Derby Pedigrees: Cyberknife is Gun Runner's best hope

A new Kentucky Derby contender was crowned when the dust settled in the $1.25 million, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby.

Cyberknife made an early move between horses and opened up to win by 2 3/4 lengths over Barber Road, getting 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.42 with a final furlong in 13.18 seconds.

The Brad Cox trainee has finished out of the money only once, in the Lecomte Stakes (G2), when he inexplicably finished sixth in the first start of his 3-year-old season. He signaled his readiness for the Arkansas Derby with a three-length victory against optional claiming class runners.

Cox conditioned last year's Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun, who was named the official race winner this year on the disqualification of Medina Spirit.

Last year, Cyberknife won his debut at Churchill but was disqualified to second place because of interference in the stretch. Next out, he was second to Classic Moment. That one finished third in this year's Mine That Bird Derby. Cyberknife broke his maiden in his third start when stretching to 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds.

Cyberknife (Gun Runner - Awesome Flower, by Flower Alley) was bred in Kentucky by Ken and Sarah Ramsey and brought $400,000 as a Fasig-Tipton July Select Sale yearling. He campaigns for Gold Square LLC and has three wins and two seconds in six starts with earnings of $860,000 and 100 Derby qualifying points.

Cyberknife has a classy, stamina-laden pedigree. His sire and damsire placed in the Kentucky Derby. His second damsire is the 1988 Breeders' Cup Classic hero Awesome Again.

2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride (ARG) - Quiet Giant, by Giant's Causeway) is passing his class to his offspring. The leading first and second crop sire scored big with his first crop, getting the undefeated champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu, Best Pal (G2) hero and Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Papacap, and four other black-type winners. His offspring should have no distance limitations.

Gun Runner's son Early Voting won the Withers (G3) and is pointing toward next week's Wood Memorial (G1). His son Pappacap, fourth in the Florida Derby, is currently 19th in the Kentucky Derby standings, but with 24 points, he is unlikely to get in.

Cyberknife is bred along the same lines as 2019 Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Desert Ride, who is by Candy Ride out of a daughter of Distorted Humor, Flower Alley's sire.

Cyberknife's distaff line is filled with stakes winners, including 2009 Dubai World Cup champ Well Armed. The extended family is capable of running from sprints to classic distances on dirt and turf.

His dam, Awesome Flower (Flower Alley - Formalities Aside, by Awesome Again), was a solid listed-class competitor on the track. The mare won from a mile to 1 1/8 miles and placed in a pair of Grade 3 events, the Sixty Sails Handicap and Arlington Matron Stakes, both at 1 1/8 miles, and the Chilukki (G2) at a mile. Awesome Flower competed for five years, racking up a 33: 11-6-7 record with $556,593 in earnings for trainer Mike Maker and owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

Cyberknife is her third foal and first black-type earner. He has two older half-sisters by Kitten's Joy; one is a turf sprinter. In addition, he has a 2-year-old half-brother, Tapit Shoes (Tapit), who brought $300,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling.

Awesome Flower is the most accomplished runner in her immediate family, including three stakes-placed sprinter/milers: First Mondays, third in the 2018 Smarty Jones (G3), restricted stakes-placed Aye d'Eclaire and If Not For Her. In addition, another half-sister bore 2020 Maryland Million Classic winner, Monday Morning QB.

Cyberknife's third dam, Well Dressed (Notebook - Trithenia, by Gold Meridian), was a listed-winning sprinter and the source of future class in this family.

She produced Well Armed (Tiznow) and his full brother, stakes-placed miler Only in America. In addition, Well Armed's full-sister Life Well Lived bore Maker's Mark Mile (G1) winner American Patriot (War Front) stakes winner Well Humored (Distorted Humor), and that one's full-brother, Grade 2-placed turf router Muqtaser.

Well Dressed also produced the multiple graded-placed dirt router Helsinki (Distorted Humor) and his full-sister, Grade 3-winning sprinter Witty. That one gave us the multiple stakes-winning turf sprinter/miler Bombard (War Front), stakes-winning sprinter Choir Director (Pulpit), and multiple graded-placed sprinter Amuse (Medaglia d'Oro).

Cyberknife's damsire Flower Alley was second in the 2005 Arkansas Derby but could do no better than ninth a few weeks later in Kentucky. He matured during his 3-year-old season, winning the Jim Dandy (G2) and Travers (G1) and placing second in the Breeders' Cup Classic, beaten a length by Saint Liam. At 4, Flower Ally won only once in four starts, the Salvador Mile (G3).

Flower Alley was at stud in Kentucky for eight years before being shipped to South Africa. His most accomplished runners are 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another and 2014 Canadian Champion Older Male, Lukes Alley.

As a broodmare sire, Flower Alley has 89 winners from 156 starters and five stakes winners, including Lucky Lilac, a four-time Group 1 winner in Japan, and last year's Shoemaker Mile (G1) winner Smooth Like Strait.

Kentucky Derby Contender or Pretender?

The Arkansas Derby has a long history of producing classic winners. A total of 11 winners dating to 1980 have also won a classic race, including Triple Crown champ American Pharoah (2015).

Lately, only two Arkansas Derby winners in the last five years have made it to Kentucky; but the last 10 years produced Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (2015), Belmont Stakes winner Creator (2016), and Classic Empire (2017), who placed in the Preakness.

Cyberknife has a classic pedigree and conformation. He runs smoothly with no wasted movement and switches leads properly. He was in tight around the turn in the Arkansas Derby yet had the confidence to split horses when asked by Florent Geroux. He has a pace-pressing style.

On the negative side, Cyberknife is still immature. In all of his races, with or without blinkers, the colt has had a bad habit of veering in at the top of the stretch and then drifting out. Unfortunately, this immaturity cost him the victory in his debut.

Cyberknife continued his antics In the Arkansas Derby. First, he dropped Geroux in the post parade and then, true to form, was all over the place in the stretch. This immaturity could cost him in the Kentucky Derby.