Brown sets Good Magic on course for Kentucky Derby 2018
After runner-up finishes in both the 2016 and 2017 Blue Grass Stakes, trainer Chad Brown said that “once you get a little taste of that – Keeneland in the spring – you start looking to bring one back next year to win this race.”
He did just that on Saturday, saddling Good Magic to a victory in the Grade 2, $1 million event that both redeemed the colt’s champion status and sent him on to the 2018 Kentucky Derby in style.
Now, the question for Brown is how long to leave the Curlin colt in Lexington, Ky., as he prepares for a run the first Saturday in May about an hour away at Churchill Downs.
“He seems to love Keeneland,” Brown said. “Right now, I’m leaning toward leaving him here a couple of weeks, maybe getting his first breeze out of the way here, on a track I know he likes. Then get him over to Churchill – he’ll have at least one work at Churchill.”
Brown followed a similar schedule in 2016 with My Man Sam, who went on to finish 11th in the Kentucky Derby, and 2017 with Practical Joke, who ran fifth. Neither of those colts carried the clout of a Eclipse Award-winner at age 2 as the Bobby Frankel pupil Brown continues to distance from the thinking he only trains top turf horses.
Good Magic, who was third in his seasonal debut in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, made an clear step forward in the Blue Grass. His 95 Beyer Speed Figure was an improvement on an 89 last out, showing a similar progression as his career peak in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile that came at third asking. Last year, his Beyer pattern was 82-89-100.
“I thought it was an outstanding performance,” Brown said of the Blue Grass. “He was well-placed early and kept steady throughout. Maybe we dock one point where it looked like he jumped a shadow near the wire, but that’s him. He’s going to look around a little bit.
“I was really happy how he ran today. For only two starts this year, I was hoping to be peaking for the Derby and hopefully we’ll advance another step on Derby Day. Looks like is a very good crop of horses this year and it’s going to be a tough race.”
For comparison’s sake, Justify’s 107 Beyer from the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby leads the current 3-year-old crop. Saturday’s other Derby prep winner, Vino Rosso in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, received a 98.
Figures are one thing. Good Magic, who got the job done in the Blue Grass from a concerning post 11, also has the look of a Kentucky Derby contender.
“We’ll get him over to Churchill and give him at least one work over the track,” Brown said, “and hopefully get him out to a mile and a quarter and hopefully he can handle it.”