Lexington, KY - The road to the Kentucky Derby continued on Saturday at Keeneland with the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, where Java’s War locked his spot in the Derby starting gates.
This year’s Kentucky Derby points system, which replaces the old graded stakes earnings meter stick of determining Derby starters, includes a few races between March 30 and April 13 which are worth a whopping 100 points for the winner. The Blue Grass is one of those races, which would virtually guarantee a start for horses who may be late developers and find themselves without the points needed for a Derby start. Winning entry Java’s War already had 22 Derby points which likely would not have been enough to qualify before Saturday’s race.
The Blue Grass, which has long been the centerpiece of Keeneland’s spring meet, has recently been discounted by some critics as a strong Derby prep race due to the track’s surface. The original Keeneland dirt surface was speed-favoring, and was ultimately replaced by its current artificial surface, which some believe plays differently for horses than the dirt track at Churchill Downs. The last Blue Grass winner to win the Derby was Strike the Gold in 1991, and in fact nine of the last ten Blue Grass winners have finished fifth or worse in the Derby.
History didn’t dampen interest Lexington residents’ interest in the race, as a crowd of 40,617, the second largest in the track’s history, packed in for Saturday’s race card.
The audience was not disappointed as Java’s War put on a tremendous last-to-first effort after getting a slow break out of the gates under jockey Julien Leparoux. Even owner/breeder Charles Fipke, upon watching the replay during the post-race press conference, was amazed at the colt’s terrible trip.
“I didn’t know where my horse was when I was watching the race,” said Fipke. ‘I just kind of knew at the end that he was up there. I said, ‘Where’s my horse?’ I couldn’t even see him.”
With 3/8 of a mile to go in the 1 1/8 mile contest, Java’s War was at the back of the pack, where he sat for most of the race for most of the race. Deep in the stretch, he caught contender Palace Malice to win the 89th edition of the race by a neck.
“Oh, here we come, here we come,” Fipke said watching the screen. “Three-quarters of a mile [in] and he’s finally coming… unbelievable, eh?”
Lexington-based trainer Ken McPeek said the poor start and fast finish is typical of his colt.
“This is his running style,” McPeek said after the race. “I wasn’t at all worried, I was watching the front thinking, okay, if they set a little pace for us the first half or even in the middle we’ll get a good chance here.”
Palace Malice hung on for second (40 points), Charming Kitten was third (20 points), and favored Rydilluc earned 10 points in fourth.
Java’s War will likely not start again before the Derby. For contenders still on the bubble, two opportunities remain to gain enough points to run for the roses: Keeneland will hold the Lexington Stakes on April 20, and Churchill Downs will host the Derby Trial on April 27. Both are worth only 20 points to the winner, meaning they may not guarantee a spot for a new contender but could propel a late bloomer into the big race.