The FL Derby (Grade 1) (KYD)- $1,000.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
March 30, 2024

All eyes were on The FL Derby on Saturday, as the winner would lock himself into the KYD just as long as his trainer wanted him there. Coming into this weekend, there was one great trainer who didn’t have a horse in the race as of yet, but now we can say that Maxmillion Farm will be there as well. His horse, Blazing, would be making his stake debut and it would come on short rest, but when you are this close to the KYD, there is absolutely no time for rest. Blazing’s work on February 13th at OP was highly appealing, and based on that, we had no problem including him among our picks. Now, Blazing will be heading to the KYD, and you have to really wonder just how high his upside may be. For trainer Maxmillion Farm and jockey Jo Dominguez, it is their first FL Derby win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:47.67, and that is a new stake record. Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :46.97)- Breaking well out of the gate are both Riggins Racing’s Fear The Stars and Alydar Stables’ Lasting Impressions, and these two battle it out with one another over the first half mile. They’ll be joined at this point by Asgar’s Run Forty, who is along the rail. There is an opening for the Mb Stables- trained Test The Waters here as well, and he will stay within a length for now. From the outside, Smokey Stover’s Promethus will stalk the frontrunners, with Backroads Bounty, out of Aer Stables, running right beside him. Our eventual race winner, Maxmillion Farm’s Blazing, is also right off the lead, as overall the top seven horses are within a length and a half of one another. Cochabamba, from Riggins Racing, is a length behind them, and then we have a small gap to the rest of the field. Kindred Bucks (Nakamura Stables), Targeted Breeding (TwinTowersRacing), and Razzi Moon (The Freakshow) are three wide, then it’s Inviting (Mb Stables). Trailing are Stampede Warrior (South Shore Stables), who drew in off the also eligibles, and Mandate City (Alydar Stables).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.12)- Down the backstretch, Lasting Impressions pushes himself in front just enough to be a full length ahead of those that had been running near him. But he still has three that are a length behind him. Test The Waters, Run Forty, and Fear The Stars are all noses apart as they battle for the second spot. Right behind them, we have another group of three, so things are remaining very close amongst the frontrunners there. Blazing is part of this group, and he is positioned in the second lane, right behind Test The Waters as they move into the turn. Backroad Bounty and Promethus are the ones running with him, and it’s one more length to Cochabomba, who takes the wide lane. We still have a gap to the rest of the field, with Kindred Bucks being the one in front of the remaining horses.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Rounding the turn, Lasting Impressions holds on to the lead, but as they enter the top of the stretch, he gets some company as Test The Waters moves up right alongside of him. Blazing is still right behind that one and continues to be in a great spot to make a move for the stretch. He’s even with Run Forty at this point, as they battle for third. Fear The Stars, one of our other early frontrunners, is unable to keep up with these leaders. Backroad Bounty was running evenly but needed to show a little more. Promethus begun to drop back and is passed by Cochabomba. Meanwhile, Inviting and to a lesser extent, Razzi Moon, are showing some interest right now and Kindred Bucks was another that was running evenly. Targeted Breeding, Stampede Warrior and Mandate City were running out of time to show something.

(Finish- 1:47.67)- Early in the stretch, a nice hole had opened up for Blazing to come on between Test The Waters and Lasting Impressions, and Jo Dominguez wastes no time taking advantage of it, with a furlong to go, he is just a length back and looking very strong. However, both Test The Waters and Lasting Impressions were battling hard, so this was not going to be easy. The extra gear that Blazing showed as they approached the wire certainly did leave a lasting impression, and it will be very exciting not only to see him in the KYD, but for this entire year and beyond. In a photo for second, Test The Waters gets the head bob on Lasting Impressions with Run Forty also involved in the picture. Late running Inviting is fifth, a half-length over Cochabomba. The rest of the field were nonfactors in the final outcome of the race. Rounding out the order, it is Backroad Bounty, Kindred Bucks, Fear The Stars, Promethus, Razzi Moon, Stampede Warrior, Mandate City, and Targeted Breeding.

About The Winner- Blazing, trained by Maxmillion Farm and ridden to victory by Jo Dominguez, is a three-year-old colt by Blaze Ahead, and is out of Imposters. He was bred in Pennsylvania by Power Racing as a third quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Maxmillion Farm while he was still unraced in September 2023 for $125.000 in private sales. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in four starts and first stake win. His career earnings are now $655.200.

Track: Fast
Time: :47  1:11  1:35²  1:47³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 4 Paid 67.30
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 4 – 7 Paid 1,611.60

Scratched: Best Of West, Disclosed, Capiche

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES