Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: No More Time

A gate-to-wire victory in the Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs launched No More Time into the picture as a 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) contender.

No More Time prevailed by 1 1/4 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier, but his lead was diminishing through the final furlong, and he subsequently finished second in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby (G3) after leading in midstretch. Does No More Time have the necessary stamina to stretch his speed over 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May?

Pedigree analysis can provide clues. No More Time is a son of Not This Time, an accomplished juvenile who won the Iroquois (G3) before placing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Not This Time didn’t race past age two, nor beyond 1 1/16 miles, but as a son of three-time leading North American sire Giant’s Causeway (a strong stamina influence), Not This Time had the potential to handle longer distances.

At stud, Not This Time is proving to be versatile. Some of his runners have been best as sprinters, including Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) winner Sibelius, Madison (G1) heroine Just One Time, and Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner Princess Noor. That’s not surprising since Not This Time’s dam is Miss Macy Sue, a daughter of the Grade 1-winning sprinter Trippi and herself victorious in a bevy of sprint stakes. In addition to Not This Time, Miss Macy Sue is the dam of Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Liam’s Map, so there’s lots of speed in the bottom half of Not This Time’s pedigree.

But other sons and daughters of Not This Time have proven productive as route racers, clearly taking after the Giant’s Causeway side of their sire’s pedigree. Champion three-year-old Epicenter won the 1 1/4-mile Travers (G1) and 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby (G2), Up to the Mark took the 1 1/4-mile Manhattan (G1) and ran second in the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), and Next has nabbed three graded stakes over distances from 1 1/2 miles to 1 5/8 miles.

It’s worth noting, though, that the dam sires of Epicenter, Up to the Mark, and Next—respectively Candy Ride, Ghostzapper, and Awesome Again—all won Grade 1 races over 1 1/4 miles. Ghostzapper and Awesome Again even won the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

This stands in contrast to No More Time, whose dam—Baroness Juliette—is a daughter of champion sprinter Speightstown. Speightstown was at his best sprinting six furlongs, the distance over which he won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), and Baroness Juliette scored her lone victory in a six-furlong maiden claimer.

Now, it’s unfair to peg Speightstown as a pure source of speed at stud; while his progeny win at the modest average distance of 6.6 furlongs, a large handful have nabbed Grade 1 prizes over 1 1/4 miles, including Olympiad, Golden Ticket, Force the Pass, Haynesfield, Seek Again, and Competitionofideas.

But two other points are more concerning from a Kentucky Derby standpoint. First, daughters of Speightstown have tended to produce sprinters and milers rather than stayers, including Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner Aloha West, Metropolitan H. (G1) victor Vekoma, the multiple Grade 1-placed Following Sea, and Humana Distaff (G1) heroine Mia Mischief. And second, Not This Time’s above-mentioned Madison winner Just One Time was produced by a Speightstown mare.

Now perhaps No More Time has inherited the stoutest genetics from Not This Time and Baroness Juliette: the stamina of Giant’s Causeway and the side of Speightstown that tosses up those 1 1/4-mile stars. But we also have to acknowledge the possibility No More Time has inherited more speed than stamina, in which case the Kentucky Derby distance could prove testing.