One-eyed Un Ojo wins Rebel at 75-1 odds, earns spot in Kentucky Derby
Un Ojo, a 75-1 shot, made a strong move on the inside in the final furlong to win Saturday’s $1 million, Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.
Un Ojo earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, virtually assuring a spot in the May 7 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.
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Ridden by Ramon Vazquez, Uno Ojo covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.69 and paid $152.80 on a $2 win bet.
"I’ve loved this horse since Day One," said assistant trainer Clay Courville, son of head trainer Ricky Courville. "I knew he had the talent to be this kind of horse. I always had the confidence in him. He just improved so much every single day, every single race. This is a dream come true."
Ethereal Road, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, was a half-length back in second, and Barber Road finished third. Kavod set fractions of 23.42 seconds for the quarter-mile and 48.86 seconds for the half-mile before fading to fourth.
Newgrange, the 4-5 favorite and trained by Bob Baffert, finished sixth in the 11-horse field.
Un Ojo horse bio
Un Ojo, a New York-bred son of Laoban, improved to 2-2-0 in six career starts. He entered off a second-place finish behind Early Voting in the Grade 3 Withers on Feb. 5 at Aqueduct.
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Un Ojo – which is Spanish for “an eye” – lost his left eye as a yearling during an accident.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Rebel Stakes: One-eyed Un Ojo wins, earns spot in 2022 Kentucky Derby
