Standout Winners (And Losers) Of This Year’s Early Kentucky Derby Prep Races
The Road to the Kentucky Derby is well on its way! Every spring weekend Derby hopes flare anew, points are recalculated, and preps for America’s most famous horse race are run.
Here is a quick look at the winners of some of the most prestigious preps yet, as well as a few others who merit a second look. But before you can check the current official 2023 Kentucky Derby morning line odds.
Fountain of Youth Stakes (Grade II)
Winner: Forte
The 2022 Eclipse Champion Two-Year-Old made his seasonal debut in the Fountain of Youth as a champion should: with a confident, professional win over a high-quality field in a prestigious graded stakes race. Being a son of Violence grants Forte speed, but his dam, Queen Caroline, and her sire, Blame, excelled at longer distances. His next target is the Grade I Florida Derby.
Contender to Watch: Rocket Can
Even though he didn’t win, Rocket Can ran a better race in the Fountain of Youth than he did in winning the Grade III Holy Bull Stakes. Trainer Bill Mott has been on a hot streak recently, and this colt just keeps improving. Sire Into Mischief already has two Derby winners to his name, and with Tapit as a damsire, distance should not be an issue.
Rebel Stakes (Grade II)
Winner: Confidence Game
Confidence Game showed talent as a two-year-old, but has really started to put himself together at three. He finished third to Instant Coffee and Two Phil’s in the Grade III Lecomte Stakes prior to his upset Rebel win, in which he went four wide and rallied from fifth place to win by a length. Confidence Game’s pedigree indicates that he should relish 1 ¼ miles; his sire, Candy Ride, won the Grade I Pacific Classic at that distance, and his dam, Eblouissante, is a half sister to Breeder’s Cup Classic winning superstar Zenyatta.
Contender to Watch: Reincarnate
This Baffert-turned-Yakteen trainee, a son of Good Magic and the stakes-winning Scat Daddy mare Allanah, had a rough trip in the Rebel. He was shuffled toward the back of the pack in the early stages of the race, and then when he was appearing to make a move near the eighth pole, he was checked hard and appeared to lose his momentum. He was roused again and went on to gain third. A claim of foul against second-place Red Route One was disallowed, but it will be worth it to consider Reincarnate in his next Derby prep (as yet undecided) should he get a clean trip.
San Felipe Stakes
Winner: Practical Move
Practical Move added the San Felipe Stakes to a previous win in the Grade I Los Alamitos Futurity, continuing to build on a solid racing foundation. Although he had a bad break, hitting the gate at the start, he was able to stalk the pace until the far turn, when he strode to the lead and won by a comfortable 1 ½ lengths.
His pedigree is a good marriage of speed and stamina, with sire Practical Joke being a noted sprinter and damsire Afleet Alex being a Belmont Stakes winner. Trainer Tim Yakteen has noted that Practical Move’s final Derby prep is most likely going to be the Grade I Santa Anita Derby.
Contender to Watch: Skinner
Skinner, who was Grade I placed as a maiden last year, appears to be coming into his own. He broke his maiden impressively in a one-mile race at Santa Anita on February 12th, and in the San Felipe he was four and five wide for almost the entire race. In spite of that, he was closing the gap in the final strides of the race. This son of Curlin and the graded stakes winning Malibu Moon mare Winding Way appears to be improving with experience.