Grande – Kentucky Derby Context

A convincing debut winner in mid-January, Grande followed with a 1 1/8-mile allowance win in late February. The dark bay colt ran well while making his stakes debut in the Wood Memorial (G2), registering a 101 Brisnet Speed rating, rallying from midpack to be second to Rodriguez, who dictated terms as the controlling speed. Grande is still lightly raced with plenty of potential upside for his connections, and the stalker is eligible to get first run on the closers if he keeps progressing in the Kentucky Derby.

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OWNER: From eight previous starts as an owner, Repole Stable (Mike Repole)’s best Kentucky Derby finish came via fifth-placer Mo Donegal in 2022, who Repole owned in partnership. Mo Donegal returned to win the Belmont (G1) five weeks later. The 56-year-old Queens native and water magnate recorded runner-up finishes in the Belmont with Next (2022) and Stay Thirsty (2011).

TRAINER: Todd Pletcher owns a pair of Kentucky Derby wins, Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017, and the Hall of Famer holds the record for number of starts, compiling an overall mark of 63-2-2-4. After working as an assistant for Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Pletcher went out on his own in 1995. The 57-year-old Texas native has won a record eight Eclipse Awards for leading trainer and four editions of the Belmont.

JOCKEY: Tied for the most Kentucky Derby wins among active jockeys, John Velazquez will be the only rider in the 2025 field with three wins, guiding Animal Kingdom (2012), Always Dreaming (2017), and Authentic (2020) to victories under the Twin Spires. The Hall of Famer was also up on Medina Spirit, who finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified post-race. After launching his career in his native Puerto Rico, the 53-year-old moved his tack to New York in 1990. Velazquez is a two-time Eclipse Award winner for leading jockey, and he has a Preakness and a pair of Belmont winners to his credit.

BREEDER: Bred in Kentucky by KatieRich Farms (Larry & Karen Doyle), Grande will be their second starter as a breeder. KatieRich also bred Instilled Regard, who finished fourth in the 2018 Kentucky Derby, and they sold Grande for $300,000 as a yearling at the 2023 Keeneland September sale.

SIRE: After a troubled third in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, Curlin came back to win the Preakness and finished second in the Belmont (G1). The two-time Horse of the Year has developed into one of the world’s top sires, becoming the first to produce three individual American champions in the same year and three Breeders’ Cup race winners on the same day. Along with siring eight individual champions in America, Curlin produced 2017 Preakness winner Exaggerator and 2013 Belmont winner Palace Malice. And his son, Keen Ice, handed Hall of Famer American Pharoah his lone loss at age three in the Travers (G1). The Kentucky Derby is the one major prize missing from the resume of Curlin, whose son, Good Magic, sired the 2023 Kentucky Derby winner, Mage.

DAM: Grande is out of the Grade 3 turf-winning War Front mare Journey Home and counts Canadian Grade 3 winner Ticker Tape Home as a half-brother. By Danzig, Grade 2 winner and multiple Grade 1 runner-up War Front is ranked first among North American stallions by percentage of lifetime stakes winners and graded stakes winners, siring 25 Grade 1 winners, but was primarily known as a turf sire. But he did produce the 2019 Preakness winner War of Will. From a limited sample as a broodmare sire, War Front is responsible for 2019 Belmont third-placer Joevia.

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