Burnham Square - Kentucky Derby Context

The addition of blinkers made a big difference for Burnham Square, who broke his maiden by nine lengths when adding the headgear in late December. The fast-closing sophomore followed with an excellent win in the Holy Bull (G3), netting a 101 Brisnet Speed rating, recording a 1 3/4-length decision. Burnham Square jumped to the top of the Kentucky Derby leaderboard (130 qualifying points) when rallying to win the Blue Grass (G1) two starts later, confirming himself as a serious contender. The late runner is eligible to receive a favorable setup with an abundance of early speed signed on for this year’s Kentucky Derby (G1).

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OWNER: Burnham Square will be the second homebred starter in the Kentucky Derby for Whitham Thoroughbreds (Janis Whitham), who had McCraken finish eighth in 2017. Now 93, Whitham combined with trainer Ian Wilkes to win the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) with Fort Larned, and Whitham has been involved in the Thoroughbred business for nearly 50 years; she and her late husband, Frank, campaigned two-time champion Bayakoa, who won consecutive runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) in 1989-90.

TRAINER: An Australian native, Ian Wilkes left for America in 1989 to take a job with Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger. The 59-year-old conditioner worked with a pair of Kentucky Derby winners under Nafzger, Unbridled in 1990 and Street Sense in 2007. When Nafzger began to scale back his operation and retired in 2006, he turned over the bulk of his stable to Wilkes. Wilkes’ first Kentucky Derby starter, McCraken in 2017, finished seventh, and Burnham Square will be his second.

JOCKEY: After becoming the eighth rider to win the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks (G1) in the same year, guiding Mystik Dan and Thorpedo Anna last year, Brian Hernandez Jr. will look to become the first jockey to repeat in the Kentucky Derby since Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza, who guided American Pharoah and California Chrome in 2015-16. Hernandez’s first Kentucky Derby mount came on Tom’s Ready, who finished 12th in 2016, and he was unplaced in his first four attempts before breaking through in 2024. A native of Louisiana, the 39-year-old picked up the mount aboard Burnham Square in the Blue Grass.

BREEDER: A Kentucky-bred bay gelding, Burnham Square, will be the second Kentucky Derby starter as a breeder for Whitham Thoroughbreds. Burnham Square will try to become the first gelding to win the Kentucky Derby since Mine That Bird in 2009.

SIRE: Burnham Square is from the sixth crop of Liam’s Map, who concluded his racing career with wins in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and Woodward (G1). Liam’s Map has had some runners on the Triple Crown trail, including 2020 Arkansas Derby (G1) runner-up Basin, but he’s never impacted the Triple Crown with his offspring. Many of his top performers, including multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Colonial Liam, have come on turf.

DAM: Burnham Square is the first stakes winner out of the Grade 2-winning turf mare Linda, a daughter of Scat Daddy, best known as the sire of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Scat Daddy won the Florida Derby (G1) and Fountain of Youth (G2) before finishing 18th in the Kentucky Derby in his career finale, and he’s still looking to make an impact on the Triple Crown as a broodmare sire. Burnham Square counts 1983 Kentucky Derby winner Sunny’s Halo as his second maternal broodmare sire and 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat as his third; his female family provides confidence for the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby distance.

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