Moquett eyes Oaklawn's Derby trail for promising Osbourne

Ron Moquett was not convinced he wanted Osbourne the first time he saw him. The trainer was inspecting some of breeder Amy Boulton’s stock for a private purchase, and was all in on two horses.

Osbourne was not one of them.

“She basically talked me into him,” Moquett said. “She told me I should give him a shot because he was really nice.”

Eventually, Boulton’s advice won out and Tapiture gelding joined Moquett’s stable. After being named for heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne because of his dam, Planet Rock, he made his debut at Churchill Downs.

In that Sept. 25 maiden race,  the colt ran second behind Howling Time, who will run in Saturday’s Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), also at Churchill Downs. Despite coming up short that day, he showed on the track that Boulton was correct.

“If you watch the race you’ll see who ran the most impressive race,” Moquett said. “On a speed-favoring track we’re running in spurts and starting and stopping and going inside and outside and back inside. It was crazy.”

After the second-place effort, Moquett and Osbourne regrouped, and the gelding, owned by Moquett along with the estate of Floyd Sagely and Mark Tauber, was entered again to run on Nov. 17 under the twin spires. In that race, Osbourne quickly tried to get the lead under jockey Julien Leparoux.

He was ahead after the opening half-mile and stayed there, eventually winning by 1 3/4 lengths over Hitting Bombs, who made a late run but was too late to catch Osbourne. Moquett said that now that the gelding has graduated, he has high hopes going forward.

“I think he’s a nice horse,” Moquett said. “We’re hoping he keeps developing and keeps improving, but he’s already been a blessing.

Moquett said he was considering multiple races for Osbourne’s next move, including the Smarty Jones on Jan. 1 at Oaklawn, which would be his debut going two turns. That race is a Kentucky Derby prep, offering points payouts of 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.

The gelding has also shown up in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, where he was given morning line odds of 30-1. He also opened at 150-1 in Las Vegas Derby futures.

“Every time you get a maiden that breaks his maiden impressively or a 2-year-old that runs well this time of year, they’re going to put him there,” Moquett said of whether Derby hype could premature. “But I’ll honestly say this, it seems the ones that make it there, they’re always legitimate contenders. They have to be to make the field.”