Ky. Derby pedigrees: Which contenders are bred for the distance?

As we gear up for Kentucky Derby 2024, the question of pedigree takes center stage. Although the thrill of the race captures our hearts, it's fascinating to consider how factors such as pedigree, physical and mental conformation, fitness levels and innate talent all tie into a horse's potential to conquer the Derby distance.

So, how important is pedigree? Of the last 23 Derby champs, 21 were by a sire or had a damsire (and in 11 cases, both) who already produced stakes winners at 1 1/4 miles or beyond. Three Derby winners didn't follow the traditional pattern because they had relatively new sires or damsires with fewer successful offspring.

Let's take a closer look at the pedigrees of this year's Derby contenders. Those whose pedigrees are borderline for classic distances don't fit the previous winning profiles, but they're certainly capable of winning because of other factors.

Dornoch (Good Magic - Puca, by Big Brown), a third foal, has a classic pedigree.

Dornoch is a full brother to last year's Derby winner Mage, so chances are good that he can follow in his big brother's hoofprints. Good Magic, second in the 2018 Derby and no. 3 on the third-crop sire list, is becoming a phenomenal sire. Besides Mage and Dornoch, he's sired Grade 1 Arkansas Derby hero Muth and last year's Preakness runner-up Blazing Sevens. His son Society Man also is a Derby contender.

Dornoch's dam Puca was Grade 2-placed at 1 1/8 miles on dirt and placed at 1 1/4 miles on turf. Her half-brother is the hardy Grade 1-winning turf router Finnegan's Wake.

As a broodmare sire, Big Brown has 10 stakes winners, five are graded.

Pedigree rating: A

Sierra Leone (Gun Runner - Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon) a second foal, has a classic pedigree.

Gun Runner doesn't have a stakes winner at classic distances, but they've come close. Five of his eight stakes horses who contested 1 1/4 miles have hit the board. Two of his progeny won allowances at 1 1/4 miles.

Malibu Moon has no classic winners on dirt over the last five years as a damsire but has one on turf.

Dating back eight generations straight, Sierra Leone's classy distaff line produced black-type earners in each generation, and his first three dams are Grade 1 winners or Grade 1 placed. His dam's half-sister bore Derby contender Forever Young.

Pedigree rating: A

Mystik Dan (Goldencents - Ma'am, by Colonel John), a first foal, has a middle-distance/classic pedigree.

Two-time Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hero Goldencents gets the occasional classic distance winner. He sired 2019 Louisiana Derby (G2) winner By My Standards.

2008 Travers Stakes hero Colonel John has 10 stakes winners from 184 starters as a broodmare sire, including Wood Memorial (G2) runner-up Society Man. None of his daughter's offspring have won beyond 1 1/8 miles on dirt. Still, as a sire, Colonel John has a couple of stakes winners at classic distances.

The female family class in Mystik Dan's distaff line jumps to the third generation and includes Grace 1 winner and sire Siphonic.

Pedigree rating: B

Catching Freedom (Constitution - Catch My Drift, by Pioneerof the Nile), a third foal, has a classic pedigree.

Constitution won two Grade 1 races at 1 1/8 miles but failed at 1 1/4 miles over a sloppy track. American Pharoah's sire, Pioneerof the Nile, is represented by 13 stakes winners as a damsire. None have tried classic distances, but it's just a matter of time.

Catching Freedom's immediate family contains proven stakes performers at 1 1/8 miles, and his distaff line is a blend of stamina and speed.

Pedigree rating: A

Catalytic (Catalina Cruiser - One Show Only, by Distorted Humor), a fourth foal, has a middle-distance pedigree.

Second-crop sire Catalina Cruiser, a son of Union Rags, is a Grade 2-winning sprinter-miler. None of his progeny have tried 1 1/4 miles yet, but both starters at 1 1/8 miles won or placed. Milers make the best sires because their offspring can sprint or go long, depending on the speed or stamina in the distaff line.

Distorted Humor's daughters have produced 151 stakes winners, including high-class performers Arrogate, Art Collector, Life is Good, Constitution, Elate and Guarana.

Catalytic's second dam is a half-sister to Kentucky Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat, and 2010 Kentucky Derby hero Super Saver is a distant relative.

Pedigree rating: B

Just Steel (Justify - Irish Lights (AUS), by Fastnet Rock (AUS)), a fourth foal, has a middle-distance/classic pedigree.

Triple Crown hero and third-crop sire Justify has two starters but no winners from classic distance runners on dirt. But he has two graded winners on turf at 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 miles. He's also the sire of Derby contender Just a Touch.

Just Steel's damsire Fastnet Rock was a champion sprinter in Australia. In the U.S., he's represented by three dirt stakes winners, none past 1 1/16 miles, but his offspring win as turf routers. 

