It's rare for things to go exactly according to plan in the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Ethan West learned that lesson about five seconds into his first attempt.
In the past, Chunk of Gold (Preservationist) had done his best work coming from off the pace, but in the Derby he broke sharply and, with Jareth Loveberry aboard, found himself just behind the frontrunners heading into the first turn.
“That was not on the bingo card,” West admitted. “We were hoping to be mid-pack and Jareth would find a nice little hole to tuck in, but instead we found a nice little hole to tuck in right off the leaders. Jareth did a good job getting him to relax, but I think that's probably why he didn't finish up as well as we hoped. He still ran a really good race. I was really proud of him, but running that close to the lead was just not what we had planned.”
West is hopeful that after finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby, Chunk of Gold can get back to his usual racing style in this weekend's GIII Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
Chunk of Gold (19) vies for position in the opening furlongs of the Kentucky Derby | Coady Media
Campaigned by Terry Stephens, Chunk of Gold earned his trip to Churchill Downs with back-to-back runner-up efforts in the GII Risen Star and GII Louisiana Derby. After the Derby, the colt returned to his home base at Turfway. His three works over the past month include two bullet :47 four-furlong breezes.
“He was a little tired, obviously, that week after the Derby, but he bounced right back into himself,” said West. “He picked his weight right back up after the race and I think he has actually put on a few more pounds, which was good to see. He's a horse that doesn't put a ton into his training unless you ask him. Every time we've asked, he's responded well.”
Chunk of Gold was originally entered in the June 8 GIII Matt Winn Stakes, but West opted for the Ohio Derby believing that his trainee would benefit from the extra two weeks and that Thistledown might offer a slightly softer Grade III spot.
The 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby drew a field of 10. Chunk of Gold will break from post two.
The 9-5 morning-line favorite Clever Again (American Pharoah) comes in off an eventful trip in the GI Preakness, where he led the field into the far turn but was forced to check after a much-debated bump with eventual winner Journalism (Curlin). Other contenders include McAfee (Cloud Computing), the half-brother to champion Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) who was second in the GIII Peter Pan, last year's GIII Sanford Stakes victor Mo Plex (Complexity) and Master Controller (Tapiture), who comes in off a May 24 maiden win at Churchill Downs for Brittany Vanden Berg.
With the way the field is shaping up, West said he expects plenty of pace for Chunk of Gold to run into.
“I think it will be more of a play-the-break situation, but on paper we won't be in front,” he predicted. “Hopefully we're sitting tucked in right at the rail. I think Clever Again and Mo Plex are probably on the lead. The Vanden Berg horse was on the lead when he broke his maiden. It looks like us and McAfee are going to be sitting a few off the lead.”
West and Chunk of Gold were one of the Cinderella stories going into this year's Kentucky Derby–and for good reason. Chunk of Gold was purchased for just $2,500 as a yearling. West is only 32 years old and his program is so hands-on that he serves as Chunk of Gold's regular exercise rider.
All of that combined to make Chunk of Gold's barn a popular stop for members of the press around 7:30 each morning during Derby week. West admitted that he enjoyed his first Derby experience, but was glad to step out of the spotlight afterwards.
“It was one of those things where Sunday morning, I was glad it was over, but I was also ready to do it again,” he explained. “I mean, it's a long week on the horse, it's a long week on everybody involved. But it's also one of those things that, it's what we wake up to do every day. So I'm ready to get back to it next year.”
Despite the positive press, West said that he has yet to see any new horses or owners come his way. The Turfway-based trainer is scratching his head over what kind of win it will take to elevate his stable to the next level.
“When we won our first graded stake at Keeneland a few years ago, we got a bunch of calls, congratulatory texts and things like that. We didn't pick up one new client. Not one new horse. It was like, 'Okay well if that doesn't do it, I wonder what it's going to take.' Then you put a horse on the Derby trail and there's nothing. I guess it is what it is and we'll take what we get and run on with it.”
Last weekend, West's stable scored a nice win when Moon Mystique (Malibu Moon) broke her maiden on debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis. West said he plans to send the Abdul Rahman Al Jasmi homebred to the turf at Colonial Downs for her next start.
Runaway Storm (Midnight Storm), who handed West his first graded stakes victory in the 2023 GIII Bryan Station Stakes, was disappointing in his 5-year-old debut in May, but West expects to see improvement from the gelding when he returns in the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis on July 5. Runaway Storm was the runner-up in that stake last year.
This summer, West is focused on using his Derby momentum to take the next step with his stable.
“Hopefully we can get back to where we were in May again, taking the horses that we've got and making the most of them.”
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