Kentucky Derby 2019 pedigrees: Will these 4 get the distance?
With the 2019 Kentucky Derby roughly 2 1/2 months away, trainers are cranking up their charges to handle longer distances. The big question: Will they?
The Kentucky Derby pedigree watch list discusses recent names on the trail, reviewing pedigree, conformation, running style and other key details in making that determination.
Harvey Wallbanger
(Congrats - Adorabell, by Distorted Humor)
Trainer: Ken McPeek
Race Record: 5: 2-3-0 ($299,520)
Last Race: 1st in Holy Bull Stakes (G2)
Derby Points: 10
Harvey Wallbanger bided his time at the back of the Holy Bull field before benefitting from a rail trip and well-timed ride under Brian Hernandez, Jr. to get up by a length over Everfast, who grabbed second place by a neck over a tired Maximus Mischief. The final time of 1:43.69 for 1 1/6 miles was the slowest Holy Bull clocking in the last six years.
Harvey Wallbanger is a fifth foal, but only the second in the immediate family to race. His dam was unplaced in her sole two starts, but she’s a half sister to two restricted stakes horses who were successful at 1 1/8 miles. Other blacktype winners in the second generation are best up to 1 1/16 miles, over dirt and turf and include stakes-winning turf miler Cabo Cat, and sprint specialists Primary Suspect, Oliver Zip, and Spectacular Kid. Harvey Wallbanger’s second dam, Hear the Bells, is a restricted stakes-winning turf miler.
Harvey Wallbanger’s sire, Congrats, was best up to 1 1/6 miles. Despite five attempts at nine furlongs and farther, the best he could do was a second place finish behind Rock Hard Ten in the 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap. His offspring have followed suit. None have won a stakes race beyond 1 1/8 miles. Congrats is known as a “filly sire,” meaning his daughters are more proficient than his sons. Only 4 of his 26 stakes winners are males. Congrats’ most accomplished daughter is multiple Grade 1-winning sprinter/miler Turbulent Descent. Harvey Wallbanger is the first of his sons to win a graded stakes.
Distorted Humor’s daughters bear all types, from Champion 3-Year-Old Arrogate to the speedy Practical Joke. His daughter’s offspring tend to favor the abilities of their sires, thus, bred to a sprinter, they produce a sprinter, to a stamina-oriented type, their offspring prefer to run longer. Naturally, it isn’t 100% the case, because nothing in breeding is 100%, but it is the norm.
Derby Distance Verdict: Nope! Harvey Wallbanger has a strong miler’s pedigree, although his late-running style may take him a bit farther.
Everfast
(Take Charge Indy - Awesome Surprise, by Awesome Again)
Trainer: Dale Romans
Race Record: 7: 1-1-1 ($109,885)
Last Race: 2nd in Holy Bull Stakes (G2)
Derby Points: 4
In the Holy Bull, Everfast raced along in fourth place before shifting out in the stretch to snatch second place from Maximus Mischief. Previously, Everfast had finished out of the money in all but his debut and an optional claimer.
Everfast is the fifth foal and first blacktype earner in his immediate family. His dam, a full sister to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile hero Wilko, spent her racing career in England, hitting the board in three of four starts. Her half-sister bore multiple stakes winners Bodhisattva, a winner up to 1 1/8 miles, and the French Listed turf router Mint Julip.
Everfast is a member of Take Charge Indy’s third crop. The stallion won the Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles but was hurt in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 19th. He just wasn't the same after that, winning only once in seven starts, but he did place in four of those. Despite being a strong first-crop sire, Take Charge Indy was sold to stand stud in Korea in 2017. His son, Noble Indy, won last year’s Louisiana Derby, and this year, his son Long Range Toddy placed second in the Smarty Jones, missing by a neck.
Damsire Awesome Again is noted for getting long-winded runners. His daughters’ offspring are a mixed bag, but the greatest number are middle distance runners, and seven have been successful at classic distances, including last year’s Eclipse winner Accelerate.
