Three preparatory races for the 2026 Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve have been contested in two international locations, and have been anticipated to result in large modifications within the fourth week of the Rookie Rankings. Nevertheless, the affect was smaller than anticipated.
The 2 state qualifiers produced attention-grabbing outcomes, however the winners weren’t robust sufficient to make the highest 10 cutoff.
On the fairground, chip honcho A tenacious victory within the 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes on the Fairgrounds added him to the Kentucky Derby. After setting the tempo in second place, he appeared to expire of steam in the beginning of the homestretch. However his rivals gave the impression to be operating out of fuel, and as a protracted push down the homestretch unfolded, Chip Honcho progressively recovered and gained by three-quarters of a size.
Chip Honcho deserves reward for his tenacity, however his profitable time of 1:44.76 was a bit of gradual. He is transferring in the correct course, however must take one other step ahead to affix the rookie rankings.
in the meantime, specific child I used to be stunned by the chances of 34.50 to 1 for the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park. After a snug victory on Remington’s turf course, Categorical Child turned to the filth and exceeded expectations, sprinting to the entrance with instances of 23.54, 47.58 and 1:12.83, earlier than profitable by 6 1/4 lengths within the homestretch.
Categorical Child’s profitable time of 1:38.99 was respectable in comparison with different 1-mile races on the cardboard. Though he practically reached the top-10 cutoff, it is unclear what sort of competitors Categorical Child would have held up towards as a number of of the lower-priced horses within the Springboard Mile did not do their greatest.
Because of this, the one new identify on this week’s rookie rankings is pyromancerHe gained the All Japan Nisai Yushun on the highway to the Kentucky Derby in Japan. Sporting Godolphin’s well-known royal blue silk, Pyromancer trailed at second-place tempo for many of the race, then overtook and reversed a number of instances to win by a neck, finishing the 1,600 meters (about 1 mile) in 1:44.20.
The current All Japan 2-12 months-Previous Yushun was gained by the stallions Endlessly Younger and Dharma Sotogaki, who ran within the Kentucky Derby. Pyromancer goals to observe their instance, with Godolphin’s Japan Racing Supervisor stating on his web site that the United Arab Emirates Derby in Dubai on March 28 is the Pyro stallion’s subsequent main goal. A win there would virtually actually put Pyromancer within the operating for the Kentucky Derby.
Pyromancer will debut within the #10 slot of the Rookie Rankings. he’ll take his place Mr. APbeforehand ranked fifth. In response to Brad Free, day by day racing kindAP is on depart to resolve a minor coaching setback and can miss the Kentucky Derby.
Listed below are the newest rookie rankings:
1. Ted Nophy: If Ted Nophy wins the Kentucky Derby, he’ll develop into the third horse to attain the elusive Breeders’ Cup Juvenile/Kentucky Derby double crown, becoming a member of Avenue Sense (2006-07) and Nyquist (2015-16).
Proprietor: Spendthrift Farm
coach: tod plecher
Last race: 1centFanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Introduced by TAA, October 31 Del Mar
2. Paladin: Purchased as a yearling for $1.9 million, Paladin is aiming to develop into the second $1 million public sale horse to win the Kentucky Derby, following Fusaichi Pegasus ($4 million) in 2000.
Proprietor: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brandt, Brooke Smith, Summer time Wind Equine
coach: chad brown
Last race: 1centRemsen Stakes, December 6 Suidobashi
3. Plus bonus: Father Advert’s Kentucky Jockey Membership Stakes profitable kind took a little bit of a success when fourth-place finisher Berry Linked completed fifth in a slower model of Gun Runner.
Proprietor: Spendthrift Farm
coach: brad cox
Last race: 1centKentucky Jockey Membership Stakes, Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs
4. Satono Voyage: Satono Voyage coach Hiroyasu Tanaka is certainly one of Japan’s main filth horse trainers. He has had nice success with Lemon Pop, a three-time Group 1 winner and two-time nation champion.
Proprietor: Hajime Satomi
coach: Hiroyasu Tanaka
Last race: 1centCattleya Stakes, November twenty ninth Tokyo Racecourse
5.Energy outage time: Blackout Time’s runner-up end within the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity was pleasing as third-place finisher Litmus Take a look at gained the Los Alamitos Futurity.
Proprietor: Brookdale Racing, Lance Gasaway, Magdalena Racing
coach: kenny mcpeak
Last race: 2n.d.Claiborne Breeders Futurity, Oct. 4, Keeneland Racetrack.
6. litmus paper: Litmus Take a look at, who has raced in 4 consecutive graded stakes, together with three Grade 1s, is without doubt one of the most skilled horses on the Kentucky Derby course.
Proprietor: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stone Avenue Stables, Diane Bashor, Decided Stables, Golconda Stables, Waves Edge Capital, Katherine Donovan
coach: bob baffert
Last race: 1centLos Alamitos Futurity, December 13, Los Alamitos Racetrack
7. Napoleon Solo: Napoleon Solo was bought as a yearling for simply $40,000 and has already earned practically eight instances that worth, making him probably the greatest worth horses on the Derby course.
Proprietor: gold sq.
coach: chad summers
Last race: 1centChampagne Stakes, October 4th Belmont Massive A
8. Gunner: Anticipate to see Cannonier race south this winter, maybe within the Kentucky Derby qualifiers at Oaklawn Park or the Fairgrounds, the place a lot of coach Brad Cox’s high 3-year-olds compete.
Proprietor: St Elias Stables and Stonestreet Stables
coach: brad cox
Last race: 1centFirst Particular Weight, November twenty ninth at Churchill Downs
9. Iron Honor: A filly of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and a son of champion and Breeders’ Cup Traditional winner Blame, Iron Honor is bred to deal with the Derby’s 1 1/4-mile distance.
Proprietor: St. Elias Stables, William Lawrence, Kathy Glassman
coach: chad brown
Last race: 1centVirgin Particular Weight, December thirteenth Suidobashi
10. Pyromancer: Japan’s main filth horses are competing confidently on the worldwide stage. Pyromancer goals to do the identical.
Proprietor: godolphin
coach: Keiji Yoshimura
Last race: 1centZen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, Dec. 17 at Kawasaki Racecourse