Fastnet Rock's daughter, Irish Lights, is a Group 1-winning turf sprinter, and Just Steel's half-brother is a stakes-winning turf sprinter.

Pedigree rating: B

Honor Marie (Honor Code - Dame Marie, by Smart Strike), a third foal, has a classic pedigree.

Honor Code's sole classic-distance stakes winner, Max Player, was fifth in the 2020 Derby. He matured to capture the Suburban (G2) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) as a 4-year-old.  

Intermediate-classic chef-de-race Smart Strike is the damsire of two Kentucky Derby shockers, Mine That Bird and Rich Strike, and the damsire of this year's contender, Wood Memorial hero Resilience.

Honor Marie's dam Dame Marie is a Grade 2-placed turf miler who bore Honor Marie's half-sister, Abarta, a runner-up in the Bourbon (G2) over Keeneland's turf. Dame Marie is a half-sister to Rule of Law, a stakes winner from the seven-furlong Acomb stakes to the 15-furlong Group 1 St. Leger. The family includes many other group-listed winners.

Pedigree rating: A

Just a Touch (Justify - Touching Beauty, by Tapit), a seventh foal, has a classic pedigree.

Justify is also the sire of Just Steel. Tapit is the damsire of 104 stakes winners, including Belmont Stakes hero Arcangelo and last year's Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns.

Touching Beauty captured the one-mile Comely (G3) and was second to Awesome Maria in the Matron (G2). Her full sister Noisy Feet is a stakes-winning sprinter, and her full brother Tritap placed in the San Fernando (G2).

Pedigree rating: A

T O PASSWORD (JPN) (Copano Rickey (JPN) - T O Rachel (JPN), by King Kamehameha (JPN)), a first foal, has a middle-distance/classic pedigree.

Copano Rickey won four dirt Group 1s at 1 1/4 miles and won nongraded stakes at 1 1/2 miles. A daughter was second in the Tokyo Yushun (G1) at about 1 1/2 miles on turf. Stats for dirt stakes winners' distances on dirt aren't available.

More than 17 of King Kamehameha's daughters produced winners at 1 1/4 miles or farther, most on turf.

Pedigree rating: A

Forever Young (JPN) (Real Steel (JPN) - Forever Darling, by Congrats), a fourth foal, has a classic pedigree.

Real Steel was a turf multiple Group winner at about 1 1/8 miles and placed up to about 2 miles.

As a damsire, two of Congrats's five classic distance winners won on dirt. Forever Young's first three dams are graded winners to 1 1/16 miles. His dam is a half-sister to Sierra Leone's dam, and champion Japan horse Zeno Rob Roy is part of the extended family.

Pedigree rating: A

Track Phantom (Quality Road - Miss Sunset, by Into Mischief), a second foal, has a middle-distance pedigree.

Quality Road has 16 starters at classic distances with two winners.

Into Mischief sired two Derby winners, but as a damsire, he has only 19 stakes winners from 253 starters. He's the damsire of Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio.

Track Phantom may carry the X-Factor, given the strength of Into Mischief as a sire. Although Track Phantom has a middle-distance pedigree, he hasn't demonstrated the ability to win beyond 1 1/16 miles.

Pedigree rating: C

West Saratoga (Exaggerator - Mo Wicked, by Uncle Mo), a first foal, has a middle-distance/classic pedigree.

Exaggerator has 11 stakes winners from 485 starters. His most accomplished runner, multiple-graded winner Skippylongstocking, was third in the Belmont. None of his stakes winners have won beyond 1 1/8 miles, but he has a starter allowance winner at 1 1/4 miles in 2:06.40 at Beltarra Park.

As a damsire, none of  Uncle Mo's 19 stakes winners have won beyond 1 1/8 miles, but I expect some will eventually. His daughters' classy winners include Arkansas Derby winner Muth, Haskell hero Geaux Rocket Ride and Black-Eyed Susan (G2) heroine Interstatedaydream.

West Saratoga's first two dams are unraced, and he owns the only black type in two generations. The third generation includes Alcibiades (G1) heroine Wickedly Perfect and Comley (G3) winner Bees and Honey.

Pedigree rating: B

Endlessly (Oscar Performance - Dream Fuhrever, by Langfuhr), a sixth foal, has a turf-oriented, middle-distance/classic pedigree.

A multiple Grade 1 winner from a mile to 1 1/4 miles on turf, Oscar Performance is a second-crop sire. His offspring are 0-3 at classic distances on turf and mud so far, but he's young and should eventually get winners at the distance.

Langfuhr is the damsire of 81 stakes winners. Since 2011, only one, Proud Spell, won on dirt at 1 1/4 miles. Endlessly's distaff family is turf-oriented and includes Grade 1-winning turf miler Coffee Clique and Grade 3-winning turf router Admission Office.

