Kentucky Derby contender profile: Gold Street

The ability to handle sloppy footing...

Spring weather in Kentucky can be unpredictable, and the coveted Kentucky Derby (G1) is frequently run over a wet track. On such occasions, the ability to handle sloppy footing is just as critical as talent for prospective Derby contenders.

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If the skies open up at Churchill Downs before the 2020 Kentucky Derby, you can rest assured Gold Street won’t have any difficulty negotiating the wet going. If his victory in the Jan. 24 Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park is any indication, it’s safe to say Gold Street is a mudlark, quite possibly better in the slop than he is on a fast track.

Purchased by owner Mike McCarty for $150,000 as a yearling, Gold Street was slow to come around for trainer Steve Asmussen and suffered defeat in his first three starts as a juvenile. His improvement was steady, however, and when Gold Street got his first taste of a sloppy track Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs, he put everything together with a powerful victory. Favored at 7-10, he crushed a 6-furlong maiden dash and defeated next-out winners Mayberry Deputy and Major Fed by seven lengths.

Gold Street carried his momentum to Fair Grounds, where he encountered another sloppy track in the Sugar Bowl S. and splashed away to win by 3 1/2 lengths. At that point, it would have been easy to peg Gold Street as a promising sprinter and little more. But Asmussen elected to test Gold Street’s stamina with a run against quality competition in the one-mile Smarty Jones, and the improving colt responded with another dominant victory.

Facing a field led by Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) winner Silver Prospector and Remington Springboard Mile winner Shoplifted, Gold Street was disregarded at odds of 10-1. Bettors failed to account for the muddy track conditions, which Gold Street once again relished. He sprinted to the front under jockey Martin Garcia and carved out modest fractions of :24.08, :48.96, and 1:13.72, then widened under urging down the stretch to score by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:39.63.

Gold Street still has plenty of questions to answer. Oaklawn Park played kindly for frontrunners on the day of the Smarty Jones, so Gold Street’s performance may have been enhanced by the track profile. Certainly the muddy footing was a factor in his favor.

Gold Street’s pedigree is also questionable for classic distances. The progeny of his sire, the Grade 1-winning sprinter Street Boss, have an average winning distance of just 6.6 furlongs, though the best of them—including Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Cathryn Sophia and Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Danz—have won going 1 1/8 miles against good company. Gold Street could also inherit a bit more stamina from damsire Fusaichi Pegasus, winner of the 2000 Kentucky Derby.

With a three victories from his first three starts on wet tracks, you can bet the connections of Gold Street will be crossing their fingers for rain on the first Saturday in May.