The points parade to the 150th Kentucky Derby (G1) returns two days after Thanksgiving – and its traditional holiday parade – with the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs.
A field of eight is entered for Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile Derby prep, at the home of the Run for the Roses, which offers qualifying points of 10-5-3-2-1 to the top five finishers.
Risk It, a chestnut son of Gun Runner, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for trainer Steve Asmussen. Tyler Gaffalione has the call leaving from post 7.
Risk It ran a solid second to West Saratoga in the Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs on Sept. 16 in the first Derby prep and earned 5 qualifying points. He won in his debut by 4 ½ lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 19.
There are challengers aplenty, including 2-for-2 Stretch Ride (3-1) and Awesome Road (7-2). Dale Romans-trained Stretch Ride has a win at the 1/16-mile distance; Awesome Road, trained by Brad Cox, comes into the race off a lackluster seventh in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 7.
Nomos could be a threat, and with odds of 12-1 on a Todd Pletcher trainee, that’s hard to pass up. And, this will be the Uncle Mo colt’s first race on dirt.
Nomos won in his debut at Monmouth Park on turf, then was off the board in two graded stakes – fourth in the With Anticipation (G3) at Saratoga in August and 12th in the Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland on Oct. 8.
Post time is 5:56 p.m. ET
Insider Insights: Thorpedo Anna Leads Golden Rod (G2) as Kentucky Oaks (G1) Qualifier
The Saturday card features all 2-year-old races, among them the $400,000 Golden Rod (G2), a points qualifier for the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
Thorpedo Anna, trained by McPeek, is 2-for-2 and comes into the race off a short two-week turnaround after winning an allowance optional claimer by nine lengths at Churchill on Nov. 10. She is the 8-5 favorite in a field of eight.
The picks: 1 Nomos 2 Risk It 3 Stretch Ride
The field for the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 Awesome Road (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox), 7-2
2 Honor Marie (Rafael Bejarano, Whit Beckman), 8-1
3 Real Men Violin (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Ken McPeek), 5-1
4 Dancing Groom (Javier Castellano, Antonio Sano), 10-1
5 Nomos (Luis Saez, Todd Pletcher), 12-1
6 Stretch Ride (Martin Chuan, Dale Romans), 3-1
7 Risk It (Tyler Gaffalione, Steve Asmussen), 5-2
8 One Red Cent (Gerardo Corrales, Jon Jazdzewski), 20-1