line first is the Holy Grail, though, and at this year’s edition, fresh new faces may be smiling in the winner’s circle.
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