Mage's connections say he won't be a 1-hit wonder

Mage’s connections are optimistic he will enjoy a strong second half to the season and that history will not regard them as one-hit wonders.

Gustavo Delgado Jr. said lightly raced Mage’s Kentucky Derby victory “changed everything” for the operation he and his father have overseen since 2014. His father, inspired by the success of Canonero II in 1971, left Venezuela as one of its leading trainers on a quest to win the Derby.

“I’m excited about the horses we are getting. People are more receptive to us. They want to invest with us,” said the son. “We don’t have to pursue anybody. They’re actually coming to us. It’s a great feeling. The whole situation is something we’ve been gearing for.”

The Delgados have 24 horses in their care as they eye expansion. “We’d like to double or triple that,” Delgado Jr. said.

Although they have targeted the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park on July 22 as their next start for Mage, they plan to have a string of horses at Saratoga and have the Aug. 26 Travers (G1) as a major goal for their rising star.

Delgado, 66, with his son serving as interpreter, indicated that his first Derby after a series of successes in classic races in Venezuela only deepened his desire to build on that accomplishment.

“That’s the thing about big races. When you win the first one, people will think you’re done. You already accomplished something,” he said. “But it’s just the opposite. You are trying for more.”

Mage’s prolonged rally to win the Derby by one length for Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano is a testament to the father’s ability to get that done. The Good Magic colt was unraced at 2. He was making only his fourth career start in the opening leg of the Triple Crown and was sent off at 15-1.

The 3-year-old acquitted himself well enough as the only Derby starter to make the two-week turnaround to the Preakness. He finished third in a race in which his closing kick was compromised by the plodding pace that jockey John Velazquez was allowed to set with victorious front-runner National Treasure.

Ramiro Restrepo believes the outcome would have been very different if an injury had not led trainer Brad Cox to scratch Lexington Stakes (G3) winner First Mission, who was to be ridden by aggressive Luis Saez. “We really believe First Mission was going to help provide pace,” Restrepo said. “I don’t believe Luis Saez was going to allow that to happen.”

With no Triple Crown at stake, Mage skipped the Belmont Stakes and was shipped to The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Ky. He was given 17 days off and enjoyed time in a round pen.

“We gave him 17 days to really fill up again,” Restrepo said.

Mage remains at The Thoroughbred Center. Delgado is looking to work him four times to prepare him for the Haskell. The first of those moves likely will come this weekend, depending on the weather.

Delgado used a series of relatively long works to have Mage primed for the first Saturday in May. Of the last five drills, three were at six furlongs and two at five furlongs. “They were five- and six-furlong works, but he would go an extra quarter or three-eighths as he was finishing,” Restrepo noted. “He was getting almost a mile work.”

Delgado swept the Venezuelan equivalent of the Triple Crown four times. He is a five-time winner of the Clasico Simon Bolivar and captured three editions of the Clasico Internacional del Caribe.

Restrepo, a bloodstock agent, has worked closely with the Delgados for the last three years. “I knew he was capable of battling with the big boys, but he needed the athletes to be able to coach them up,” he said. “That’s always the hardest part.”

Restrepo and the Delgados are excited about a pair of 2-year-old colts they purchased at recent sales. They added an Into Mischief colt for $300,000 and an Arrogate for $375,000, flexing new-found financial muscle.

“They were purchased with some pretty big intentions,” said Restrepo, knowing better than ever what it takes to succeed at the highest levels.