Mage, at 15-1 odds, pulls ahead to win the 2023 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs
For two minutes Saturday, Mage showed there’s still some magic left in a sport facing so much uncertainty.
Mage and jockey Javier Castellano rallied from the back of the pack, went six-wide off the final turn and rallied past Two Phil’s down the stretch to win Saturday’s Kentucky Derby by a length.
A crowd of 150,335 at Churchill Downs saw a pair of Venezuelans — trainer Gustavo Delgado and jockey Javier Castellano — win their first Kentucky Derby.
The post-race celebration featured a couple of Venezuela flags, evoking memories of 1971, when Venezuelan champion Canonero II won the first two legs of the Triple Crown before finishing fourth in the Belmont.
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Gustavo Delgado Jr., the trainer's son and Mage's assistant trainer, said his father was inspired by Canonero II.
“He always told me, ‘One day we should go to the States and try and win one of those races,'" Delgado Jr. said. "Now we’re here.”
Mage — at 15-1 odds — finished the 1 ¼ miles in 2:01.57 and paid $32.42 on a $2 win bet.
Two Phil’s finished a half-length ahead of third-place Angel of Empire, who went to the gate as the 4-1 favorite. It was another 3 lengths back to fourth-place Disarm.
Verifying led a five-horse group that set quick early fractions, setting up the race for a closer such as Mage. Verifying — followed by Kingsbarns, Reincarnate, Two Phil’s and Confidence Game — set fractions of 22.35 seconds for the quarter-mile, 45.73 seconds for the half-mile and 1:10.11 for three-quarters.
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While the rest of the front-runners faded, Two Phil’s and first-time Derby jockey Jareth Loveberry took the lead with a quarter mile remaining and appeared set to give trainer Larry Rivelli the victory.
“In the turn, the hole opened up and I said, 'I can’t wait,'" Loveberry aid. "He proved he is a world-class horse today.”
But Castellano was rewarded for his patience with Mage, settling in the back of the pack early after missing the break from the gate, gaining ground along the backstretch, going six-wide off the final turn and passing Two Phil’s with a furlong to go.
“I was very worried turning for home, ‘Don’t get stuck between horses. Get him clear and let him run,'" said Castellano, who got his first Derby victory in his 16th try. "I knew when I asked him I was going to have a lot of horse. I think the horse gave me the best run ever.”
A son of Good Magic out of the Big Brown mare Puca, Mage became the second horse in recent years to put to rest the “Curse of Apollo.”
Apollo, in 1882, was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby after not racing as a 2-year-old. Justify broke the 136-year-old “curse” in 2018 when he won the Run for the Roses on his way to capturing the Triple Crown. Now, Mage has won the Kentucky Derby without a race as a 2-year-old.
"Not having the experience, he proved today that it didn’t matter," Delgado Jr. said.
Mage was a $290,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, and co-owner Ramiro Restrepo said it was more than the group wanted to pay.
The purchase paid off big Saturday.
“I feel like (others) have unlimited bullets and I have a musket," Restrepo said. "So when we buy, we almost can’t miss.”
Mage didn’t make his racing debut until Jan. 28, winning a maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park.
He followed with a pair of graded stakes at Gulfstream and was hindered by slow starts in both, finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and second in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.
Both of those races were won by Forte, who was the 3-1 morning-line favorite after Monday’s draw. But Saturday morning Forte was scratched by a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian. Trainer Todd Pletcher said there were concerns about a bruised right front foot for Forte.
Forte became the fifth horse since the draw to be scratched, joining Practical Move, Skinner, Lord Miles and Continuar.
Along with the scratches, the Derby was contested under a cloud of recent horse deaths at Churchill Downs — seven in the two weeks leading up to the race, including two during Saturday's undercard.
Mage is now 2-1-0 in four career starts for the ownership group of OMGA Investments (Gustavo Delgado Sr.), Restrepo, Sterling Racing (Sam Herzberg) and CMNWLTH (Brian Doxtator and Chase Chamberlin).
It remains to be seen whether Mage will make a run at the Triple Crown, with the Preakness set for May 20 at Pimlico.
What is certain is there will be a party in Venezuela the next two weeks.
“We tried to bring that race to my country, Venezuela," Castellano said. "It’s really important for us.”
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Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerby_CJ
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mage wins the Kentucky Derby 2023 at Churchill Downs
