Five Kentucky Derby Prospects to Watch

by Patricia Woo | Dec 26 2008

The 2009 Kentucky Derby may be more than five months away, but savvy horse bettors are already studying up on the best up-and-coming 2-year-olds. Bodog Racebook takes a look at five of those juvenile prospects: Charitable Man, Beethoven, Capt. Candyman Can, Big Drama and Pioneerof the Nile. Read more about these top contenders here.

Sure, the 2009 Kentucky Derby is more than five months away. But as all savvy horse bettors know, it’s never too early to start studying up on the 2-year-old prospects for the big day on Saturday, May 2, 2009. So get ready for the most exciting two minutes in sports with this look at five Kentucky Derby up-and-comers.

5. Charitable Man. Though he is currently out of training due to a minor leg fracture incurred during a workout on Sept. 30, Charitable Man has shown flashes of brilliance in his brief racing career. He tallied an impressive victory on Sept. 13 in the Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park, after which winning jockey Alan Garcia commented:  “[Charitable Man] wants to go longer. He’s going to the Kentucky Derby.” Son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, Charitable Man is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, who is confident the 2-year-old’s injury will not thwart his Kentucky Derby plans.

4. Beethoven is a Kentucky-bred John Ward Jr. trainee who has shown an affinity for Churchill Downs and a growing maturity that will serve him well on the Kentucky Derby trail. He won the $150,000 Gr. 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29 for owner John Oxley in his stakes debut, going the same distance as the Kentucky Derby versus two other promising 2-year-olds, Giant Oak and Capt. Candyman Can. Ward sees the Kentucky Derby in Beethoven’s future, saying: “He handles Churchill Downs, and the Derby is always on my mind and Mr. Oxley’s mind.”

3. Another 2-year-old who has scored a big win at Churchill Downs this year is the Ian Wilkes-trained Capt. Candyman Can, who won the one-mile Gr. 3 $100,000 Iroquois Stakes by holding off a late charge from a rival. However, the distance of the Kentucky Derby may be a detriment as he fell short in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes less than one month later.

2. Big Drama won his fifth-straight win with his graded stakes debut in the $750,000 Gr. 3 Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs on Dec. 6. This horse boasts plenty of speed and a strong finishing kick, and with his $450,000 share of the Delta Jackpot purse, he will more than likely earn a spot in the run for the roses.

1. Pioneerof the Nile. Jockey Garrett Gomez raised a few eyebrows and more than a few questions when he chose Pioneerof the Nile over Chocolate Candy, his Real Quiet Stakes-winning mount, to ride in the 1 1/16-mile CashCall Futurity on Dec. 20, but it was a move that paid off – in $400,000, the winner’s share of the $750,000 purse. Pioneerof the Nile, who is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Ahmed Zayat, has shown an affinity for synthetic surfaces as well as grass, but has yet to be tested on conventional dirt, which he will face should he run in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Are you ready for the 2009 horse racing season? Get all your horse racing odds at the Bodog Racebook!