Kentucky Derby 2023 pedigrees: Curly Jack could stretch out

Curly Jack was crowned the first 2023 Kentucky Derby points leader in an exciting renewal of Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downson Saturday.

Jockey Edgar Morales kept Curly Jack off the pace as the top two favorites, Echo Again and Damon's Mound, knocked themselves out by the three-sixteenths pole and quickly backpedaled. Curly Jack grabbed the lead and fended off Honed by a length, while Jace's Road maintained his position and finished third, another half-length back. Curly Jack's winning time was 1:45.62 for the 1 1/16 miles.

Curly Jack earned 10 Derby qualifying points, Honed picked up four, Jace's Road two, and fourth-place finisher Hayes Strike earned one point in the revised Derby points system.

Trainer Tom Amoss earned his first Iroquois trophy, plus it was the first graded win for Morales and owner Michael McLoughlin.

Curly Jack previously finished second in the Ellis Park Juvenile by a head. He was fifth in the Sanford (G3) after winning his debut. He has earnings of $280,180 in four starts. We’ll likely see Curly Jack in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland.

McLoughlin purchased Curly Jack from last year's Keeneland September yearling auction for $180,000.

Now for the good stuff. Curly Jack (Good Magic - Connie and Michael, by Roman Ruler) is the second graded winner for freshman sire Good Magic. Vegas Magic earned the initial graded honors with a victory in the Sorrento (G2).

Good Magic (Curlin - Glinda the Good, by Hard Spun) showed his class early in his career, finishing second in his debut and the Champagne Stakes. He claimed his first victory in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, earning year-end honors as champion 2-year-old colt.

As a 3-year-old, Good Magic earned Kentucky Derby points with a third-place finish in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and a victory in the Blue Grass (G2). He followed up with an excellent second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, but after placing fourth in the Preakness, trainer Chad Brown gave the colt a month off. Then, Curlin's son returned to win the Haskell Invitational (G1) but did a disappearing act to the breeding shed a month after he finished ninth in the Travers (G1).

Curly Jack's Iroquois win vaulted Good Magic to fourth place on the freshmen sire leaderboard by earnings. Besides his two graded stakes winners, the chestnut stallion has another stakes-placed earner, Blazing Sevens, who was a distant third in the Hopeful (G1).

Good Magic's offspring have won from five furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, and shouldn't have distance limitations as they mature.

Curly Jack is the second black-type earner and first stakes winner out of the Grade 1-placed Connie and Michael. His half-sister Fannie and Freddie (Malibu Moon) had a couple of runner-up performances in the Untapable as a juvenile and the Silverbulletday at 3. Both are mile-and-70-yard contests at Fair Grounds.

Connie and Michael (Roman Ruler - Detect, by Devil's Bag) was third in the Miesque (G3), a one-mile turf contest at Hollywood Park, as a juvenile, and she was second in the Mother Goose (G1) the following year.

Connie and Michael’s yearling colt by Gun Runner recently sold for $525,000 on day one of the Keeneland September sale. She was barren in 2022 and might be expecting a foal by Yaupon.

Out of the Claiborne Farm-bred broodmare Detect, Connie and Michael is a half-sister to graded winners High Ridge Road (Quality Road), winner of the seven-furlong Barbara Fritchie (G2), and veteran Señor Rojo (Out of Place), winner of the Premiers (G3) at 1 3/16 miles on the lawn.

Another half-sibling, Calf Moon Bay, was third in the one-mile Las Virgenes (G3) and second in the Zia Park Oaks.

Like Good Magic, Curly Jack's damsire Roman Ruler (Fusaichi Pegasus - Silvery Swan, by Silver Deputy) was capable from five furlongs to 1 1/8 miles, and he finished third in the 1 1/4-mile Travers after a wide trip. He retired in 2006 and shuttled to South America. He stood there permanently from 2016 until passing the next year.

Roman Ruler has few listed winners as a damsire, and their winning distance ranges from five furlongs to 1 1/8 miles.

Curly Jack's second damsire Devil's Bag (Halo - Ballade, by Herbager) was 1983's champion 2-year-old colt. He won six straight races, including record-setting performances in the Cowdin (G3), Champagne (G1), and Laurel Futurity (G1). His perfect record was marred with a fourth-place finish in the Flamingo (G1), but he returned with two more victories in an allowance and the Derby Trial. Unfortunately, he suffered a career-ending injury and retired after the Derby Trial.

Kentucky Derby contender or pretender?

The Iroquois was created in 1982. None of the winners has returned to win the Kentucky Derby, and many find their niche later in their careers as sprinter/milers.

But that’s not to say the Iroquois doesn’t have merit. In the last decade, Iroquois runners-up Midnight Bourbon (2020), Looking at Lee (2016) and fourth-place finisher Ride on Curlin (2013) hit the board in a Triple Crown event. Looking at Lee was second in the Kentucky Derby. Midnight Bourbon and Ride on Curlin were second in the Preakness.

It's no wonder that Curly Jack is a precocious 2-year-old. His sire and second damsire were champion juveniles, and if Roman Ruler had won the Breeder's Cup, he would have joined their ranks.

On paper, his pedigree suggests that Curly Jack should handle 1 1/8 miles. His sire and damsire won graded stakes at the distance and placed at 1 1/4 miles. He galloped out in front of the Iroquois, hinting that longer distances are within his scope.

Curly Jack has tactical speed. He won his debut while setting the pace and made a sustained drive Ellis Park Juvenile and Iroquois. Additionally, he has a smooth gait with no excess motion or paddling, switches leads properly, and keeps a straight line down the stretch.

The bay colt with the distinctive forehead star and nose snip showed a mature mind in the Iroquois. He's comfortable racing between horses, targeting rivals in front and passing. He flashed a competitive streak when he didn't let rivals pass on the gallop out.

Yes, it's too early to tell what Curly Jack will do for an encore and how far he'll want to run, but it's fun to speculate.