Pedigrees of Top 2009 Graded Stakes Derby Horses
Earnings and Ancestry Steer Empire Maker Sons to Churchill Downs
Apr 8, 2009
While graded stakes earnings will always shuffle the Kentucky Derby contender list, an excellent pedigree can take a Thoroughbred first to the wire on the first Saturday in May. Some Thoroughbreds have the graded stakes earnings that will qualify them to make the limited twenty-horse field for the Kentucky Derby, but may lack ancestral credentials that instantly put a horse on the can-he-get-the-longer-distances-of-the-Triple-Crown-races list., as Win Willy, and Musket Man.
True Contenders Separate Themselves Before Derby
Other contenders, like this season's Friesan Fire, I Want Revenge, Pioneerof The Nile, Chocolate Candy, and Hold Me Back have plenty of both ingredients going for them. This foursome is done racing in competition until they gate up for the Derby. They are proven all-around winners, ready to rumble for Triple Crown jewels.
Some contenders may be pretenders, as Imperial Council and Dunkirk. They have great name sires in their parentage, but they haven't yet earned their way.
And there are always those who just have to answer the big questions still present in the minds of their trainers, jockeys, and owners, like Quality Road, who answered a lot in the Florida Derby; The Pamplemousse, who was scratched from the Santa Anita Derby because of tendon soreness; and Desert Party, who lost unexpectedly to his stablemate in the UAE Derby, but picked up a big paycheck.
Old Fashioned, who is graded stakes healthy and is well sired, lost to Win Willy in the Rebel Stakes. Like Imperial Council, he has faded prior to the biggest test.
Pedigrees of Thirteen Kentucky Derby Contenders
(alphabetically listed)
- Chocolate Candy ----- Candy Ride--Crownette, by Seattle Slew
- Desert Party ----- Street Cry---Sage Cat, by Tabasco Cat
- Dunkirk ----- Unbridled's Song---Secret Status, by A.P. Indy
- Friesan Fire ----- A.P. Indy---Bollinger, by Dehere
- Hold Me Back ----- Giant's Causeway---Restraint, by Unbridled's Song
- Imperial Council ----- Empire Maker---Jaramar Rain, by Thunder Gulch
- I Want Revenge ----- Stephen Got Even---Meguial, by Roy
- Musket Man ----- Yonaguska---Fortuesque, by Fortunate Prospect
- Old Fashioned ----- Unbridled's Song---Collect Call, by Meadowlake
- Pioneerof The Nile ----- Empire Maker---Star of Goshen, by Lord At War
- Quality Road ----- Elusive Quality---Kobla, by Strawberry Road
- The Pamplemousse ----- Kafwain---Comfort Zone, by Rubiano
- Win Willy ----- Monarchos---City Fair, by Carson City
A look at first sires of Kentucky Derby contenders is usually impressive. This group is no exception to that expectation. Dubai World Cup winners (Street Cry - 2002) to Breeders's Cup winners (A.P. Indy - '92 Classic --- Unbridled's Song - '95 Juvenile) to Kentucky Derby champions (Monarchos - 2001) to Triple Crown classic race winners (Empire Maker - 2003 Belmont Stakes) are present.
Looking further back into the pedigrees of these potential champions brings revelations of discovery.
