Lone Sailor | Horse Profile
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Lone Sailor
Lone Sailor Career Statistics
Last Update: June 2018
Starts: 10
Win: 1
Place: 3
Show: 1
Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings: $379,237
Owner: G M B Racing
Trainer: Tom Amoss
Jockey: James Graham
Pedigree: Majestic Warrior – Ambitious, by Mr. Greenley
Recent Finish: 5th, Preakness Stakes G1 (5/19/18)
Lone Sailor Horse Profile
Sired by Majestic Warrior, Lone Sailor has taken a broad trip towards the 2018 Kentucky Derby. He is owned by GMB Racing, who recently mourned the loss of Tom Benson whom acquired the colt for a price of just $120,000. Since maturing from a yearling, Lone Sailor has had quite the career.
After two attempts, he finally broke his maiden at Saratoga in September 2017 and went on to finish a quiet third in the Breeders’ Futurity one month later. A trip to the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes to end his juvenile season saw him trail to fifth place finish with a record of just 1-1-1 in five starts.
The three-year-old season for Lone Sailor continued with a finishing in a disappointing ninth place in the 2018 Lecomte Stakes. Trainer Thomas Amoss took some time to re-tool how he approached racing and then returned his colt to the track in the Louisiana Derby, where he ran masterfully as a runner-up with 9/1 odds.
Now with an overall record of 1-3-1 in 8 starts and $334,237 secured in his saddle, Lone Sailor will enter the 2018 Kentucky Derby as a longshot hoping to achieve a victory.
Lone Sailor Entering the Kentucky Derby
Lone Sailor has a single maiden win to his credit entering the Kentucky Derby. He’s finished 2nd and 3rd in four graded stakes starts and is a huge long shot to capture the 2018 Kentucky Derby. But looking for improvement and form heading into the Kentucky Derby, Lone Sailor ran his best race in the 1 1/8 mile Louisiana Derby finishing 2nd with a BRIS Speed Figure of 100. Lone Sailor settled off the pace and then closed strongly, taking the lead in the stretch before drifting out and then in and coming up short of victory by a neck in the closing yards.
Between Lone Sailor’s maiden win at Saratoga and his Derby preps at the Fair Grounds, he finished 3rd in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland behind Free Drop Billy and Bravazo, two other Derby runners. Lone Sailor then took to the Churchill Downs track for a pair of races, coming off the pace to finish 2nd by a head in the 1-mile Street Sense Stakes with an 89 BRIS and then 5th in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at 25-1 odds behind the winner Enticed, a Derby contender. He did finish in front of Quip and Bravazo that day, and has shown improvement since during his sophomore season.
Lone Sailor worked a 5 furlong bullet over the Churchill track with the best time of 19 on April 19. In fact, his time of :57.60 seconds was the fastest 5 furlong work at Churchill Downs in 10 years.
Key Speed Figures and Stats for Lone Sailor
- Final 3/8 mile time in the Louisiana Derby :38.19 seconds
- Best BRIS Speed Figure 100 in Louisiana Derby and 95 Beyer Speed Figure
- 5 furlong bullet best of 52 at Churchill Downs on April 21
Trainer Tom Amoss is an ultra-competitive New Orleans native and in his 30 years of training, he’ll now bring his 6th horse to the Kentucky Derby. His best Derby finish is 5th in 2013. But Lone Sailor will have some sentimental support, as Amoss purchased Lone Sailor for $120,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September sale and races him for the late Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. Mr. Benson passed away at age 90 less than two weeks before the 2018 Louisiana Derby.
The pedigree may be modest for Lone Sailor, and Amoss says his physically-appealing colt needs to improve further off his Louisiana Derby finish to contend for a top spot and in-the-money finish in the Derby. But there are some positives in his profile and form, as 24 of the last 26 Kentucky Derby winners posted at least a 95 Beyer Speed Figure in their final Derby prep race. That includes Lone Sailor (95), who is one of 11 Derby runners to reach that BSF in their final prep.
The Kentucky Derby is projected to have a fast and honest pace, and Lone Sailor will need the burners up front to wear each other out before making his move down the long Churchill stretch. He’s a long shot and a cut below the top class of horses in this year’s Derby, but his recent result and work over the Churchill track makes Lone Sailor an intriguing shipper to hit the board at long odds.