The KYD
7 furlongs Dirt Stake Purse $250.000 Three-Year-Old And Upward. At AQU

The KYD. The Derby. So many memorable names from the illustrious past, as real to us as real life. I can name more HRP Derby winners than I can real life winners, and they’ve had more years. From Fuji Ninja to Extreme Jet, most everyone has some story or connection to some winner. For me, Fuji Ninja was owned by my friend Fuji Stable who introduced this place to me those twenty-three years ago, I covered the 2009 race and predicted the winner Ghost Walker at nearly 10-1. Then there was Five Fives which missed the TC by a head losing the Prk to a filly. There’s Commanding which went on to win over $6000.00 and has such an impact on the breeding game. And of course, Howl Of The Hound which came to the BEL undefeated on an eight-race streak and a chance to win the TC but finished second to War Chant.

This year’s race looks like one of the most contentious we’ve seen in some time. At a glance it looks like a battle between two horses, Royalty Stables’ Hurts and The Sidley Stud’s Bold Intruder which have been dominating the qualifying races all season. Between the two of them, they have won five qualifying races. And the competition doesn’t stop there by any stretch of the imagination. This field is deep. There’s Jerry Garcia Racing’s good looking little colt Cumberland Blue which comes in on two straight qualifier wins and just keeps getting better. Bank Robber which twice as often as he loses and as always, there’s the Mb Stable contingent with such a confusing bunch that it makes me question everything. I’ll say this, though, I made Apirana my dark horse for this race and he handicapped twelfth in my handicap. That’s how deep this race is. I must say, all things considered and in spite of my handicap, I really like Jerry’s horse, so Go Blue! Here’s the field:

Horse                                  Owner                               Odds  SRF

Hurts                                  Royalty Stables                 *4-1        98

Bold Intruder                      The Sidley Stud                  4-1        97

Cumberland Blue                 Jerry Garcia Racing           5-1        97

Bank Robber                      Our Athletes                       5-1        98

Magic Fighter                     Maxmillion Farm                 5-1        98

Gogh Wild                          TwinTowersRacing             5-1        98

Art Of Boom                       Nakamura Stables              5-1        98

Knowing Spirit                     Ajm Stables                       5-1        98

Quantum Pursuit                Mb Stables                          6-1        97        

Cherokee Monster              TwinTowersRacing              6-1        96

Painted Ice                         Alydar Stables                    6-1        95

Apirana                               Mb Stables                          6-1        96

Meekshallinherit                 Nakamura Stables            10-1        94

Joykiller                             Mb Stables                          8-1        96

Southwind                          Acber Farms                    10-1        96

Off To Shepton                     Asgar                                15-1        95

People Batty                       Night Rider Stables           20-1        96        

Strike                                  D J C Racing Stables        20-1        95

Reciprocal Rubber             Maxmillion Farm               30-1        94

Firing Squad                       TwinTowersRacing            30 1        94

1  Strike              D J C Racing Stables                     95

First in the gate, twenty-fifth on the TC Qualifying List, Strike made it in with a third in the Lecomte Stakes qualifier, third in the Risen Star Stakes qualifier and fourth in the Mike LaRosa LA Derby

2  Apirana                Mb Stables                 96

Apirana had a very short qualifying season starting in mid-February and ending one race later, but those two races were impressive enough for a stable with any choices for the Derby choose this one. His first qualifier try was the SUN Derby qualifier and he won the race by an easy two lengths. Six weeks later he came second in the Mike LaRosa LA Derby followed by a month of impressive works at the track. With twenty horses to sift through, it is merciless pain trying to single out anything, so I’ll just say this is my dark horse in this race.

3   Painted Ice                  Alydar Stables                95

Painted Ice first won the Lecomte Stakes qualifier, then won the Lexington qualifier in his most recent race. Pointedly, the two qualifiers he won were 1 1/16 mile and the two he lost were 1/8 mile. That does not bode well for the 1 1/4 mile KYD. He seemed perfectly in control in the 1 1/16 mile races, smoothly coming from off the pace to score the victory at the wire, but at 1 1/8 mile he seemed completely lost as soon as the gate opened. It’s a quandary.

4   Meekshallinherit                     Big Jd Racing                         94

Meekshallinherit has had an up and down qualifying season with a hard-fought second in The Jerome qualifier but then seemed uninterested in The Davis Stakes. So then, he upsets The TAM Derby qualifier at 26-1 and earns his ticket into the Derby but then tried the BG Stakes qualifier and again showed no interest. Let’s hope he’s interested in the winner’s share of $5,000.00.

5   Cherokee Monster                      TwinTowersRacing                      96

Cherokee Monster made his way into the Derby by way of qualifying points; second in The AR Derby qualifier, third in The Southwest qualifier, second in The Smarty Jones qualifier, fourth in the KY Jockey Club qualifier. A long road to a big challenge. He will have to dig deep for this one, but he comes from a barn that is notorious for finding that little extra needed.

