Derby pedigrees: Burnham Square aims to defy the odds

In a thrilling edition of the Blue Grass Stakes, Burnham Square unleashed a seven-wide last-to-first move to steal the Grade 1 event by a slim nose over the gutsy East Avenue and River Thames, who was 3/4 length back in third.

Burnham Square (Liam’s Map - Linda, by Scat Daddy) completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.33 with a 13.44 final furlong. He earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Combined with 20 points for his Holy Bull (G3) victory and 10 for his fourth-place finish in the Fountain of Youth (G2), Burnham Square sits atop the leaderboard with 130 points.

Conditioned by Ian Wilkes, Burnham Square has a 6: 3-1-1 record with earnings of $977,755. He is campaigned by his breeder, Whitham Thoroughbreds. They also campaigned McCraken, who was third in the 2017 Blue Grass Stakes before a seventh-place finish in the Derby.

Sire

Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song - Miss Macy Sue, by Trippi) was two races shy of an 8-for-8 record. His only losses were a second-place finish in his debut and missing the Whitney Stakes (G1) victory by a neck to Honor Code.

Liam’s Map is out of Grade 3 winner Miss Macy Sue, and he is a half-brother to the prolific sire Not This Time as well as a pair of stakes-winning half-sisters, Matera and Taylor S, both by Tapit.

He has sired 27 stakes winners, including four Grade 1 winners, turf router Colonel Liam, plus the precocious Wicked Whisper, Basin and JuJu’s Map, who captured their Grade 1 events as juveniles.

According to Race Lens, in the last five years, Liam’s Map has 12 starters, two winners and four runners-up at classic distances on dirt, but only one is a stakes winner, Who Dey, at Mountaineer.

The Liam’s Map-Scat Daddy cross has produced 17 winners and three stakes winners, including Camaro Z, a winner at 1 1/16 miles and Canadian-bred God of Love.

Female family

Burnham Square’s distaff line is bolstered by two Kentucky Derby heroes, one a legendary Triple Crown champ, second damsire Sunny’s Halo and third damsire Secretariat. His immediate female family is filled with turf-oriented, middle-distance black-type earners.

Burnham Square is the fourth foal and first black-type earner out of Linda (Scat Daddy - Beautiful Noise, by Sunny’s Halo), winner of the Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2) at 1 1/6 miles over the lawn. The Whitham Thoroughbreds homebred placed in four other graded events from a mile to 1 1/16 miles, all on turf. Burnham Square is the first of Linda’s offspring to win beyond 1 1/16 miles.

Burnham Square’s second dam, Beautiful Noise, captured the Santa Ana Handicap (G2) at 1 1/8 miles on turf and placed in six more graded stakes, including the Gamely (G1) and Santa Barbara Handicap (G2) at 1 1/4 miles. Her half-sister Folar Echo also placed in the Gamely, and another half-sister, Listening, captured five graded stakes, including the Milady (G1).

Grade 1-winning turf mare La Coronel, the hardy Grade 1 stakes veteran, Bonapaw, and courageous sprinter Lost in the Fog are distant relatives.

Damsire

Scat Daddy (Johannesburg - Love Style, by Mr. Prospector) had only five years to leave his mark on the breed before his untimely death after the 2015 breeding season. His legacy was cemented by his son, Triple Crown victor Justify, now a prominent stallion in his own right.

From just over 1,000 starters, Scat Daddy produced 794 winners, 136 of them black-type winners.

As a damsire, he’s produced 64 stakes winners, including the 2020 champion male sprinter Whitmore plus several Grade 2 winners.

Triple Crown contender or pretender?

Blue Grass winners have been knocking at the Derby door for the last seven years. Sierra Leone came within a nose of wearing the roses last year. Zandon (2022), Essential Quality (2021) and Good Magic (2018) captured the Blue Grass and placed second through fourth in their years.

Burnham Square has classic conformation, runs straight without paddling, stays in his lane and switches leads. But he has high knee action, which expends energy. He has tactical speed and has succeeded as a pacesetter, closed from mid-pack and as a deep closer.

Burnham Square aims to beat the odds. If he wins the Kentucky Derby, he’ll be the first Blue Grass winner since Strike the Gold in 1991 to complete the feat, and as a gelding, only the 10th to wear the roses. The last was the long-shot shocker Mine That Bird in 2009.