Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Fellowship

Fellowship

Awesome of Course – Go Girlfriend Go, by Demidoff

The Florida-bred Fellowship will face a tall order in his home state’s biggest race, the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby on Saturday. The race has attracted early Kentucky Derby favorites Mohaymen and Nyquist, but even a third-place finish would put Fellowship in the starting gate at Churchill Downs should his connections choose to pursue that route.

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Fellowship, a homebred for Fred Brei’s Jacks or Better Farm, is a son of Florida stalwart Awesome of Course. The Awesome Again stallion is known for siring runners who can successfully compete in open company, most notably the champion Awesome Feather and graded stakes winners Fort Loudon, Dogwood Trail, and Awesome Banner. However, the average winning distance of his progeny is 6.4 furlongs.

Fellowship would appear to get some stamina from the bottom side of his family. The colt is out of Go Girlfriend Go, who was stakes-placed at 1 1/16 miles on turf and a mile on dirt. Broodmare sire Demidoff is a half-brother to prominent stallion Gone West.

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Fellowship is a half-brother to Johnny Handsome, who scored all of his wins at distances beyond a mile and won two stakes at 1 1/16 miles.

Fellowship and Johnny Handsome are the most accomplished runners under their first or second dam. However, this is the extended family of the millionaire Bounding Basque, who had both brilliance and stamina, equaling a track record for 1 1/4 miles in the Grade 1 Meadowlands Cup and for 1 1/8 miles in the Grade 2 Massachusetts Handicap. He also won the Wood Memorial and Brooklyn Handicap. It is also the family of the champion filly Heavenly Cause, who won the Kentucky Oaks and four other Grade 1 events.