Clement sends out Carson's Run, Deterministic in Jockey Club Derby

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It has been a busy and successful summer for both Carson’s Run and Deterministic and their trainer Christophe Clement hopes the same will be said about the autumn campaign for both 3-year-olds.

Saturday, at Aqueduct, Carson’s Run and Deterministic head a field of seven entered in the Grade 3, $500,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational, a race Clement hopes leads one or both to the Grade 1, $300,000 Hollywood Derby on Nov. 30 at Del Mar.

This summer, Carson’s Run has recorded victories in the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Monmouth and the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational before finishing second in the $3.1 million Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 31.

Deterministic was on the Triple Crown trail before poor finishes in the Wood Memorial and Peter Pan prompted Clement to move the son of Liam’s Map to the turf. After running second in the Manila Stakes and third behind Carson’s Run and Legend of Time in the Saratoga Derby, Deterministic broke through with a neck victory in the Grade 3 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs on Sept. 7.

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“He showed the best turn of foot that he’s shown on the grass the other day,” Clement said of Deterministic’s Virginia Derby effort. “They finished fast.”

Carson’s Run also finished fast when closing from next-to-last to be second to Bellum Justum in the Nashville Derby. Before that, Carson’s Run outfinished Legend of Time to win the Saratoga Derby, a race that gave jockey Dylan Davis his first U.S. Grade 1 stakes victory.

The Jockey Club Derby is run at 1 3/8 miles, a distance that is farther than either Clement-trained horse has run to date.

“Neither of these two horses have given me an indication they would not stay the mile and three-eighths,” Clement said.

Though Manny Franco gave Deterministic a terrific ride in the Virginia Derby, Joel Rosario, Deterministic’s regular ride, will be back aboard on Saturday.

Charles Appleby and Godolphin have won two of the first four runnings of the Jockey Club Derby – Yibir in 2021 and Nations Pride in 2022. Saturday, they’ll send out Legend of Time, a son of Danehill Dancer out of the dam Kissable, who won the Waya Stakes in 2012 when it was run at 1 1/2 miles in Saratoga.

Legend of Time won the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge here in May before running third behind Trikari in the Belmont Derby and second to Carson’s Run in the Saratoga Derby.

Dashman, trained by Brian Lynch, is 2 for 2 this year and makes his stakes debut in this spot. A son of Oscar Performance, Dashman has beaten older horses in both a maiden race at Ellis and a first-level allowance at Kentucky Downs, the latter at 1 5/16 miles.

“He seems like he’s doing really well, getting better with each race. Distance shouldn’t be an issue,” said Lynch, who has picked up Franco.

Yo Daddy was scratched from Thursday’s Gio Ponti Stakes at a mile for this race. Desvio, winner of the Kent Stakes and third in the Virginia Derby, and El Rezeen complete the field.

The Jockey Club Derby goes as race 5 and is the first of four graded stakes on Saturday’s 12-race card that begins at 12:05 p.m.

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