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MEET THE DERBY

CONTENDERS

By Johnny D., @XBJohnnyD

NY TRAFFIC: He’s been first, second or third in all 5 of his 2020 starts. Trouble is, he’s been first
just once, second 3 times and third once. He threw a real scare into Authentic backers in the final
strides of the Grade 1 Haskell, but the win photo went against him by a mere nose. Before that,
at the conclusion of the Grade 3 Matt Winn at Churchill, he was sandwiched between winner
Maxfield and third-place finisher Pneumatic, the latter returning to finish fourth in the Grade 1
Belmont and win the Pegasus at Monmouth. In the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, Wells Bayou got the
better of this son of Cross Traffic. He seems a hard-trier that anyone would love to own, but he
may not quite be up the task of winning the Kentucky Derby. Still, if you’re thinking Derby exotics
(and who isn’t?) … this guy has proven he can finish in-the-money with the best of them.

KING GUILLERMO: It seems as if the ‘King already is ahead of the Triple Crown game. He was a late
Triple Crown nominee, which usually would cost his owners $6,000. But, since the date of the Derby was
changed, he was made eligible at the discounted price of $3,000. This son of Uncle Mo absolutely freaked
to win the Grade 2 Tampa Derby by 4 ¾ lengths at nearly 50-1 odds in March. He validated that form May 2
by returning to finish second to then-highly regarded Nadal in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. King Guillermo
hasn’t raced since. That means, on Derby day, this colt will have been away from afternoon action for 4
months. Talk about your ‘big hills to climb.’ He shocked the racing world once already. Can it happen again?

THOUSAND WORDS: They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, in this case, a Louisville
winner’s circle photo that includes this colt greatly will enhance the value of a Thousand Words. This son of
Pioneerof the Nile (sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah) has benefitted from the postponement
of the Kentucky Derby until September. He won his first three races and appeared on many early Derby top
10 lists. Then, 5-time Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert says, ‘…he got sour on me.’ The colt finished 4th in
the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and then 11th in the Oaklawn Stakes in April. Gone until July 4, he finished
second to streaking stablemate Uncle Chuck in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Derby. Last out, he was back on
the beam when he defeated Honor A.P. to win the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. It’s been a tale of two
seasons just this year for Thousand Words and, while he may be a cut below the very best in here, he is
here and that gives him a chance.

DR POST: Third as the second betting choice last out in the Grade 1 Haskell behind Authentic
and Ny Traffic, this son of Quality Road will start for Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher (54: 2-2-4
lifetime in this race). Before that, Dr Post was second to likely heavy Derby favorite Tiz the Law in the
Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. A winner of 2 of 5 starts and over $360k, he’ll need to really move forward
in Louisville to win this race. It will be a much shorter journey, however, for him to find a place in the
exotics. He has a closing style that might work to his benefit in a race that appears to have some
legitimate early pace, and he ought to be an acceptable price. Trainer Pletcher could bypass the
Derby and await the Preakness, leaving his status up in the air until Tuesday’s entries.

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