While many of us muse about the 136-year Kentucky Derby streak against horses who did not race at 2 and whether it might end this year, how about really pushing convention to the edge, and consider the possibility of an unraced-at-2 exacta this year? The chance of it happening is live. It’s actually very live. Justify, the colt who did not begin his career until Feb. 18, is, of course, the current favorite for the Kentucky Derby off three sensational victories from as many starts, including an emphatic score over the high class (and more seasoned) Bolt d’Oro in last week’s Santa Anita Derby. But Magnum Moon, who began his career on Jan. 13 and hasn’t been challenged in four starts since, is unquestionably one of the ones in this Kentucky Derby after his thoroughly dominant victory in Saturday’s Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Magnum Moon didn’t waste time Saturday. Unlike his first three starts when he willingly conceded the early lead, including a romp in last month’s Rebel, Magnum Moon went right to the front in the Arkansas Derby. And as it turned out, that meant the race was over fairly early. Magnum Moon indulged early pace pressure from Quip before leaving that opponent, and everyone else in the Arkansas Derby, flailing helplessly in his wake into the stretch, all while still racing a bit greenly. That Magnum Moon did this to Quip, who, to his credit, fought on gamely to hold the place, is not inconsequential. :: Kentucky Derby advance PPs are now available! Quip’s stock received a huge boost last week when Vino Rosso won the Wood Memorial and Flameaway gave champion 2-year-old male Good Magic everything he could handle in the Blue Grass. Quip beat those two in last month’s Tampa Bay Derby, and did so off a layoff. In drawing lines through this form, one can make a convincing argument that going into this Kentucky Derby, the best colts east of Justify and west of UAE Derby winner Mendelssohn are Magnum Moon and Florida Derby winner Audible. And while picking between Magnum Moon and Audible (who just happen to be Todd Pletcher barnmates along with Vino Rosso and Louisiana Derby winner Noble Indy) is purely a matter of taste, no one can say with authority that Magnum Moon isn’t the better of the two. My preference here is Magnum Moon, who does more to capture my imagination. They still have to run the Derby before anyone collects on a Justify-Magnum Moon (or Magnum Moon-Justify) exacta. But isn’t it something that going into this Derby, the two best colts might very well be the two who did not compete at 2? Notes: ** With a determined charge from well off the pace, My Boy Jack won Saturday’s other Derby points race for 3-year-olds, the Lexington at Keeneland, and the 20 points he collected was enough to ensure him a starting spot in the Derby. However, having the points to run in the Derby and having a real chance to win it are two very different things. Without a sudden, significant step forward, My Boy Jack ranks as a second-tier Derby hopeful, several large notches below Magnum Moon and Justify. ** We have a new leader in the female turf division, and she is Sistercharlie. Sistercharlie obliterated the strongest field of female turf performers assembled in North America so far this year in Saturday’s Jenny Wiley at Keeneland with a devastating late kick that carried her to an overwhelming victory. What’s even more impressive, Sistercharlie did this in her first start since finishing a narrowly beaten second in the Belmont Oaks last July in her U.S. debut. Sistercharlie has license to be a top performer here. After all, she finished second of 16 in the 2017 Prix de Diane (the French Oaks) before coming to this country. Still, if Sistercharlie was able do what she did Saturday off the bench (okay, I know she has one of the best layoff trainers in the business in Chad Brown, but … ), it’s exciting to contemplate what she might now accomplish with the benefit of her comeback outing. ** Pre-race, I doubt anyone would have been terribly surprised at the prospect of City of Light winning the Oaklawn Handicap over Accelerate. Granted, City of Light was stretching out to two turns for the first time, but he was also coming off two straight Santa Anita Grade 1 stakes wins. What was a surprise (a shock, in truth) was the way City of Light managed to beat Accelerate. Even though he was routing for the first time, City of Light counterintuitively sat much farther off the early pace than he did when he won the Malibu and Triple Bend. I mean, he was actually BEHIND Santa Anita Handicap winner Accelerate for much of the Oaklawn Handicap running. And yet he still outkicked the 1 1/4-mile Big Cap winner through the stretch. That was big stuff, even if I’m still having a hard time believing how it went down. ** That was a disappointing 4-year-old bow by Lady Aurelia in the Giant’s Causeway at Keeneland. She wasn’t bad finishing second, but given her history of firing big fresh, her return effort was well short of the high standards she established in the past. It makes one wonder. ** I’m not going to get worked up over Unique Bella’s loss in Friday’s Apple Blossom at Oaklawn. Her poor start was obvious to all, but there were a handful of other compromising factors, such as: The way Unique Bella pulled hard after her lethargic start, the gobs of ground she conceded, that the Apple Blossom was her first start since recovering from the cough that knocked her out of last month’s Santa Margarita, and that this was her first start outside of California, and first on a wet surface. Sure, Unique Bella towered over that Apple Blossom field. That’s why she was 1-5. It would have been special if she could have overcome everything that was thrown at her and still won. Unique Bella couldn’t quite pull it off, but she’s still pretty darn good. ** The chasm between the haves and the have-nots in the 3-year-old filly division was obvious in Friday’s Fantasy Stakes, also at Oaklawn. Sassy Sienna, who had eight career starts going into the Fantasy, meaning she had shown pretty much all of her cards and was still 11-1, won a photo from Wonder Gadot, who seems to have developed a costly hanging habit. The winning Beyer was a modest 82. Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou slept soundly Friday night. ** With his victory in Friday’s Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland, Heart to Heart is now closing in on $2 million in earnings. Obviously, Heart to Heart is doing something right, and the fact that he remains effective at a high level at age 7 demands no small degree of admiration. But man, Heart to Heart must have been a saint in a prior life because he has been granted more easy, uncontested early leads through soft fractions throughout his career than any 10 horses could possibly hope for. He has now won two straight Grade 1 races – the Gulfstream Park Turf and the Maker’s 46 – largely because he has been gifted easy early leads. One might think opposing jockeys would finally catch on and realize an approach that leaves Heart to Heart alone early doesn’t work. Guess not.