Many would consider entering a winless horse in the nation’s biggest and most recognizable race to be unthinkable, illogical or even just plain stupid.
For a horse that has never won a prior race, to try and compete in the Kentucky Derby, would be like a golfer who has never won a single tournament in his lifetime – at any level – that somehow finished in-the-money enough times to qualify for the PGA Tour and then, somehow made it into the Masters field. No shot, right?
Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky is frequently quoted as saying, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”Saturday owners Julie Gilbert and Aaron Sones will use the same mentality of man called “The Great One” when their colt Trojan Nation takes the field in the 142nd Running of the Kentucky Derby.
Trojan Nation is actually one of two maidens entered in the Derby, along with Laoban, who didn’t accumulate enough points to make the body of the race and is on the also-eligible list.
Trojan Nation started three times last year and three times this year, and only once at the stakes level in Aqueduct’s Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes, where he lost by a mere head to Outwork. The runner-up effort in the Wood gave him the 40 points needed to qualify for the Derby.
With a record of no wins, a second and three thirds from six starts, Trojan Nation will attempt to become just the fourth horse in history (and first since 1933) to break its maiden in the nation’s most heralded race.
The three prior maiden Derby winners were Buchanan in 1884, Sir Barton in 1919 and Brokers Tip in 1933.
Sir Barton is of course the most notable of the three, as he followed his maiden victory with wins in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner in history. Not only was the 1919 Derby Sir Barton’s first win, it was also his first start as a 3-year-old.
Churchill Downs has kept records of maiden starters in the Kentucky Derby since 1937 and only nine have entered the race since:
- 1998: Nationalore (finished 9th)
- 1990: Pendleton Ridge (13th)
- 1979: Great Redeemer (10th)
- 1971: Fourulla (19th)
- 1959: The Chosen One (14th)
- 1958: Flamingo (13th)
- 1950: On The Mark (8th)
- 1949: Seneca’s Coin (14th)
- 1945: Bert G. (14th)
Additional research shows that none of these horses went on to win a stakes race, and the most recent maiden Derby starter, Nationalore, never actually broke his maiden in 26 career starts.
Trojan Nation comes into the Derby on a gradual run of improvement with each of his three starts this season, culminating in his Wood Memorial near miss at 1 1/8 miles.
He seems to be at his best when he can sit far off the pace quite in the early stages of a given race. If he can avoid being shuffled to the way back early and find his way to the middle of the pack, he may possess enough closing speed to hit the board late come Saturday.
Being a son of the late Street Cry and out of a multiple Grade 1-winning mare doesn’t hurt his chances. Distance shouldn’t be a question with his pedigree, so if he can get a lucky post draw and be well-placed early on, we could see the fourth horse to ever break his maiden in the Derby … or at least finish better than the last nine that have tried.
