Bill Mott didn't become the youngest trainer ever inducted in the Hall of Fame because of his record in the Kentucky Derby. When Mott was voted in at age 45 in 1998, he was 0-for-3 in America's Race, finishing 13th, 8th and 14th. His masterful touch with older horses and turf stars had put him on the fast track to immortality.
Now 72, Bill Mott has become a major player on the first Saturday in May. He got his first Derby win in 2019 with 65-1 shot Country House (on a disqualification) and his second last year with Sovereignty. He's back with Chief Wallabee, who is as precocious as he is inexperienced.
He didn't debut until Jan. 10, but he missed by only a neck in his second race, the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), and by just a head when third in the Florida Derby (G1). The winner of those races, Commandment, could be the favorite on May 2, so Chief Wallabee has come a very long way in a very short career.
“I always believed that a Derby winner had to run as a 2-year-old, but now it's totally different,” Mott said this week. “A lot of horses are coming in with fewer races.”
Chief Wallabee didn't have the best of trips in either stakes at Gulfstream Park, where he was four-wide in both. “Last time he was green when he was in between horses and was running in spots.”
Colt responds well to equipment change
Mott put blinkers on Chief Wallabee for the first time for a workout on April 20 at Churchill Downs. The results were encouraging: He breezed 5 furlongs in a minute flat and zipped the final furlong in 11.80 seconds.
“I thought it was very good, he finished really well and galloped out strong,” Mott said. “He's an inexperienced horse and we put the blinkers on to help him focus.
“I feel good about our horse. He's very talented.”
Chief Wallabee has an Equibase rating of 112 for the Derby, tied for seventh on the list of contender. His top Equibase speed figure is 99 from his second in the Fountain of Youth Stakes.
Chief Wallabee doesn't need to improve much to be right there at the finish, and his odds will be juicy. Play him to win and place and include in any exotic plays.
Notes
- If Chief Wallabee can pull off the upset, Mott would be the first trainer to score in consecutive years since Bob Baffert in 1997 (Silver Charm) and 1998 (Real Quiet).
- Mott's first Derby runner was Taylor's Special, who finished 13th in 1984. Mott was 0-for-8 in the Derby before his breakthrough with Country House.
- Junior Alvarado will try to become the first rider to win the Derby in consecutive years since Victor Espinoza did it with California Chrome in 2014 and American Pharaoh in 2015. He was 0-for-5 in the race before last year.
Ed McNamara is an award-winning racing writer who has covered the sport since 1981 for The Bergen (N.J.) Record, Newsday, ESPN, Thorocap, and USRacing. He is the author of Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown and Racing Around the World, and a contributor to The Most Glorious Crown and The Racetracks of America. He has also written for racing publications in France and Italy.
