Here are some fun notes about horses in this year’s Kentucky Derby (G1), the 152nd running of the famous race.
Renegade Has a Cool and Popular, Name
Did you know that at least 30 other registered Thoroughbreds with the name Renegade listed on the super pedigree source www.pedigreequery?
The morningling favourite for the Derby has a pretty cool name, certainly one can imagine it being the name of a Derby winner. There have been some good Renegades over the years.
One of the first ones, a colt born in 1880, was third in the 1883 Belmont Stakes to George Kinney. This Renegade, a son of King ernest, raced for David Withers, who owned the large Brookdale Farm in New Jersey. Withers, one of the first members of the The Jockey Club, has a race named after him in New York.
Then there is Renegade who was foaled in 1956 in Great Britain. He won the Greenland Stakes in Ireland. In 1993, a colt by Bandsman, a son of Northern Dancer, raced in Trinidad and won two thirds of that country’s Triple Crown and was named Horse of the Year.
There have been Renegades born in Slovenia, Jamaica, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.
Conversely, there are very few Further Ado’s that I could find. In fact there is just one other one listed on Pedigreequery, a mare by Coastal born in 1985 who was a multiple winner,
There are about a dozen or so horses with the name So Happy, a lot of people’s pick for this year’s Derby. One of them won the Macau Gold Cup in 1995. Trainer Bob Baffert has Potente in this year’s Derby and there was a Potente who won the 1885 Aqueduct Handicap.
Occasionally, an owner will name a horse the same name as one of their previous horses. That is the case with Klaravich Stables who have Emerging Market in the Derby with trainer Chad Brown. Klaravich raced a Time for a Change horse in 1999 named Emerging Market with trainer Gary sciacca. He was placed just once in nine races.
With thousands of racehorses born each year around the world, it is impossible to avoid duplicate names over the years. As a side note, last year’s Derby winner Sovereignty won his big race just eight years after the Arizona bred Sovereingty was trying to break his maiden at Charles Town.
So Awesome
Awesome Again is the leading Canadian/Ontario bred earner in history. He won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Queen’s Plate, went on to be a top sire and he has had success as a broodmare sire too.
There are a number of Derby entrants directly stemming from the pedigree of Awesome Again, a son of another great Canadian bred, Deputy Minister, who in turn, is a son of Northern Dancer’s successful stallion-son, Vice Regent.
Fulleffort, a grey by Liam’s Map, is from the Awesome Again mare Callmethesqueeze, bred in part by Adena Springs, Frank Stronach’s farm that bred and raced Awesome Again. Callmethesqueeze was a multiple stakes winner and she has also produced millionaire Power Squeeze.
Awesome Again appears in the pedigree of Virginia Derby winner Incredibolt (Bolt d’Oro) as his dam, Sapphire Spitfire is a multiple winning daughter of the great Canadian bred.
Potente, a son of perennial leading sire Into Mischief, is also out of an Awesome Again mare, Sweet Sting, who comes from a long like of Stronach horses. Sweet Sting is the product of a mating between Awesome Again and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Perfect Sting.
Any Derby horse related to top sire Curlin has plenty of Canadian breeding. Curlin is by Sam-Son Farms’ Grade 1 winner and successful sire Smart Strike and from a Deputy Minister mare.
Further back in the pedigree of contender The Puma (rumoured to have lured small-share owners Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce) is Gardiner Farms’ bred mare Satania, by Ruritania. Santania won the La Prevoyante Stakes at Woodbine and was also second in the Breeders’ Stakes to the great Overskate. Satania is the sixth dam of The Puma as she produced Paloma Blanca, granddam of top turf mare Bedanken. Bedanken is the granddam of The PUma.
Looking for a Derby entrant with Derby winners close up in his pedigree? Wonder Dean, one of two Japaense invaders, is by Dee Majesty, a son of Sunday Silence, the 1989 Derby winner,
Commandment is out of a mare by Derby winner Orb and Albus has Unbridled close up in his pedigree as do Fulleffort and Further Ado.
Price Tags
The most expensive Derby contender was Potente, who cost $2.4 million at the Fasig Tipton Saratoga sale. The colt has a Grade 2 win from three starts for Speedway Stable LLC. The least expensive was Six Speed, by Not This Time, who sold for $50,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September yearling sale and was raced in Dubai for a partnership. He has a Grade 3 wins and $402,000 in earnings.
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