It’s been 15 years since Animal Kingdom became the only horse to win the Kentucky Derby (G1) in his first start on dirt. Like Fulleffort, he used a victory in a 1 1/8-mile stakes on Turfway Park’s synthetic surface to prep for the first Saturday in May.
Three years ago, Two Phil’s followed the same script and performed brilliantly at Churchill Downs, contesting a quick pace before fading to be second to closer Mage. In 2022, Rich Strike was third at Turfway before springing his 80-1 shocker in Louisville.
Unlike Two Phil’s and Rich Strike, Fulleffort has not competed on the main track. Before his impressive victory in Turfway’s Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), he ran four times on turf as a 2-year-old and twice on synthetic.
“He worked out all winter on the synthetic, but his last two works on dirt were very good,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He’s a bigger, stronger version of himself than he was last summer breezing on the dirt, and that’s what’s supposed to happen. They’re supposed to get better as they get older.”
Cox has directed this movie before. Last year his 15-1 shot Final Gambit went from last to first in the Jeff Ruby and became a Derby “wise guy” horse. He partially justified the hype by closing from 19th to run fourth at odds of 17-1.
That was a bonanza for superfecta players who used him in the fourth spot beneath Sovereignty, Journalism and Baeza. A $1 ticket returned $1,682.
Fulleffort is one of three Derby contenders for Cox, who also trains Commandment and Further Ado.
Fulleffort has an Equibase rating of 91, in the second tier of Derby contenders. His running style as a deep closer means he’ll likely be in a pack of top contenders with a closing style – and much more seasoned running on dirt.
Don’t play Fulleffort to win, but he might be a good fit at a nice price in the bottom slots of trifectas and superfectas.
Notes:
- Like most trainers, Brad Cox began with claiming horses. He started his career in 2004 and struggled for many years. He didn’t get his first graded-stakes win until 2014.
- Future champion Monomoy Girl gave Cox his first Grade 1 victory in the 2018 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland
- Fulleffort breezed 5 furlongs in :59.20 at Churchill on April 17, the fastest of 20 at the distance.
- Fulleffort sold for $425,000 at a 2024 Saratoga yearling sale.
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.
