Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Gosger

The final leg of the 2024-25 Road to the Kentucky Derby was the 1 1/16-mile Lexington (G3) at Keeneland, in which maiden winner Gosger successfully stepped up in class to win by two lengths.

The victory earned Gosger 20 qualification points toward the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby (G1), which will in all likelihood prove insufficient to make the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. But the other two Triple Crown races—the 1 3/16-mile Preakness (G1) and 1 1/4-mile Belmont (G1)—could certainly be in the cards for Gosger. His pedigree suggests he’ll relish stretching out over classic distances.

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Gosger’s sire is Nyquist, the champion two-year-old male of 2015 who maintained his championship form to win the 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) while unbeaten. A five-time Grade 1 winner over distances from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, Nyquist is carving out a high-profile stud career reminiscent of his sire, Uncle Mo, a champion two-year-old known for siring high-class route racers.

Many of Nyquist’s best runners have excelled as two-turn dirt racers. They include the champion two-year-old fillies and 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winners Vequist and Immersive, 1 1/4-mile Alabama (G1) heroine Randomized, and 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again (G1) winner Slow Down Andy. Others have shown prowess running at least one mile on grass, including one-mile Summer (G1) winner Gretzky the Great and one-mile Shoemaker Mile (G1) conqueror Johannes.

While Nyquist has yet to sire the winner of a Triple Crown race, his stud record so far suggests one will come soon enough. Gosger might even be the one, considering that the bottom half of his pedigree is spectacularly geared toward success in the spring classics.

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Gosger’s dam is Gloria S, an unraced daughter of Tapit out of Arch’s Gal Edith. Tapit needs no introduction; he’s ranked as North America’s leading sire by progeny earnings on three occasions, and through the years, he’s sired a multitude of major winners racing two turns on dirt. The undefeated 2022 Horse of the Year and 1 1/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Flightline is the most famous, but Tapit is also renowned for siring four winners of the Belmont over its traditional 1 1/2-mile distance: Tonalist, Creator, Tapwrit, and Essential Quality.

Tapit has also developed a terrific record as a broodmare sire. His daughters have foaled a bevy of high-profile Grade 1 winners. To name a few, there’s 2023 Horse of the Year and two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Cody’s Wish, champion three-year-old male and Belmont winner Arcangelo, 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks (G1) heroine Pretty Mischievous, and recent 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Hit Show.

In addition, Tapit is the broodmare sire of 2025 Louisiana Derby (G2) winner and expected Kentucky Derby starter Tiztastic.

Gloria S is doing her part to bolster Tapit’s record as a broodmare sire. Prior to Gosger, she foaled Harvey’s Lil Goil, winner of the 1 1/8-mile Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) and a close third in the 1 3/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1).

As for Arch’s Gal Edith, she’s best known as the dam of I’ll Have Another, a son of Flower Alley voted champion three-year-old male of 2012 after winning the Santa Anita Derby (G1), Kentucky Derby, and Preakness in succession. This means Gloria S is a half-sister to I’ll Have Another.

Arch’s Gal Edith, in turn, is a daughter of Arch, winner of the 1 1/4-mile Super Derby (G1) and the sire of champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame. One of Arch’s sons, 1 1/8-mile Woodward (G1) and 1 1/4-mile Suburban (G2) winner Preservationist, is the sire of 2025 Kentucky Derby contender Chunk of Gold.

So let’s see—Gosger is a son of a Kentucky Derby winner out of a mare who is a half-sister to a Kentucky Derby/Preakness winner and a daughter of a stallion who has sired four Belmont winners. If this isn’t a pedigree cut out for Triple Crown success, we don’t know what is.