Owen Almighty – Kentucky Derby Context

A frontrunning winner of the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), Owen Almighty was initially declared out of the Kentucky Derby (G1) after dead-heating for last in the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland. His connections reversed course, and the speedy colt promises to add to the pace while stretching out to a challenging 1 1/4-mile distance. Owen Almighty led gate-to-wire in two of his three stakes wins, the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby and seven-furlong Pasco.

OWNER: Owen Almighty will be the first Kentucky Derby starter for Flying Dutchmen Racing and Breeding (Travis Boersma).

TRAINER: An Australian native and former assistant to Bobby Frankel, Brian Lynch will be represented by his second Kentucky Derby runner, with Classic Causeway finishing 12th in 2022. Lynch earned his first Breeders’ Cup race win in 2006.

JOCKEY: After a one-year absence, Javier Castellano will be back in the Kentucky Derby for the first time since guiding Mage to an off-the-pace victory in 2023. That victory marked his first win in 16 attempts, with his first appearance coming in 2005. His best previous finishes were a third on Audible in 2018 and a fourth on Normandy Invasion in 2013. Castellano has won the Preakness twice (Bernardini and Cloud Computing) and the 2023 Belmont (G1) on Arcangelo. He will ride Owen Almighty for the first time in the Kentucky Derby.

BREEDER: Bred in Kentucky by Mark Stanley, Owen Almighty passed through the sales ring twice, selling for $360,000 as a weanling and $350,000 as a yearling. Stanley campaigned Ecton Park, who finished 12th in the 1999 Kentucky Derby, and Owen Almighty will be his first starter as a breeder.

SIRE: Named champion sprinter in 2004, Speightstown has not made an impact on the Triple Crown as a sire. He’s produced talented sprinter/milers but proven versatile if combined with the proper mare, with at least three offspring winning Grade 1 races at 10 furlongs or longer (Force the Pass, Golden Ticket, and Olympiad). But it’s fair to question whether Owen Almighty’s female family provides an ample dose of stamina for the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby distance.

DAM: Owen Almighty is the first foal to race out of the Bayern mare Tempers Rising, who finished second in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) and third in the Silverbulletday prior to a fifth in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks (G1). Winner of the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), Bayern finished ninth in the Preakness (G1) in his lone Triple Crown appearance. He had limited success as a sire before being sent to Korea in 2021, with Grade 1-winning sprinter Speed Boat Beach and Canadian champion female sprinter Hazelbrook his most notable offspring. Owen Almighty is his only runner as a broodmare sire.

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