Okla. Derby: Most Wanted is top contender; field is down to 6

Most Wanted, an undefeated colt by Candy Ride, out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk, is the 5-2 morning line favorite for Sunday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park. He couldn’t be any more in the spotlight than he is with his connections.

His connections have had more of their share of the national limelight than most. Most Wanted is owned and was bred by Gary and Mary West of Omaha, Neb., trained by Brad Cox and will be ridden by jockey Florent Géroux. Most Wanted will be trying to win his second derby in a row and his fourth consecutive race to begin his career.

Gary and Mary West are longtime owner-breeders on the national scene and may be best known for a heartbreaking decision made against them in the 2019 Kentucky Derby. They were the breeders and part owners of Maximum Security that year when they were thrilled beyond belief when he crossed the finish line first in the run for the roses. That thrill was dulled in a long, drawn out reviewing of the race and after much deliberation, the stewards disqualified the horse for interference during the race. Maximum Security was placed 17th in the Kentucky Derby that year. Maximum Security finished his career with a 14: 9-2-0 record and over $2.4 million in earnings.

Brad Cox is establishing legendary status in the Oklahoma Derby as the only trainer in this race’s history to win it three years in a row. Cox, who currently stands third in the country in trainer’s horses’ earnings with more than $19 million this year, won the Oklahoma Derby every year from 2019 to 2021 with Owendale, Shared Sense and Warrant.

A win in this year’s Oklahoma Derby would make Cox the all-time winningest trainer in this series with four. He currently is tied with Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer Donnie Von Hemel, who also has three, Clever Trevor in 1989, Queen’s Gray Bee in 1991 and Going Ballistic in 2007.

Among Cox’s top horses he has conditioned are 2021 horse of the year Knicks Go, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes (G1) winner Essential Quality, Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Monomoy Girl and 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun.

Géroux rode one of Cox’s three Oklahoma Derby winners: Cox’s first, Owendale. Géroux came from eighth in the early going to win with Owendale and didn’t make the lead until the stretch when he passed 40-1 longshot Sleepy Eyes Todd, 35-1 long shot Chess Chief and 4-5 wagering favorite Mucho Gusto, out of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s barn. Owendale drew off to a 1 3/4-length victory at 2-1 odds. Owendale ran the 1-1/8 miles in 1:49.29 seconds over a fast track. It is the only win in the Oklahoma Derby for Géroux.

“He’s a wonderful horse,” Géroux said at the time. “I wanted to make sure he was not too wide down the backstretch, so I found a nice cozy spot to wait. I was keeping my eye on Mucho Gusto because I knew he was the horse to beat.”

Géroux, now 38, has ridden such illustrious winners as Gun Runner, the 2017 American Horse of the Year and a Hall of Fame racehorse, and Monomoy Girl. He rode Gun Runner for North America’s winningest trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimney Farms. Gun Runner had a 19: 12-3-2 record and more than $15 million in earnings, including wins in a row to end his career. Those five wins included victories in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Pegasus World Cup (G1) in 2018, both with Géroux in the saddle.

The field for the Oklahoma Derby was reduced to six with the scratches Sunday morning of Canada Gate and Society Man. As it stands, this will be the smallest field for the race since six horses started in 2003.