6   Bold Intruder               The Sidley Stud               97

Here’s a beautiful gelding that’s coming around at just the right time. Luckily for The Sidley Stud Bold Intruder took four races to find himself and win a race. That way they picked him up for $8.00 from Arkansas Elite before he decided to become a stakes horse. As it turned out, he turned into a stakes horse shortly after he graduated and then developed into a Derby horse a couple of races later, and now he looks to be the main contender against Hurts for the golden ring. He’s developing at leaps and bounds now and may be unstoppable come Saturday.

7   Knowing Spirit                   Ajm Stables                    98

After being purchased for $185.00 from Mountain View Stable, Knowing Spirit promptly dead heated in the Ruby Stakes qualifier and has been resting waiting for this race to come along. He has worked his way up to this race with a strong series of mile dirt works that keep that SRF 98 sharp in his memory.

8    Hurts               Royalty Stables                 98

A powerhouse all season,

Hurts has guaranteed one thing, and that is that it would keep spellcheck baffled as to plural use on every article he was in that I edited. He finished up his qualifying season with back-to-back SRF 98 victories in qualifiers and boosted his record to seven wins from ten starts. After winning The Remsen qualifier, he ran fourth in the Southwest qualifier, before winning out the rest of the way, just enough inconsistency for HRP to say, see, even the monsters can’t streak enough to get the Triple Crown when we start to complain about it again. For me, anyway, I think he’s got the Derby, but it’s not going to be any easy chance.

9   Art Of Boom                 Nakamura Stables              98

Art Of Boom went on a string of three straight when he broke his maiden and won The Smarty Jones qualifier, then a few races later scored an upset an upset dead heat in the Ruby Stakes qualifier to solidify his position.

10   Magic Fighter              Maxmillion Farm                  98

Magic Fighter almost upset the SA Derby qualifier in his last start at 23-1 but fell a quarter-length short at the wire. As it was, he was only a quarter-length short of victory and scored a SRF 95 in defeat. That after a fifth in the San Felipe Stakesqualifier the race before.

11   Joykiller                  Mb Stables             96

Joykiller is the last of the Mb Stables contingency and arrived here by way of points. He was number 20 on the KYD Qualifying List, but that is not to say he was the last chance horse inasmuch as other horses lower on the list made it into the race. What is interesting is that Dan had six other horses ahead of him to choose from, and he chose Joykiller, a horse that only finished second in one and third in another qualifier. Don’t sell him short, I’ve seen Dan win with less chance,

12   Firing Squad               TwinTowersRacing               94

Firing Squad tried a couple of qualifiers, his best being a third in The Remsen qualifier, but then came the VA Derby and, by a head, an invitation to the Derby. Nice to come into the big race with a big win.

13   Gogh Wild                      TwinTowersRacing                      98

Gogh Wild earned his way into the Derby with a dead in the FL Derby qualifier that chose his access to the Derby. That win and the win directly before it occurred following the unusual step of adding Bute after a fifth race.

14   Off To Shepton        Asgar                     95

Number 12 on the TC Qualifying list, Off To Shepton is here based on the efforts of two qualifying races, and pretty races they were: the run in The Gotham qualifier was a spectacular deep close third, the performance in The Wood Memorial qualifier showed strong versatility with a more measured close to finish a battled second.

15   Bank Robber                    Our Athletes                   98

Bank Robber has never been out of the money while winning four of six lifetime starts. His works tab is about as good as it gets, and his form is top drawer. He comes here off a stylish come from behind win in the high-priced BG Stakes qualifier and a deep close second in the San Felipe Stakes qualifier. He may need a little more top-level competition, and he’s come to the right place for it,

16    Quantum Pursuit               Mb Stables             97

Lightly raced Quantum Pursuit qualified in his fourth race taking the San Felipe Stakes qualifier and adding second place finishes in the Lewis Stakes qualifier and the extremely valuable BG Stakes qualifier.

17   Southwind                 Acber Farms              96

Southwind has been a constant threat all along the qualifying path, starting with a win in The Davis Stakes qualifier, then a dramatic third in The TAM Derby qualifier and finally a strong fourth in the high-stakes BG Stakes qualifier. It’s not the most threatening resume but a consistent thorn in most everyone else’s side.

18   People Batty               Night Rider Stables             96

Frontrunner People Batty got his ticket to the Derby early in the season with a victory in the LA Futurity last year. He continued to make himself known throughout the season with a third in the Risen Star Stakes qualifier and a fourth in The AR Derby.

19   Cumberland Blue            Jerry Garcia Racing             97

I love this horse lightly raced horse and his racing style. When a deep closer works, and Cumberland Blue consistently works, they are like lightning in a bottle. In five races he has just gotten better and better at the close game. It just doesn’t happen in this game that closers, especially deep closers, can manage to be consistent at timing their close, but this one has never failed, and deep closers do well in the KYD. This may not only be my third choice, he may well be my pick’em choice.

20   Reciprocal Rubber                Maxmillion Farm                  94

Reciprocal Rubber got his ticket to the Derby way back in November of last year with a sharp win in the KY Jockey Club qualifier. He then ran second in The Southwest qualifier. He eventually veered off the Derby trail to pick up some cash with a win in the $250.00 Rushaway Stakes, a win which leaves him sharp for the KYD.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, TC 2026