Derby Distance Verdict: YEP! We don’t know how far Take Charge Indy’s babies will go until they do it, but an educated guess would be at least 1 1/8 miles. Add in the stamina of Awesome Again, and we have the pedigree of a classic horse. Everfast should be a stronger runner as a 3-year-old. The leggy colt has slightly high knee action, and there are turf attributes in his family in case his Derby dreams don’t pan out.
(Arch - Toll, by Giant's Causeway)
Trainer: Danny Gargan
Race Record: 4: 2-1-1 ($186,300)
Last Race: 1st in Withers Stakes (G3)
Derby Points: 12
Making his 3-year-old debut in the Withers Stakes, Tax scored an exhilarating victory. The dark bay gelding was game, motoring up the rail in tight quarters to grab victory by a head over pacesetter Not That Brady, who placed a neck in front of a tired, but game Our Braintrust, who had a wide trip.
Tax has illustrious Claiborne/Phipps family breeding. He’s the fifth foal and first blacktype earner in his immediate family. His dam is a half-sister to stakes-winning sprinter Cherry, dam of Elate, a multiple Grade 1 stakes winner, who captured the 2017 Alabama and Beldame Stakes, and last year’s Delaware Handicap. Both the Alabama and Delaware are contested at 1 1/4-miles. Toll is also a half-sister to Grade 1 stakes placed miler Chide and stakes placed sprinter Shrill.
Tax’s second dam Yell is a multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter/miler, who also placed in the Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose, and Molly Pitcher all at 1 1/8 miles. Some of the many stakes winners in Tax’s third generation include the sires Eastern Echo, Congrats and Roar.
Derby Distance Verdict: YEP! Tax has the pedigree to handle 1 1/2-miles, and the colt showed athleticism by overcoming a stumble at the break, briefly taking the lead before settling behind the pacesetter. Tax ran his final furlong in the Withers in 12.98 and galloped out in front of a tired-looking Not That Brady.
(Big Brown - Lisa's Booby Trap, by Drewman)
Trainer: Rudy Rodriguez
Race Record: 6: 2-2-0 ($155,900)
Last Race: 2nd in Withers Stakes
Derby Points: 4
After out-classing foes in the restricted Damon Runyon Stakes, Not That Brady gave a good account in the Withers. The pacesetter faced pressure the entire way, bumped with Our Braintrust in the stretch and, after being passed by Tax on his inside, the gutsy colt re-engaged, closing the distance to a head in a tough loss.
Not That Brady is modestly bred. He’s the first foal out of Lisa’s Booby Trap and seems to have inherited her competitive nature. The unassuming mare, blind in one eye and having a club foot, didn’t let her physical infirmities hinder her competitive nature. Lisa’s Booby Trap finished in the money 15 of 18 starts, earning $182,440 while racing predominately at Finger Lakes as a sprinter/miler. Her sole stakes win was in the six-furlong Loudonville Stakes at Saratoga. Lisa’s Booby Trap has two half-siblings who are stakes placed sprinters, and most of her half-siblings were hardy, athletic runners. Not That Brady’s third dam Wakan Hanka was a multiple stakes earner, winning or placing from six to nine furlongs. She’s also the third dam of the multiple graded stakes-winning turf miler, Eggdrop.
The offspring of Kentucky Derby and Preakness hero Big Brown are best up to 1 1/8 miles. His sole winner on dirt at 1 1/4 miles is Ground Transport, who captured a listed stakes at Belmont. Big Brown’s most accomplished runners include Santa Anita Derby winner Dortmund, and graded stakes-winning miler Kiss to Remember.
Derby Distance Verdict: Nope! Not That Brady is a tenacious competitor, but his forwardly placed running style, conformation, and distance-challenged pedigree will put him at a disadvantage as we get into the serious Derby preps.