Is Frammento Nick Zito’s ticket back to the Kentucky Derby?

Nick Zito has been there and done that. With a total of 25, the Hall of Fame trainer has started more horses in the Kentucky Derby than all but three trainers in history. A two-time winner of the Run for the Roses, Zito has also won the Blue Grass Stakes three times. It’s been 11 years since he won Keeneland’s big race, though, and surprisingly, the First Saturday in May mainstay has not even started a horse in the Derby since saddling Dialed In to a disappointing eighth-place finish four years ago. On Saturday, he hopes to put an end to both streaks with a late developing chestnut named Frammento. A strong performance by Frammento Saturday at Keeneland could send his popular 67-year-old trainer back where he belongs … to the 2015 Kentucky Derby.

Frammento has plenty of things in common with Zito’s first Blue Grass winner. In 1991, the native New Yorker came to Kentucky’s Bluegrass with a late developing son of Alydar named Strike the Gold. One minute, 48 seconds and change after the race began, Zito and Strike the Gold were heading to Louisville in with a big shot at the race every horseman dreams of winning. Like Strike the Gold, Frammento comes into the Blue Grass as a winner of only one race. In fact, both colts came to this Keeneland test, and final Kentucky Derby prep, with a 1-of-6 record. They both also demonstrated improvement in the race before the Blue Grass, though, with stout finishes at Gulfstream Park. Strike the Gold rallied for second in the Florida Derby, while Frammento came up strong when getting up for third in the Fountain of Youth. Finally, each colt would be going up against a heavily favored horse in the Blue Grass. Strike the Gold had to knock off Fly So Free, while tomorrow, Carpe Diem stands in the way of the Zito charge this time around.

Comparisons are one thing, but getting it done on the track has to be proven. We all remember how Strike the Gold parlayed his Blue Grass score into Kentucky Derby magic, three weeks later. That was also Zito's first Derby win, and first classic win, for that matter. If he is to have a hope of winning his third Kentucky Derby this year, Frammento must run a good race on Saturday.

Besides the million dollar purse, the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes comes attached with 170 all-important qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. These points are especially important to Frammento, who to date has only collected 10 points, earned from his third-place finish in the Fountain of Youth Stakes. He would likely need to finish at least in third on Saturday (worth 20 points) to qualify as one of the 20 horses for a Derby spot. Of course, if he doesn't at least run third, he probably would not be deserving of a spot regardless. A son of Midshipman, out of the Golden Missile mare, Ginger Bay, Frammento not only comes into Saturday's Grade 1 off his strongest performance yet, but he also returns to the track where he scored his only career victory. Last fall, he finished determinedly to get up in a 1 1/16 mile maiden race at Keeneland, in his only previous start at the Lexington, Kentucky track. He's 0-for-4 since, but he has shown strong rallies in two of his last three races, first with a nice closing second behind the talented Bluegrass Singer in a Gulfstream Park allowance race. He did not fire next out when sixth in the Holy Bull, but rebounded well when finishing full of run to split the likes of Upstart, Itsaknockout, and Frosted. Could Frammento be the horse to bring Nick Zito back to the Kentucky Derby? Only time will tell, but his experienced trainer definitely likes the direction in which he is headed.