The Road to the Kentucky Derby is already well underway, as the showpiece event at Churchill Downs will take place on Saturday, May 6. This year’s crop of three-year-olds is already amassing points on the leaderboard, with the top performers earning their place in the field for the prestigious opening leg of the Triple Crown.
Races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby have been taking place since the middle of last year, but the action heats up in March when the championship legs of the campaign get into full swing. Nonetheless, you can keep up with the Kentucky Derby 2023: latest news, videos & notes here.
But, at this early stage, who are some of the eye-catching performers that could have leading chances at Churchill Downs?
Arabian Knight
Arabian Knight has never been too far away from the top of the betting for the Kentucky Derby in 2023 since his eye-watering purchase by Zedan Racing Stables. In truth, the three-year-old has done very little wrong on track to this point. He was a very easy seven-length winner on debut at Keeneland on the undercard to the Breeders’ Cup races over seven furlongs.
The talented colt by Uncle Mo showed no signs of worry when stepped up for the first time in late January, as he once again eased to a dominant win over 1 1/16 miles in the G3 Southwest Stakes in very wet conditions. Still, the obvious question remains, which yard will this Bob Baffert runner be running out of at Churchill Downs?
Forte
Todd Pletcher hasn’t landed a win in the Kentucky Derby since Always Dreaming’s victory back in 2017. But, he certainly boasts a potential star in the field this year in the form of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile victor Forte. This three-year-old may have been beaten on debut last year but has progressed excellently since that five-and-a-half length loss at the hands of Mo Strike.
He returned with a stunning three-length win over Gulfport over seven furlongs, before stepping up in trip excellently to land the G1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. His excellent two-year-old campaign was rounded off at the Breeders’ Cup, beating Cave Rock by a commanding length and a half. It will be fascinating to see how he performs when he returns to the track this month.
Faustin
There remains very high confidence among bettors that a solid Derby contender remains in the form of Faustin for Bob Baffert. This three-year-old was an excellent winner on debut in late December, landing a speed figure of 93 when breaking his maiden at Santa Anita.
However, things didn’t exactly go his way on his step up in graded company, as he could only finish second to Havnameltdown in the G2 San Vincent. But given his prodigy being out of Hard Spun mare Hard Not To Like, and sired by Curlin, there is every expectancy that a step up in trip will be favourable to his running style. We will likely learn more when he lines up in the G2 San Felipe in March.
Instant Coffee
We’re slightly surprised that Instant Coffee is still such a big price for the Kentucky Derby this year. This three-year-old is trained by Brad Cox, and has won three from four starts to date. His only disappointing effort came when he finished fourth in the G1 Breeders’ Futurity behind Forte.
However, he bounced back from that effort at the end of November with a bold showing over 1 1/16 miles to land the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club. We have already seen the three-year-old this year, as he impressed to land the G3 Lecomte Stakes with a speed figure of 93. It’s extremely hard to rule him out of competing for the Derby win, but we will know more about his chances after the G2 Risen Star in February.