Citizen Bull – Kentucky Derby Context
Citizen Bull winning the Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita (Photo by Benoit Photo)
April 16th, 2025
Named champion two-year-old male, Citizen Bull opened his three-year-old season with an authoritative gate-to-wire win in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) at Santa Anita in early February, his third straight convincing stakes victory. But he came back flat from a two-month freshening in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), giving way readily to be a well-beaten fourth. Following a performance too bad to be true, the classy colt figures to be much sharper in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and rates as a rebound candidate. The last four Kentucky Derby winners have bounced back from setbacks in their final prep, and Citizen Bull is eligible to be part of the early pace with his speed.
OWNER: Citizen Bull is owned by the consortium of Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf), Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin), SF Racing (Gavin Murphy), Stonestreet Stables (Barbara Banke), Diane Bashor, Determined Stables (Matt Dorman), Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital (W. Gregg Slager), and Catherine Donovan. Starlight and Kumin (through multiple nom de courses) were involved in partnerships that campaigned Kentucky Derby winners Justify (2018) and Authentic (2020).
TRAINER: Tied with Ben Jones for the most wins, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert returns to the Kentucky Derby after a three-year suspension by Churchill Downs following the post-race disqualification of Medina Spirit. His six Kentucky Derby victories include a pair of Triple Crown winners, American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018), and Baffert has compiled three seconds and three thirds from 34 starts. His first appearance came in 1996, with Cavonnier finishing second by a nose, and the 72-year-old Arizona native won the next two editions with Hall of Famer Silver Charm and Real Quiet. Along with winning the Preakness (G1) a record eight times, Baffert owns the most Triple Crown race wins (17). The Southern California-based conditioner also has Rodriguez and Madaket Road in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field.
JOCKEY: From four previous Kentucky Derby starts, Martin Garcia’s best result came aboard third-placer Dortmund in 2015. That was Garcia’s last appearance, and the 40-year-old Mexican native will return from a 10-year absence on Citizen Bull.
BREEDER: Robert and Lawana Low have twice participated in the Kentucky Derby as owners, campaigning third-placer Steppenwolfer in 2006, and Citizen Bull will be their first as a breeder. They sold the Kentucky-bred bay colt for $675,000 as a yearling at the 2023 Keeneland September sale.
Citizen Bull is one of the top @KentuckyDerby contenders after his win in the Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita!
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 12, 2025
The @BreedersCup champion will return soon and you can be notified when by adding him to your TS Stable Alerts!
Never Miss A Winner ⤵️ https://t.co/oxxjZqNzNz pic.twitter.com/ICsSF1GLF6
SIRE: One of the world’s greatest sires, Into Mischief has produced Kentucky Derby winners Authentic and Mandaloun (2020-21), and the 20-year-old stallion’s progeny earned more than $30 million in 2024, leading led the North American general sire list for a sixth consecutive time. Only Bold Ruler (eight), the sire of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, has been leading sire more times than Into Mischief in the last century. By Harlan’s Holiday, Into Mischief owns a lengthy list of accolades, and Citizen Bull will be one of his three Kentucky Derby starters this year (Sovereignty and Tappan Street).
DAM: Citizen Bull is the first stakes winner out of No Joke, an unraced daughter of Distorted Humor from the female family of Favorite Trick, who was named Horse of the Year as a two-year-old and finished eighth in the 1998 Kentucky Derby. Distorted Humor, a leading general and freshman sire, counts 2003 Kentucky Derby hero Funny Cide among his 163 stakes winners. And while still looking to make a serious mark upon the Triple Crown, Distorted Humor has developed into a prominent broodmare sire, with Hall of Famer Arrogate, who established a North American record with more than $17.4 million in earnings, among his notable runners. Kentucky Derby contenders Sandman and Tappan Street also count Distorted Humor as their broodmare sire.
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