Further Ado earns 10 Derby points in Kentucky Jockey Club

Louisville, Ky.

Trainer Brad Cox knew full well that 2-year-old Further Ado was unlikely to repeat his 20-length, maiden breaker from last month at Keeneland. But he was confident another route of ground could yield more success.

“He’s a two-turn horse,” Cox said Saturday after Further Ado rallied to score a 1 3/4-length victory in the Grade 2, $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, a Kentucky Derby 2026 points prep at Churchill Downs. “You’re not going to win all your races by 20 lengths or open lengths.”

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After running away from 11 rivals going 1 1/16 miles in that maiden race at Keeneland, the $550,000 Gun Runner colt owned by Spendthrift Farm went the same distance in the 40-degree chill Saturday to make him 2-for-2 in two-turn races.

“There were some nice horses in this race today,” said Irad Ortiz Jr., who has ridden both of Further Ado’s wins. “I’m happy we got there (to the finish line) on time, and the horse did everything really, really professional.”

Further Ado picked up 10 points toward qualifying for the Derby, which will go 1 1/4 miles around the same two turns in a little more than five months. By Saturday at 6 p.m. EST he shortened to 14-1 in the pari-mutuel Kentucky Derby Future Wager and was 9-1 in the fixed-odds pool at Caesars Sportsbook in Nevada. Those odds make him the second individual choice behind Ted Noffey, who was 8-1 in the KDFW and 7-1 at Caesars. Both colts are owned by Spendthrift Farm.

“Really encouraging and a lot of fun,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said. “This horse is going to relish the added ground.”

After Further Ado starting his career with two sprint losses at Saratoga, his dominant performance last out was the big reason he carried 3-5 odds Saturday. Starting from post 6 in the field of seven juveniles, he went wide around the first turn and up the backstretch. He was in fourth, three lengths behind pacesetter Dr. Kapur (6-1), through sharp early fractions of 23.35 and 46.76 seconds.

Dr. Kapur and Soldier N Diplomat (7-1) were no more than a length apart through the first half of the race, and there was only a head between them through six furlongs in 1:10.84. Further Ado engaged the leaders to make it a three-way battle at the top of the homestretch.

Floating wide through the run home, Further Ado passed fading Dr. Kapur and got within a half-length of Soldier N Diplomat through a mile in 1:36.55. Still drifting outward, Further Ado took the lead in the final 100 yards. He held off Brian Hernandez Jr. and late-closing Universe (12-1) for the win.

“We’ve just got to get a little luckier on the trip,” said Universe’s trainer Kenny McPeek, who said the Southwest (G3) on Jan. 31 at Oaklawn could be next. “Maybe he beats the winner if that doesn’t happen, but mostly pleased. ... This horse is going to be part of the action between now and spring.”

Further Ado’s winning time was 1:43.33 on the fast main track. It was the second-quickest running of the Kentucky Jockey Club since 2010. First Resort won last year with a time of 1:43.01.

Further Ado paid $3.42, $2.56 and $2.10. Second-place Universe returned $5.48 and $3.36. Soldier N Diplomat finished third and paid $2.92. Very Connected (34-1) wound up fourth. Cherokee Nation (7-2), who steadied in the first turn, took fifth. Those top five finishers earned 10-5-3-2-1 Derby qualifying points. Dr. Kapur came in sixth, and Spice Runner (17-1) finished last.

“I thought Soldier N Diplomat’s last race was really, really good,” Toffey said, referring to an allowance win last month over the same course and distance as Saturday’s race. “I thought he would be tough in here, and so we had to work to get by, but it looks like this horse is going to relish the added ground.”

“For him to obviously dig in in a tough stretch battle, and he was able to come out on top and gallop out well,” said Cox, whose previous Kentucky Jockey Club win came with Instant Coffee in 2022. “(Further Ado) showed us a lot of things today that we needed to see to march forward toward the Kentucky Derby.”

Cox said Further Ado will train this winter at Payson Park in Florida and that Gulfstream Park, Fair Grounds and Oaklawn would provide the menu of choices for a next start on the road to the Derby.

Real Quiet in 1997-98 and Super Saver in 2009-10 are the only horses in the last half-century to come out of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and win the Kentucky Derby. Since 2010, only the only graduates of this prep to hit the board in the Derby were Gun Runner, third in May 2016, and Tiz the Law, second in September 2020. Neither won the Kentucky Jockey Club.