Forte holds as 8-1 individual choice in KDFW Pool 4; 'All others' 2-1
Kentucky Derby Trophy (Photo by Coady Photography)
February 13th, 2023
Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) closed Sunday with stability at the very top, coupled with big market moves for a filly as well as recent winners.
The mutuel field of “All other three-year-olds” was listed as the 2-1 favorite on the morning line, and finished at the same price. Champion two-year-old male Forte likewise retained his individual favoritism, opening and closing at 8-1. There’s been little change in the popularity of Todd Pletcher’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) hero ahead of his expected reappearance in the Mar. 4 Fountain of Youth (G2).
The seismic shift came with the Pool 4 inclusion of star filly Hoosier Philly, who was bet down from 50-1 to 11-1. The Tom Amoss trainee returns versus her own division in the Feb. 18 Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fair Grounds, but he’s made no secret of his interest in the Derby trail for the unbeaten sophomore.
The Pletcher-trained Tapit Trice’s impressive Feb. 4 allowance victory at Gulfstream Park prompted his trimming from 20-1 to 15-1. Geaux Rocket Ride, a newcomer to Pool 4 after a sharp debut at Santa Anita Jan. 29 for Richard Mandella, was backed from 40-1 to 25-1.
The winners of Saturday’s major preps boosted their profiles during Pool 4, and both saw their odds tumble to 28-1. Pletcher’s Sam F. Davis (G3) scorer Litigate had been 50-1 on the morning line, and Withers (G3) romper Hit Show, one of 10 Brad Cox pupils in Pool 4, steamed from 60-1.
Also notable from the Cox barn are Instant Coffee, who floated from 12-1 to 22-1 as he awaits the Mar. 25 Louisiana Derby (G2), and Victory Formation, who ticked up from 20-1 to 23-1 in advance of the Feb. 18 Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds. Closing at 27-1 were Blazing Sevens, still working toward his 2023 premiere for Chad Brown, and Godolphin’s Banishing, a Brendan Walsh trainee set for a salty allowance on the Risen Star undercard.
Pletcher’s undefeated Kingsbarns made short work of his foes in a Tampa Bay Downs allowance Sunday, and accordingly gained traction into 35-1. But that late update wasn’t quite enough to overtake Verifying, who drifted from 15-1 to 34-1, and fellow 35-1 closer Rocket Can.
2023 Kentucky Derby Future Wager - Pool 4 (Feb. 10-12)
| Horse | Final odds | Morning-line odds |
|---|
#1 Angel of Empire | 112-1 | 80-1 |
#2 Arctic Arrogance | 78-1 | 80-1 |
#3 Banishing | 27-1 | 30-1 |
#4 Blazing Sevens | 27-1 | 20-1 |
#5 Confidence Game | 119-1 | 50-1 |
#6 Curly Jack | 49-1 | 60-1 |
#7 Cyclone Mischief | 76-1 | 40-1 |
#8 Determinedly | 124-1 | 40-1 |
#9 Disarm | 50-1 | 60-1 |
#10 Dubyuhnell | 90-1 | 30-1 |
#11 Eyeing Clover | 73-1 | 30-1 |
#12 First Defender | 91-1 | 50-1 |
#13 Forte | 8-1 | 8-1 |
#14 Frosted Departure | 186-1 | 30-1 |
#15 Funtastic Again | 158-1 | 30-1 |
#16 Game Change | 165-1 | 50-1 |
#17 Geaux Rocket Ride | 25-1 | 40-1 |
#18 General Jim | 51-1 | 50-1 |
#19 Giant Mischief | 43-1 | 30-1 |
#20 Gulfport | 97-1 | 80-1 |
#21 Gun Pilot | 66-1 | 50-1 |
#22 Hit Show | 28-1 | 60-1 |
#23 Hoosier Philly | 11-1 | 50-1 |
#24 Instant Coffee | 22-1 | 12-1 |
#25 Jace's Road | 104-1 | 80-1 |
#26 Kingsbarns | 35-1 | 50-1 |
#27 Litigate | 28-1 | 50-1 |
#28 Mage | 48-1 | 50-1 |
#29 Practical Move | 83-1 | 50-1 |
#30 Red Route One | 58-1 | 40-1 |
#31 Rocket Can | 35-1 | 30-1 |
#32 Shadow Dragon | 46-1 | 60-1 |
#33 Shopper's Revenge | 90-1 | 50-1 |
#34 Slip Mahoney | 93-1 | 50-1 |
#35 Tapit Trice | 15-1 | 20-1 |
#36 Tapit's Conquest | 63-1 | 50-1 |
#37 Two Phil's | 95-1 | 50-1 |
#38 Verifying | 34-1 | 15-1 |
#39 Victory Formation | 23-1 | 20-1 |
#40 All other 3yos | 2-1 | 2-1 |
Churchill Downs reported that Pool 4, which ran from noon Friday to 6 p.m. (ET) Sunday, handled $340,880 ($259,489 in the Win pool and $81,391 in Exactas). Wagering through the first four KDFW pools has totaled $964,540.
For more details, see the Pool 4 page in the Future Wager section on kentuckyderby.com.
Two KDFW pools remain before the May 6 “Run for the Roses.” Pool 5, scheduled for Mar. 10-12, runs alongside the one and only Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, and the KDFW concludes with Pool 6 on Mar. 30-Apr. 1.
