Chance It's win gives him Kentucky Derby 2020 trail options

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. isn’t yet sure which race will begin Chance It’s run down the 2020 Kentucky Derby trail, but he said after the colt’s victory Saturday that it will happen at Gulfstream Park.

That’s where the Florida-bred son of Currency Swap has made all six of his career starts, winning four of them, most recently the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes in a move to more open company.

Running for the first time since Sept. 28, Chance It appeared to be headed twice in the stretch before digging in to defeat fellow Florida-bred As Seen on Tv in the one-turn, one-mile event.

“I’m glad we had him tight enough to belly down, and he’s going to move forward from the run,” Joseph Jr. said. “He’s going to get much better from this race.”

The Feb. 1 Holy Bull (G3) is likely, with the Feb. 29 Fountain of Youth (G2) also in play. The former is expected to be headlined by Grade 1 winner Tiz the Law and awards Derby points on a 10-4-2-1 basis. The latter’s the likely starting point for an early Derby favorite in Dennis’ Moment and pays out points on a 50-20-10-5 scale.

Both races are at 1 1/16 miles and lead into the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby (G1) on March 28.

“We’ll decide which one we want to go to,” Joseph Jr. said. “We have plenty of options, but I want to stay home. We’ll see which way we want to go.”

Before Saturday, Shooting Star Thoroughbreds’ Chance It had broken his maiden back on June 29 and won two legs of the Florida sire series, the Aug. 3 Dr. Fager at six furlongs and Sept. 28 In Reality going 1 1/16 miles. Each victory produced Beyer Speed Figures in the 90s, while Chance It has yet to finish outside the exacta in his two defeats.

Joseph, a native of Barbados who trained a Triple Crown winner in his home country, also conditions the Grade 1 winner Math Wizard. But he didn’t hesitate when labeling Chance It “the best horse I’ve ever had in my life.”

The gutsy Mucho Macho Man victory, secured by a head in a final time of 1:35.53 under jockey Tyler Gaffalione, registered a career-best 94 Beyer.

“I thought he was beat at the eighth pole,” Joseph Jr. said. “I really did. He switched leads and he just dug in for that something extra. That’s the heart of a champion.

“I don’t want to call him a champion, because he has to earn it, but that’s the quality of a horse that becomes a champion.”