Kentucky Derby draw finds favorite Forte in a nice spot in the middle
If you were to ask the trainers, the draw for the Kentucky Derby is really not as big a deal as everyone seems to make it. To a person they can be expected to say that they like the draw they got, even though they are selling more of a concept of confidence than anything else.
Monday's blind pulling of post position pills and names of horses didn’t have a lot of drama although Todd Pletcher and Brad Cox have four of the six less attractive inside positions. Pletcher has three horses in the race, including the 3-1 morning-line favorite Forte, who is in a decent spot in the 15 post. Cox has four horses, including third favorite Angel Of Empire (8-1), who will break from the 14.
“It’s OK,” Cox said about Hit Show (30-1) drawing the 1, and Verifying (15-1) being handed the 2. “We’ll live with it, we have to. [Hit Show jockey] Manny [Franco] is obviously going to have to work out a trip from down in there. Same thing with Verifying. Both riders are going to have to find a way into the first turn.”
The inside posts are not as bad they used to be since Churchill Downs constructed a single 20-horse starting gate in 2020, In the past there was a gap between the main gate of 14 horses and an auxiliary gate of six horses. The extra width, including the space between the two gates, squeezed the horses on the inside closer to the rail.
“We’ve got the tighter starting gate, it works out well for the Derby,” Cox said. “I don’t think it eliminates the inside horses like it used to with the auxiliary gate. So, I’m going to take a positive spin on it and hope Hit Show and Verifying can get good trips from inside.”
The winner of the Santa Anita Derby is usually considered one of the top picks for the Kentucky Derby. But Practical Move was put at 10-1,the fourth favorite, tied with Derma Sotogake, winner of the UAE Derby. The winner of the race in Dubai has never finished on the board in the Kentucky Derby.
Practical Move, along with Reincarnate (50-1), are both trained by Santa Anita-based Tim Yakteen. Practical Move is nicely placed in the 10, a good spot for a horse that runs just off the pace, and Reincarnate is the 7.
The only other Southern California horse in the race is Skinner (20-1), who made the race after Wild On Ice was injured during training and had to be euthanized. Skinner will break just inside Practical Move in the 9.
Yakteen and Skinner’s trainer, John Shirreffs, who won the Derby in 2005 with long shot Giacomo, were nothing if not brief in their assessment of the draw.
“Do I like them?” Yakteen asked. “Yes.”
Shirreffs said: “Thumbs up. It’s a good draw."
Mandarin Hero, second in the Santa Anita Derby, is still on the outside looking in. Two horses have to scratch before Friday at 9 a.m. for him to make the field.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
