Kentucky Derby 2026: Feels like home for The Puma’s team

Louisville, Ky.

The Puma’s arrival at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning played like one of those TV reunion specials, right down to the production being done on the very same stage.

“An amazing feeling just to be back here,” said co-owner and assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr., who preceded The Puma in making the trip from South Florida. “It’s a good energy. As soon as I got here last night, I was checking everything before he came in this morning. It’s just different here. Good memories here. We’re trying to relive that again. That’s the plan.”

On the south edge of the track property, The Puma is the same street-facing stall in the same barn where Mage stayed before he won Kentucky Derby 2023. The similarities going into Kentucky Derby 2026 do not end there.

Delgado is a lead owner again. His father is back as the trainer. Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano will ride. While the human cast is rich in Venezuela heritage, the colt’s roots are in Kentucky. After a 1,000-mile trailer ride that began Monday morning, he is back home in the state where he was bred by Hidden Brook Farm and Brian Kahn.

“Everything went smooth,” Delgado said. “They didn’t have to stop anywhere more than the planned stops, and they didn’t get traffic, so it was good.”

But back to the similarities between The Puma and Mage, even though Delgado said it may be unfair to zero in on them. Both were unraced at age 2. Both come from off the early pace. Both finished a close second in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, The Puma losing to Commandment by the bob of a nose.

More than three weeks later, Delgado said that Florida Derby loss still gnaws at him.

“I’m still digesting it,” he said. “It was really, really tough. I thought we had him, but it’s a good feeling, you know? Whether you run first or second in a race like that, the last Derby prep, that’s what you want for the Derby. You want to get the feeling that you really have a shot. I like where we are.”

Both The Puma and Commandment, who is trained by Brad Cox, closed from the back of the field of six to find themselves out front at the end of the Florida Derby’s 1 1/8 miles. The Puma led all the way to the final stride. The Delgados thought they had the race won. They even celebrated. Until they did not.

“There’s a video. You should watch it,” Delgado said. “My dad and I, we’re both rooting for him, and we thought we had (Commandment). I told my dad I shouldn’t have done that, because I think it kind of jinxed me. I told my dad we won it, we won it. We got it. No worries. We got it. We got it. I saw the video. I saw it on the screen, on the TV. I think that I should never have done that. I never do that.”

In spite of that defeat, The Puma has something important that Mage did not going into the Derby. That is a stakes win. He scored in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby (G3) on March 7, coming from last of nine to win by three-quarters of a length as a 7-1 underdog.

That win, the near miss in the Florida Derby and being by Essential Quality out of Declaration of War mare Eve of War give Delgado confidence that The Puma will like the 1 1/4-mile distance come May 2.

“His pedigree suggests that,” Delgado said. “The gallop-outs from the races for him have always (shown) that he wants to do more. The last breeze before coming here was really nice. We really loved that. More importantly, after (the Florida Derby), he didn’t look like he was tired from that kind of effort. I think he’s getting the right moment for this race.”

The Puma’s 1:00.77 workout covering five furlongs Saturday at Gulfstream Park might have been his last before the Derby.

“We’re going to play it by ear here,” Delgado said. “We’re going to see him gallop this week. Last week before coming here was really nice, and he doesn’t really need much at this point. It will be more about keeping him happy. Maybe a strong gallop on Sunday or Monday, something like that makes sense. I think that’s something that, when my dad gets here, we will decide.”

That will be no sooner than Wednesday morning. If Gustavo Delgado Sr. decides not to put The Puma through any more timed workouts, that will be right in line with their way of training that proved successful three years ago with Mage.

“The decisions that he made going to the (2023) race were pretty unconventional for what we used to see here,” the son said of his father. “But it paid off, you know? My dad’s got all the experience in the world training horses, conditioning horses, and I think that’s the kind of guy that you want to have when a good horse comes out. One that knows exactly what to do, is not going to hesitate, what to give, what to stop. It’s a good feeling to have that experience.”

There is one more noteworthy trait that The Puma and Mage have in common. Let’s just say they do not look like supermodels strutting down the catwalk.

“They both paddle,” Delgado said. “I’ve got to be honest. They’re not the most good-looking movers, but they can run. Both of them, and that’s what matters. More importantly, they have that grit, that disposition to fight hard, especially when tested. That’s all you can ask for a horse race.”

If The Puma were to finish first in the Kentucky Derby, he would join Mage and last year’s winner Sovereignty in wearing the roses after having finished second in the Florida Derby. Not that the Delgados planned it that way.

“No,” he said. “We like winning. We like winning. We like winning. Don’t get me wrong.”