The Nashville Derby (Grade 3)- $3,500.000 Purse
KD- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and Five Sixteenths on the Turf
August 30, 2025

With a $3,500.000 purse on the line and a loaded field, the Nashville Derby promised to be a great race and perhaps deliver an unexpected finish. We would get the close result at the end, as ten horses finished within two lengths of the winner. That winner would be 31/1 longshot Alydar, coming from near the back of the pack to secure the win! Alydar is not trained by who you might think he would be, as he is proudly owned by D J C Racing Stables. S Elliott was the winning the rider. It is the first victory in the race for both, though it is just the second time that it has been held. Congratulations go out to them! The time of the win was 2:05.26, which will stand as the quickest of the race. 2024’s edition was on a “good” turf surface. Let’s have a look at how it went down! If you have not watched this race, I strongly recommend doing so:

(½ Mile- :47.76)- The opening half mile sees Losing Hazard out in front for Asgar with the Team 7 Illusions- trained Royal Devil keeping him company to his inside. They are a length in front of a group of four stalkers, and on the outside, Tropical Surge, out of Red Fox Farms, has a head in front of the other three. The other members of this group consist of two of the Mb Stables entry, Darrow and Ello Santa, as well as Maletto’s Sanity. There’s a break of about two and a half lengths to Fire Teeth, who runs seventh for Team 7 Illusions, and the one right beside him would be our eventual winner of the race, Alydar, for D J C Racing Stables. Luz International’s Half Cherokee is next, while running in the third lane. Then, Fourth Estate (High Voltage) and Imaleava (Royalty Stables), with Last King (Riggins Racing) nearby are next in line. At the back are Continental (Barcelona Farms) and Sunflowers (Team 7 Illusions).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.60)- As we move down the backstretch, we have Losing Hazard out in front still, with Royal Devil continuing to run second on the rail. Ello Santa starts to show a lot more interest, and perhaps this is what everyone is expecting from him as the post time favorite, as maybe this is the beginning of his push to the lead. He’s now a length ahead of Darrow, Sanity, and the starting to fade Tropical Surge. A little further back, Alydar was also beginning to hit his best stride, pulling away from Fire Teeth and setting sights on those in front of him. As for Fire Teeth, it wasn’t looking good as Continental and Half Cherokee were going around, and Fourth Estate and Imaleava were likely to the same shortly. Last King dropped behind them, and Sunflowers was content to wait it out at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Around the turn, and into the stretch, Losing Hazard is still the leader, and while he handled the turn just fine, he was looking vulnerable as the frontrunner entering the stretch. Royal Devil was getting closer, and to his outside, Ello Santa was ready to take over the race, as those who made him the favorite thought. Sanity was hanging around and looking a little better than Darrow here. Meanwhile, about midway into the turn, it looked like S Elliott was considering taking Alydar to the far outside to try and get back the frontrunners but instead chose to only move down a couple lanes. This proved to be a great move for him, as there was now plenty of room to make his run without the wide trip. Elsewhere, Continental was making up some ground on the rail as Tropical Surge packed it in. Further back, Half Cherokee was looking resilient, and Sunflowers was getting ready to make his late charge on the outside. Fourth Estate and Imaleava weren’t looking good at this point. Fire Teeth was bowing out, and Last King was the last horse.

(Finish- 2:05.26)- Into the stretch, a great finish was in order. Even though Losing Hazard was about to be passed, he was showing heart to stay in there as long as he could. On the rail, Royal Devil was showing that he had plenty left, and Ello Santa was looking strong on the outside. We’re also getting a good run out of Sanity, and Continental was coming along nicely. Darrow tried to hang in there. All of that was entertaining, but “ello” Alydar! The longshot was also making his charge through the middle of the of the leaders, getting by Sanity with a furlong to go. Getting closer to the wire, Alydar was looking a little better than the others, but still many trainers had to be thinking getting a cut of this nice $3,500.000 purse at stake was possible. In the late strides, it would be Alydar having a little more left in the tank than the others, to go on an secure a narrow victory! The rest of the running would be tight, with Royal Devil and Ello Santa getting a second, with the hard charging Sunflowers also in the photo and taking the fourth place check. Maletto gets a great run from Sanity, but gets a frustrating fifth place miss. At least he won the KD Ladies Turf earlier in the day, so he’ll be fine. Losing Hazard was a gritty sixth. Seventh through tenth will be Darrow, Half Cherokee, Fourth Estate and the seemed destined for better, Continental, and all of them had good runs and were within two lengths. The other four were not as competitive, with the ending race order being Last King, Imaleava, Tropical Surge, and Fire Teeth.

About The Winner- Alydar, trained by D J C Racing Stables and ridden by S Elliott, is a three-year-old colt by W W Durant and is out of Celine. He was bred by D J C Racing Stables as a first quarter two-year-old in New York, and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifth in 15 starts, his third stake win and first graded win. His career earnings soar to $,3054.450.

Track: Firm
Time: :47³  1:11³  1:35²  2:05¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 10 – 7 Paid 498.00, 10 – 8 Paid 44.80
$1 Trifecta: 10 – 7 – 8 Paid 806.20, 10 – 8 – 7 Paid 806.20

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES