Kentucky Derby 2017: Time to End the Curse of Apollo?

No horse has won the Kentucky Derby without having raced as a two-year-old since Apollo in 1882. Bodemeister came the closest to ending the famed 'Curse of Apollo', only to fall short to I'll Have Another in the final sixteenth of the 2012 Kentucky Derby. 

Obviously there is good reason for the now 135-year long streak, as the maturity gained during juvenile racing can be invaluable to overcoming the rigors of ten furlongs on the first Saturday in May. Sooner or later, though, I believe the Curse of Apollo will be broken.

There are too many talented horses these days that do not run as juveniles, for it not to be broken. He came on the scene a few months late, but look at what Arrogate has been able to accomplish in a short amount of time, despite not debuting until April of his three-year-old season. Heck, even those lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs, were able to snap their own curse, when they finally won the World Series, in the most thrilling of fashion, after more than a century of futility. With that in mind, let's take a look at the most likely candidates to end the curse in 2017 ...

Cloud Computing is a handsome son of the lightly raced, but talented young sire, Maclean's Music. As a grandson of both Distorted Humor and A.P. Indy, this $200,000 yearling purchase for Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence has the pedigree to become a classic runner. He has been behind the eight-ball for the Kentucky Derby from the start, because he did not make his debut until February 11. A sharp winner of that debut, he overcame some trouble to run right by his competition that day, prompting his connections to step him up in distance and class for the Grade 3 Gotham in his second start.

In a performance that was better than it appears on paper, the talented colt tracked a demanding pace, and stayed on very well to be second. Working smartly since, he will head to the Grade 1 Wood Memorial as one of the ones to beat. It looks like Chad Brown has another very talented horse in the barn. Perhaps the Eclipse Award winning trainer can win his first Kentucky Derby, and break the curse all in one fell swoop.

Malagacy is undefeated in three starts, and has impressed at every turn. As a son of the ultra-popular winner of the 2011 Preakness, the chestnut colt has captured the imagination of racing fans with his early speed and the way he sprints out to the wire. After two dominating and fast victories in non-stakes sprints, including a 15-length eye opening debut of January 4,  trainer Todd Pletcher stepped his charge up to the 8 1/2-furlong, Grade 2 Rebel Stakes.

Despite facing a large field peppered with speed, Malagacy was able to show off his talent with a two-length score. The victory in the $900,000 race sets him up perfectly for one of the biggest preps on the Derby trail, the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. Should he perform well there, he will come to Louisville to try to carry his speed just a little farther than his sire Shackleford did six years ago, when he led the Derby in the stretch.

Reach The World was beaten by the horse just below him on this list, but for my money has an even bigger upside than the colt that narrowly held him off. Like the top three-year-old filly in the land, this one is sired by Tapit, and owned by Don Alberto Racing. The homebred has been well thought of since before he ever made his first start. That debut came on January 16 in a one-mile maiden event at Santa Anita Park. The Bob Baffert charge found a little traffic that afternoon, and was beaten one-length by the highly regarded Dabster.

He quickly rebounded to easily break his maiden in his second start, before taking on Battle of Midway in his most recent start. He was beaten a neck, but once again had to deal with some traffic. Swung out for the drive, he finished full of run in a race that looked to be brimming with quality. His next test will come in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 8, and in what looks like a wide open affair, he should have a say in the outcome. 

Battle of Midway was the winner of that contentious optional claimer, and will also get a shot in the Santa Anita Derby. Despite placing fourth on this list, he too, looks to have the potential to be any kind. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, he clearly ran a big race to hold off Reach the World last time, and there is not much to criticize him on in his first two career races, either.

The $410,000 yearling purchase is a son of the classic producing sire, Smart Strike, and owned by Fox Hill Farms. He made his career debut on January 21, where he dueled for the early lead, before drawing clear to win by 3 1/4 in 1:09 flat. That performance made him the heavy favorite for the Grade 2 San Vicente stakes three weeks later. Not on the lead early, he never seemed completely comfortable, while finishing third, as Iliad announced himself to the world. Battle of Midway seemed to learn from that experience, running a professional race to win last time.