Kentucky Derby trail: My World wears down Balboa in Jerome

New York

My World closed from a stalking position down the middle of the stretch to defeat the odds-on favorite Balboa in the $139,500 Jerome to win by two lengths on the road to Kentucky Derby 2026. The grey son of Essential Quality won his third race in a row and earned 10 qualifying points for the Run for the Roses.

The Jerome, which is the third of six stops at Aqueduct on the New York road to the Derby, drew a field of five but went off with four newly turned 3-year-olds after Mailata scratched and won a state-bred stakes race at Parx Racing earlier in the week on Tuesday. That means Derby points will be earned by all four runners since there is no adjustment for the small field in these early qualifying races.

My World, with Jaime Rodriguez on board, was content to race on the outside of Enforced Agenda as those two were two lengths behind the leading pair with the longshot Freedom’s Echo in front and Balboa on his hip to the outside. After early fractions of 23.58 and 47.12 seconds, Freedom’s Echo gave way in the one-turn mile, Balboa inherited the lead and My World was second.

“He broke pretty good and the race came out the way I was handicapping,” Rodriguez explained. “I said, ‘maybe the two will go out a bit in front and then Balboa is going to sit behind him.’ I was just going to sit behind both of them just getting a nice trip.”

Going around the turn and into the stretch My World was to the outside of the favorite as he began to steadily cut into the lead. Three-quarters went in 1:12.23 as Balboa tried to hold on to the lead which he had yet to do in his six prior starts in any race beyond 6 1/2 furlongs. My World was coming off a victory in the one-mile Nashua at the Big A in November where he showed a tendency to lug in a bit.

“Once we got from the three-eighths pole, he was lugging in a little more this time than the last time, but once I hit him once on the left, he corrected himself,” the winning rider added. “Once we turned into the top of the lane and he changed the lead, he just gave me another gear and he exploded.”

At the stretch call, My World was still a length behind but was gaining on Balboa with every stride. My World, who is trained by Brad Cox, took the lead at the sixteenth-pole and drew off to a convincing victory.

"This horse is still figuring things out,” Dustin Dugas, assistant to Brad Cox, said. “With each race, he's maturing mentally but it's still like he's not completely there. You'll see every time he comes by a horse; he'll still want to lean in. It's just some greenness on his end, but talented, nonetheless. Once he got past that horse, he ran on and kept a straight course. Right now, he's doing things on raw ability. Even in the mornings, he still messes around. When he does focus and you get down and start riding on him, he'll run on. He's a very talented little colt, but he can still get in his own way."

Sent off as the 5-2 third betting choice, My World improved his record to 4: 3-0-0. The $82,500 winner’s share of the purse raised his earnings to $217,750. At the windows, My World paid $7.24 and $3.16 for win and place as there was no show wagering due to the field size.

Second-place finisher Balboa picked up another 5 Derby points and upped his total to nine adding to the points that he won in the Remsen (G2) and the American Pharoah (G1). He completed a $2 exacta that paid $11.70. Enforced Agenda broke poorly and finished third getting 3 points. The early leader Freedom’s Echo was far back in fourth but still got 2 Derby points.