Kentucky Derby 2020 Radar: $2 million colt hitting the trail
Chestertown, the record $2 million New York-bred purchase, has twice hit the board in allowance company to start his season. Next up, the colt's giving the 2020 Kentucky Derby trail a try.
Terry Finley, president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, said jockey John Velazquez is flying in to ride Chestertown in the March 21 Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds, where the Steve Asmussen trainee has trained and raced since breaking his maiden Dec. 1 at Aqueduct.
Ricardo Santana Jr. had been aboard Chestertown -- who's campaigned in partnership by West Point, Mary and Chester Broman, Woodford Racing, Siena Farm and Robert Masiello -- for his two races as a 3-year-old. The rider change follows the Tapit colt's most-recent effort, a runner-up as the favorite in a 1 1/8-mile allowance on Feb. 15.
Chestertown has put in three breezes of escalating distances (four, five and then six furlongs) since that race to prepare for the 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby. "He’s worked very nicely coming out of that last race," said Finley, who also noted Chestertown had a tough trip last time out.
“He wants the distance. This is the time of the year where we’re trying to separate the men from the…young men. They’re not all boys because they don’t want to go the distance. “The real men want to go a mile and three sixteenths and a mile and a quarter," Finley added. "We think he’s one of those men.” Chestertown, who has gone favored in all four of his races, shows another runner-up finish on Jan. 18. He was actually third across the wire that day behind Blackberry Wine, who has since been disqualified due to the presence of a banned substance in his tests.
Chestertown heads into the Louisiana Derby needing a victory or runner-up finish in the prep, which awards 170 total qualifying points, for a trip to Churchill Downs. Entries will be taken Saturday with plenty of interest from horsemen. Expected in the field are prior Fair Grounds preps winners such as Enforceable out of the Lecomte (G3) and Modernist from the Risen Star (G2).
2020 Louisiana Derby (G2)