Pedigree rating: B

Domestic Product (Practical Joke - Goods and Services, by Paynter), a third foal, has a miler/middle-distance pedigree.

Fourth crop sire Practical Joke never won beyond 1 1/6 miles. None of his offspring have won beyond 1 1/8 miles.

Paynter's daughters have produced two stakes winners. As a sire, Paynter is represented by two stakes winners at 1 1/4 miles, including 2021 horse of the year Knicks Go, and an allowance winner at 1 1/2 miles, so the chances are good that his daughters can get a classic distance winner.

The most accomplished winner in Domestic Product's distaff line is turf mare Cherokee Queen, a Grade 3 winner at 1 1/8 miles.

Pedigree rating: C

Grand Mo the First (Uncle Mo - Lilies So Fair, by Giant's Causeway), an eighth foal, has a classic pedigree.

Prominent sire Uncle Mo produced Kentucky Derby hero Nyquist in his first crop. Louisiana Derby hero Kingsbarns and Pacific Classic winner Arabian Knight are among his high-profile classic distance winners.

Giant's Causeway is as good a damsire as he was a sire. His daughter's classic distance-winning offspring are primarily turf-oriented, and 10 are graded winners in North America. But Gun Runner is his only classic distance winner on dirt in the last five years.

Grand Mo the First's dam Lilies So Fair is a half-sister to Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up My Miss Sophia, dam of Grade 1 winning turf miler Annapolis. She's also a half to Florida Derby (G1) hero Materiality, the dam of Ashland (G1) winner and 2024 Oaks contestant Leslie's Rose.

Pedigree rating: A

Fierceness (City of Light - Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty) a second foal, has a middle-distance/classic pedigree.

City of Light was a multiple Grade 1 winner at 1 1/8 miles, but Quality Road's son faded in his only start at 1 1/4 miles. The second-crop sire might get the occasional classic distance winner.

Travers (G1) hero Stay Thirsty has two stakes winners as a damsire, none at classic distances, but his progeny have won up to 1 3/16 miles, so chances are good that his dam's offspring may handle classic distances.

Fierceness' first three dams have produced high-classed sprinters to middle-distance runners. His dam is a half-sister to Wood Memorial hero Outwork, and his second dam, Grade 1-placed Nonna Mia, is a 3/4 sister to Nashua (G2) and Holy Bull (G3) winner and sire Cairo Prince.

Fierceness' sire, his second damsire, Empire Maker, and his third damsire, Holy Bull, should help Fierceness become City of Light's first classic winner.

Pedigree rating: B

Stronghold (Ghostzapper - Spectator, by Jimmy Creed), a first foal, has a middle-distance pedigree.

Most of Ghostzapper's classic distance offspring are turf routers, and his offspring improve with maturity. Stronghold's first three damsires, Jimmy Creed, Henny Hughes and Swiss Yodeler, are speed-oriented.

Stronghold's dam Spectator is multiple Grade 1-placed, and his third dam is a Grade 3-placed sprinter.

Pedigree rating: B

Resilience (Into Mischief - Meadowsweet, by Smart Strike), a second foal, has a classic pedigree.

Into Mischief sired Derby winners Authentic and Mandaloun . Smart Strike is also the damsire of Honor Marie.

Resilience's extended family is filled with class and stamina. It includes his second dam, Grade 1-winning turf router Tranquility Lake, plus her multiple graded sons After Market and Courageous Cat. Grade 2 winner and California sire Benchmark and 1983 Belmont Stakes hero Caveat are part of the extended family.

Pedigree rating: A

Society Man (Good Magic - You Cheated, by Colonel John), a second foal, has a classic pedigree.

Society Man shares the same damsire as Dornoch.

2008 Travers Stakes hero Colonel John has 10 stakes winners from 184 starters as a broodmare sire, including Derby contender Mystik Dan. None have won beyond 1 1/8 miles on dirt, but as a sire, Colonel John has a couple of stakes winners at classic distances. There are no standouts in Society Man's distaff line. His dam is multiple stakes placed, earning $160K in 26 starts.

Pedigree rating: A

Epic Ride (Blame - Pick a Time, by Gio Ponti), a second foal, has a middle-distance/classic pedigree.

Epic Ride is by 2010 champion older horse Blame out of a daughter of two-time champion grass horse Gio Ponti.

Blame is the sire of five classic distance stakes winners, one on dirt.

Epic Ride's distaff line is filled with dirt and turf sprinter-miler stakes winners, including multiple Grade 2 winner Dominus and graded-placed Up the Ante. Gio Ponti's daughters have produced 44 winners, and Epic Ride is his lone stakes winner.

Pedigree rating: B