Welcome to the Kentucky Derby Prospect Profile. Every week, we spotlight current winners of the Street to the Derby schedule, the place horses earn factors towards qualifying for the 1 1/4-mile traditional race on Might 2, 2026 at Churchill Downs.
This week we’ll take a more in-depth look pumawinner of the $350,000 ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby, happened on March 7 at Tampa Bay Downs. He racked up 50 factors en path to the win, shifting him into second place on the Street to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with a complete of 56 qualifying factors.
Race abstract: Coach Gustavo Delgado had not forgotten that the 3-year-old entered the race with out a win at Tampa Bay Downs, a typical prelude to the 2026 Kentucky Derby, so he felt proud when The Puma repaid that belief by profitable by three-quarters of a size from final place to first place.
“From the primary time I ran him, I mentioned, and I stored telling everybody, that he was an excellent horse,” Delgado mentioned. “I am very happy. … It isn’t simple to place a maiden in a stakes race. Individuals surprise what they’re doing.”
The longtime Venezuelan coach’s resume contains, after all, a Kentucky Derby win with Mage in 2023, as proof of his capability to determine and put together high quality racehorses. Puma was winless in his earlier two races, however in his debut at Gulfstream Park he completed second behind Chief Wallaby, who went on to run second within the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes. Puma then made his stakes debut within the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on February 7, going the gap and ending third on his first strive.
He began off on an excellent tempo within the Tampa Bay Derby, beginning the half-mile in 46.68 seconds, getting the ultimate kick for Puma and exhibiting he was heading in the right direction on the proper time within the closing furlong at 13.10 seconds to win the 1 1/16-mile race.
“With three-year-old horses, it’s important to give them an opportunity to develop,” mentioned profitable jockey Javier Castellano. “He began figuring it out (within the Tampa Bay Derby). When he began shifting, he did what he needed to do. I like the way in which he finishes.”
Velocity numbers: Puma earned career-best Equibase Velocity numbers of 95 and Beyer Velocity numbers of 89, the previous bettering by 5 factors from his earlier high spot and the latter by three factors. This was the quickest race of his profession and confirmed nice progress.
Working type: Puma confirmed a bit extra tactical velocity towards Sam F. Davis, however he did not present as a lot velocity as his late-game explosiveness in that race, so maybe his greatest operating type is to close him out from off-pace with one sustained run. Whereas that is usually efficient in a 20-horse Kentucky Derby subject the place a number of horses compete for the lead, it may possibly additionally create visitors issues when navigating from the again of a giant subject.
Pedigree notes: Puma is a first-bred 2021 Belmont Stakes winner Important High quality produced by Stamina-inspired Tapit. His dam Eve of Conflict (Declaration of Conflict) was a profitable horse at 1 1/8 miles on turf and a Grade 3 winner at 1 1/16 miles. Stamina should not be a problem for Puma, and he has an excellent likelihood of competing on the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby distance.
Derby potentialities: Delgado plans to run Puma another time after the Florida Derby and earlier than the Kentucky Derby, and mentioned the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 28 and the $1.25 million Toyota Blue Grass S at Keeneland on April 4 are robust choices. With solely three begins up to now, I like the concept of having another warm-up race to enhance the stallion’s fundamentals.
The spacing between races has change into more and more vital for trainers in recent times, with the emphasis on relaxation quite than constructing stamina, however horses like Puma who method in a single race are much less more likely to overdo it of their closing preparations. In actual fact, Puma ran largely off the tempo within the closing tune-up and though he did not win, if he might shut effectively and end within the high three, that might be a really constructive end result and will put him in supreme form for the Kentucky Derby. We all know Delgado can get his 3-year-old horse prepared for the largest race of his life on the primary Saturday in Might. Puma may have a little bit of racing luck at Churchill Downs on Might 2nd, however he ought to do his greatest even when he begins late for an amazing likelihood to complete in a trifecta.
