5 key races to know on the Kentucky Derby 2018 trail
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What the 2018 Kentucky Derby prep season comes down to is qualifying, staying healthy and being conditioned for the longest race in a horse's young career. Now that the field is set and the post position draw awaits, let's take a look back at some the most important races for this year's contenders, specifically a few races that ran before the round of major preps.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf
At the conclusion of the 2017 Breeders' Cup, who would've guessed three juveniles that raced on the grass at Del Mar would be entering the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby? Ready and waiting are Mendelssohn, My Boy Jack and Flameaway.
Bred in Kentucky by Clarkland Farm, the Juvenile Turf winner,
Mendelssohn, became an instant Kentucky Derby possibility and a bit of a mystery following his impressive score.
Connections always considered the son of Scat Daddy and half-brother to Beholder a potential Kentucky Derby starter. As it turned out, the Juvenile Turf marked his last start on the grass.
In his 3-year-old debut, the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt set out on Polytrack as the 3-5 favorite in Ireland's Patton Stakes. After winning, the plan for the Kentucky Derby was getting stronger and Mendelssohn was ready for his first race on dirt, the UAE Derby.
After completing the most dominant performance of any of the 2018 Kentucky Derby prep races, Mendelssohn and O'Brien are ready to see this plan through to the end. And so, a mysterious Kentucky-bred that relocated to Europe, began racing on grass and switched to dirt will return home for his biggest career race.
Will the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner become a Kentucky Derby legend?
Keep in mind that a different starter from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Beckford, won at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Different race, different surface and a much shorter distance. But it's another positive sign for Mendelssohn.
Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes
Another race from the Juvenile season that became more fruitful than anyone may have imagined is Churchill Downs' Grade 2
Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.
Raced at a distance of 1 1/16 miles in November, this included four Kentucky Derby starters and one qualifier that was taken off the trail.
Those that we will see on Saturday include the winner,
Enticed, along with Promises Fulfilled (third), Lone Sailor (fifth), and Bravazo (10th). Quip, who finished seventh, would move on to win the Tampa Bay Derby and finish runner-up in the Arkansas Derby. Following that performance, however, his connections decided that resting until the Preakness Stakes was their best option.
Looking back on this race, Enticed stands out as a real contender that quietly plotted his way to Churchill Downs while still scoring more than 100 qualifying points along the way.
After a disappointing opening act in the 3-year-old season, the Kiaran McLaughlin trainee and son of Medaglia D'oro fired back with a win in the Gotham Stakes. He returned to Aqueduct in what turned out to be a controversial decision by the stewards, remaining second despite bumped by Vino Rosso. Regardless of the official results, which left Vino Rosso on top, Enticed still easily qualified for the Kentucky Derby and has earned his chance to settle the score.
For him, and the others that are now returning to Churchill Downs for another start, the Kentucky Jockey Club was a key race in their early racing careers and a solid stepping stone in their journey to the Kentucky Derby.
Fountain of Youth
A win is worth 50 points in the first leg of the "Championship Series" of prep races, so a score means qualification for the Derby.
Sometimes, we should also anticipate some surprises as well. That is what happened in Gulfstream Park's
Fountain of Youth Stakes when a longshot stole a win on the front end. Breaking from the far outside position,
Promises Fulfilled stormed to the lead and controlled the pace.
The reason this prep race was key for the 2018 Kentucky Derby trail is that we saw what can happen when the fractions out front are modest. In comparison, we also witnessed next time out what can happen when Promises Fulfilled is blitzing through the opening half of a mile two seconds faster than he did in the Fountain of Youth.
Fountain of Youth - First
Fractions: 23.80, 48.39, 1;12.60
Florida Derby - Ninth
Fractions: 21.95, 46.37, 1:11.68
It's no secret that the Dale Romans trainee wants to race out front. So, expect Promises Fulfilled to get out fast and on the lead again as he attempts to wire the field just like his daddy, Shackleford, did in 2011.
Therefore, when we look back at all of the races from the 2018 prep season, the Fountain of Youth really stands out because it not only guaranteed a longshot a place in the Top 20, but it also showed us what this contender can do when he controls the pace. And, because the pace has such a major impact on the Kentucky Derby, the one race that led our anticipated pacesetter into the field makes his breakthrough performance a good one to revisit in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby.
Rebel Stakes
Coming into Oaklawn Park's Grade 2
Rebel Stakes, Solomini appeared the one to beat. lthough he hadn't won a race since he broke his maiden in his career debut, the Bob Baffert trainee had already proven that he was at the top of the class by beating to the wire McKinzie and Instilled Regard in December's Los Alamitos Futurity.
A second horse in the Rebel drawing interest was a lightly raced colt trained by Todd Pletcher. Although he was undefeated in two career starts, it was the first graded stakes start for
Magnum Moon. In addition, the son of Malibu Moon didn't race as a juvenile, so there was a curiosity surrounding whether 2018's Derby would feature another attempt at ending the Apollo curse.
This race is key isn't just because Magnum Moon won and qualified for the Kentucky Derby. His maturity and class really stood out in this contest, and his potential of becoming the real deal was on full display for the first time.
Maiden Special Weight
The road to the Kentucky Derby can start in so many places -- and times. Most often, it's during the juvenile season that a hopeful grabs our attention. But sometimes, a horse will appear from off the radar for the first time much later.
Very rarely are we introduced to a contender in one of the final prep races that are considered as one of the big ones. In these races, a first or second place finish, worth 100 points to the winner and 40 points to the runner-up, punches your ticket to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
But sometimes an unknown emerges and so it was when
Hofburg finished second in the Florida Derby. But where did he come from?
His racing career began in September at Saratoga. In his debut, the son of Tapit, trained by Bill Mott, finished fourth over a distance of seven furlongs. It wasn't until six months later at Gulfstream Park that this colt, owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms, would return to racing.
Second out, Bill Mott, stretched him out to 1 1/16 miles, and Hofburg responded by winning his first career race in only his second career start. Because of that, this is a race that should be considered a key race on the 2018 Kentucky Derby trail. Although it wasn't a graded stakes, didn't offer any qualifying points and has no relevant history, it was the race that gave Hofburg's connections enough confidence to try him at the highest level next time out.
And because he delivered a runner-up finish in the Florida Derby and is gaining attention since his first workout at Churchill Downs on Sunday -- four furlongs in 48.20 -- this story just keeps on getting more and more interesting. So when looking back at the all the races that make up the entire 2018 Kentucky Derby prep season, Hofburg's maiden victory is definitely one of the most unique.
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