Specific Child, a 2-year-old California colt who was bought as a yearling for simply $2,000, joined a gaggle of hopefuls on his solution to the 2026 Kentucky Derby offered by Woodford Reserve with a come-from-behind 34.50-1 victory within the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile S at Remington Park late at night time on December twentieth.
The stallion Bodo Specific took the lead within the first nook of the two-turn, one-mile race and got here out robust within the homestretch to win by 6 1/4 lengths over the 9-10 favourite Arctic Beast, incomes him 10 qualifying factors for the Kentucky Derby. Artic Beast, who entered the Springboard Mile undefeated in three races, earned 5 derby factors, becoming a member of 3-4-5 finishers Royal American (3 factors), Western Man (2 factors) and Wave Past (1 level) on the leaderboard.
Specific Child has come a great distance from being an afterthought when he was acquired by proprietor Steve Haar of Puyallup, Wash., at a cut price worth on the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Affiliation Fall Combined Sale in October 2024. The stallion’s funding by 5 begins now stands at $236,902.
Specific Child received his debut in a four-and-a-half furlong dash at Canterbury Park in July, after which completed second and sixth within the Prairie Meadows and Leamington stakes races, respectively. Coach Wade Rarick subsequent challenged Specific Child over seven and a half furlongs on the grass at Remington Race Course on Nov. 6, and the colt received by a head, setting him up for a giant class up within the prelude to the Kentucky Derby on the Oklahoma monitor.
Within the Springboard Mile, jockey Jose Alvarez was aggressive with Specific Child proper from the beginning gate, urging him to the entrance of the sphere from the far exterior put up. Specific Child took the lead by the point Baba entered the backstretch and settled into a cushty rhythm, main him to an upset victory.
“He had a very sharp break,” Alvarez advised Remington reporters. “And once I noticed that nobody else was going, I stated, ‘That is my probability to go.’ I attempted to calm down somewhat bit on the bottom and requested him on the quarter pole and he gave me all the pieces he had. He was nice and ran very well.”
