Jockey Cohen playing long game with Keepmeinmind

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jockey David Cohen has taken an active part in the development of Keepmeinmind since the leading Kentucky Derby prospect was 2 and he sees real progression in the colt as he approaches his 3-year-old debut Sunday in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest at Oaklawn Park.

The Kentucky Derby points race has had its date moved a second time after a winter storm system forced its cancellation Monday. It was rescheduled for Saturday, but over the weekend a worsening forecast led officials to push the race to Sunday.

Keepmeinmind is best known for winning the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last November at Churchill Downs. But long before that race, Cohen was hands-on with the colt, said trainer Robertino Diodoro.

“He first worked the horse way back at Ellis, when the horse was still green and working three-eighths,” Diodoro said. “He drove two and a half hours to come out and work some of the 2-year-olds we had at Ellis. They were only on their three-eighths works.”

That was last June, and since that time Keepmeinmind has run second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity in October at Keeneland and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile over the same track in November. He went on to win his maiden in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, much like his sire, Laoban, won his maiden in Grade 2 company, in the Jim Dandy in 2016 at Saratoga.

Keepmeinmind was freshened at WinStar Farm in Kentucky this winter before resuming a regular work pattern at his current base of Oaklawn.

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“I’ve really seen him mature a lot from his time at WinStar,” Cohen said. “I think that time away from the track, a new experience at a beautiful facility, he came into Oakawn and really seemed to grow up mentally a lot. And it really seems that his mind is now catching up with his physical capabilities.

“He’s a big horse. He’s got a huge chest to him and his shoulder span is amazing. When you sit on top of him and look back, he’s got a nice, powerful engine behind him. He’s got a big neck. He’s very well proportioned.”

Keepmeindmind has turned in a strong series of local works, among them a bullet five-eighths in 59 seconds Feb. 2 at Oaklawn.

“He does these workouts – going 59 flat and finishing up in 22.60 [seconds] the last quarter mile – like you’re in a high two-minute clip” for a mile, Cohen said. “So he does it effortlessly and covers so much ground, and really, in every stride, has that intent of reaching further and further and does it without any encouragement.”

Keepmeinmind started his career with a runner-up finish in a maiden special weight at a mile Sept. 2 at Churchill Downs. One start later, he was second to eventual champion Essential Quality in the Breeders’ Futurity.

“I believe that first work after his first race, I told Robertino, God willing, this is our Derby horse,” Cohen said. “We had no reservations running him in a Grade 1 second time out. It’s not often you take that step with a horse. I’ve been fortunate to sit on top of some very nice horses in my career and it’s just that feeling, like when you’re watching a race when you see a nice one, it’s that same thing when you’re on top of them.”

Keepmeinmind would be the first Kentucky Derby mount for Cohen, a 36-year-old veteran rider who won the Oaklawn title in 2019. Cohen came to this market after riding regularly in New York.

“I’ve been close with quite a few of them,” Cohen said of potential mounts for the Derby. “They’ve either gotten hurt or were eliminated – were No. 21 or 22 on the list.”

Keepmeinmind would be a fitting Derby ride for Cohen given their summer days at Ellis.

“If you ask anybody that’s in the game and has the opportunity to be around some nice 2-year-olds, that’s probably one of the most fulfilling things, not only watching them develop into a racehorse, but watching them grow, like a child,” Cohen said. “To have a very small part in it – there’s so many hands involved – but to be a small part of their upbringing and for it all to come together come race time, is definitely very special.”