Photo:Scott Serio / Eclipse Sportswire
The Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby on Saturday at Jack Thistledown Racino is the start of the summer mid-major Derby series. Catching Freedom, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness, was named the 9-5 morning-line favorite.
The Ohio Derby field has two graded-stakes winners, three horses who ran in the Preakness and six horses who raced on the Kentucky Derby trail.
Trainer Brad Cox won the Ohio Derby with Tawny Port in 2022 and Owendale in 2019, and Kenny McPeek had the 2003 winner Wild and Wicked.
Here is a full-field analysis for the Ohio Derby with the official track morning-line odds. The signature race at the Cleveland-area track is scheduled as race 13 of 13 with post time set for 6:00 p.m. EDT.
1. Frizzante, 15-1.Vino Rosso –Gregory Sacco / Isaac Castillo – 9: 1-2-3 - $45,370. Frizzante ships to Ohio after breaking his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs in March in his seventh try after the current connections claimed him for $32,000 in January. The son of Vino Rosso was third in an allowance in his first try on the turf. Last seen, Frizzante missed winning a Parx Racing allowance by a nose when he got stuck in tight quarters. Toss.
2. Gould’s Gold, 5-1.Goldencents –Ken McPeek / Brian Hernandez Jr. – 5: 1-1-1 - $118,250. Gould’s Gold showed significant improvement as a 3-year-old when he broke his maiden in March in his first start of the year at Oaklawn. He stretched out and finished third in the Bath House Row at the Arkansas track. On Preakness weekend he had the lead in the stretch of the Sir Barton and was beaten by a nose while earning the top speed figure of his career. Since then, Gould’s Gold trained at Saratoga. Use underneath.
3. Charleston, 30-1.Tapiture –Michael Rone / Luis R. Rivera – 6: M-1-2 - $55,603. Charleston is still a maiden. He was claimed for $75,000 in December at Oaklawn when he finished second. The new connections tried him on the Kentucky Derby trail in the Southwest (G3) after he ran 11thin a maiden special weight. He was a badly beaten ninth at 96-1. Last seen in February, Charleston was third in another maiden race and has changed trainers since. Toss.
4. Copper Tax, 7-2.Copper Bullet –Gary Capuano / J. G. Torrealba – 10: 7-1-0 - $368,500. Copper Tax has a great record with two allowance victories and a pair of stakes wins as a 2-year-old at Delaware Park and Laurel Park. His two tries on the Derby trail in the Remsen (G3) and Sam F. Davis (G3) were the only times that this horse ran out of the top three. Back at Laurel for his most recent starts, he won the two Preakness prep races. Use underneath.
5. Uncle Heavy, 6-1.Social Inclusion –Robert Reid Jr. / Mychal Sanchez – 6: 3-0-0 - $323,580. Uncle Heavy won three of his first four starts, moving from a maiden win at Parx to a stakes race for Pennsylvania-breds and then on the Kentucky Derby trail in the Withers (G3) at Aqueduct. He stepped up to the Wood Memorial (G2) and the Preakness, where he finished fifth and then sixth. He had fast workouts before the Preakness and in preparation for this race. Win contender.
6. Deposition, 12-1.Constitution –Uriah St. Lewis / Dexter Haddock – 11: 2-0-1 - $86,875. Deposition got his maiden win in his fifth try, which was at Parx in November. In five stakes races, which included three stops on the Derby trail in New York, he did not finish better than fourth in the Withers (G3). Last seen three weeks ago, he won an allowance at Delaware. Toss.
7. Who’s the King, 20-1.Not This Time –Saffie Joseph Jr. / Rocco Bowen – 7: 1-0-2 - $36,201. Who’s the King was claimed away from Mark Casse for $35,000 from his fifth start at Gulfstream Park. He broke his maiden by more than seven lengths in his first start for trainer Saffie Joseph. Who’s the King was a distant sixth in a starter allowance three weeks ago at Churchill Downs. Live long shot.
8. Catching Freedom, 9-5.Constitution –Brad Cox / Luis Saez– 7: 3-0-2 - $1,347,350. Catching Freedom was fourth in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness after his victory in the Louisiana Derby (G2). His $1.3 million in career earnings towers over the rest of the Ohio Derby field. This son of Constitution gets significant class relief in this mid-major Derby. Expect him to once again come running down the stretch, and the nine-furlong distance is to his advantage. Top choice.
9. Batten Down, 8-1.Tapit –Bill Mott / Junior Alvarado – 4: 1-1-1 - $94,850. Batten Down is a royally bred son of Tapit and the champion Close Hatches trained by Bill Mott for Juddmonte. He broke his maiden in his fourth try which was at Churchill in April, earning a speed figure that is the second best in this field. The Ohio Derby will be a test to see where this 3-year-old fits. Win contender.
10. Mugatu, 12-1.Blofeld –Jeff Engler / Ramon Vasquez – 13: 1-1-3 - $80,570. Mugatu has only one victory in his 13-race career but made two appearances on the Derby trail and ran in the Preakness. Since breaking his maiden at Gulfstream on the Tapeta track as a 2-year-old, he had a pair of third-place finishes in allowance races at Turfway Park. Blinkers come off. Toss.
Summary: Of the six horses in the Ohio Derby who made appearances on the road to the 2024 Kentucky Derby, only two of them got a victory in one of those prep races. Uncle Heavy shipped to Aqueduct from Parx and won the Withers (G3) but then was fifth in the Wood (G2) and sixth in the Preakness.
Catching Freedom won the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn and the Louisiana Derby. He moved on to run well in the run for the roses and the Preakness. Trainer Brad Cox skipped the Belmont Stakes and has the best horse in the Ohio Derby, considering class and performance on the track. Catching Freedom has to be the top choice.
