Goldencents Heads for Kentucky Derby
Run at Churchill Downs over a distance of one and a quarter miles, the Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race open to three-year-old Thoroughbreds. The race is sometimes referred to as “The Run for the Roses”, being a reference to the blanket of roses the winner…
Held on the first Saturday in May each year, the Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the prestigious US Triple Crown, with the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes being the second and third legs respectively.Horse racing enthusiasts will no doubt be keenly watching their favorites in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby on May 4, 2013.
Following his strong Santa Anita Derby victory, Doug O’Neill-trained Goldencents has earned a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Ridden by Kevin Krigger, the 13-2 shot crossed the finish line with a time of 1 min 48.76 sec – a length and a quarter ahead in the $750,000 purse race. Krigger proved more than competent in the race and made history by becoming the first black jockey to win the Santa Anita Derby. After chasing Super Ninety Nine for the better part of the race, Krigger swung Goldencents to the outside on the final turn, overcoming the challenge from Flashback to take the victory. In a post-race interview, the 29-year-old jockey from the US Virgin Islands said he feels good and can finally say that he’s on his way to the Derby. Should he win the race, Krigger will become the first black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby since jockey Jimmy Winkfield’s win in 1902.
O’Neill trained I’ll Have Another, the winner of both the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby in 2012, and has expressed his confidence that Goldencents has what it takes to win in the upcoming race. Horses Goldencents may be up against at Churchill Downs include Revolutionary, Verrazano, Orb, Normandy Invasion, Itsmyluckyday, Vyjack, Will Take Charge, Palace Malice, Uncaptured, Rydillic, Departing and Oxbow.
