Kentucky Derby 2018 trail: Bravazo scores Risen Star upset

Amid a top-heavy 2018 Kentucky Derby prep season, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas reminded us Saturday -- as he so often does -- that it’s still a horse race.

Lukas-trained Bravazo scored a 21-1 upset win in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes, taking the first "Championship Series" prep by a nose over front-runner Snapper Sinclair.

"We had a lot of horse," said jockey Miguel Mena. "It was an honest pace, and I rode him hard to the wire. I thought it was too close to call."

After taking a look at the photo, stewards sided with Bravazo, who never seemed clearly in front before the finish. Snapper Sinclair was gunning for a major upset himself at 41-1. The Exacta returned $603 for $2.

Now, while the likes of Good Magic and Bolt d'Oro will continue to grab the headlines, Bravazo has the sole lead atop the road to the Derby leaderboard having earned 50 points with his Risen Star victory.

Under jockey Miguel Mena, Bravazo exited a speedy mile allowance win at Oaklawn Park, earning a well-deserved step back on to the Derby trail. He ran like a winner, sitting just off the early pace before pouncing in the stretch.

Mena inherited the mount when another Hall of Famer, Gary Stevens, elected not to make the trip from Hot Springs, Ark., where he's based this winter.

Connections told Mena, "Ride him with confidence," and the jockey did. "He's a very nice horse, and here he showed it."

The Awesome Again colt, who runs in the familiar Calumet Farm colors, improved his record to 3-1-1 in seven starts. He's almost assured a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May, too.

Noble Indy got held for third with 7-5 favorite Instilled Regard, the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes winner last time at Fair Grounds, fourth in the field of nine.

Still, Instilled Regard, who looked so dominant against many of these runners last time, failed to rally. The leaders hit the wire in a final time of 1:42.95, separated by only a nose.