Kentucky Derby hopes still alive for dark-horse candidates Oviatt Class, Forever Kingdom

ARCADIA, Calif. – Derby sleepers are re-emerging. A closing third by Oviatt Class in the Sham Stakes and a runner-up finish in the Bob Hope and subsequent layoff by Forever Kingdom have not dampened expectations for the Santa Anita-based graded stakes-placed colts.

Keith Desormeaux trains late-running Grade 1-placed Oviatt Class, third in the slow-paced Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Jan. 1.

“How do you go 48 and 4 at that level?” Desormeaux said, referring to the half-mile time of wire-to-wire winner Newgrange. “For us to close on them was pretty cool.”

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Desormeaux will stay home with Oviatt Class, for now.

“I’d like to give him another opportunity to show his ability without having to ship,” Desormeaux said. “But if we keep running third, I’ve got to go somewhere.”

Oviatt Class previously finished third in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes and fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Richard Mandella trains Forever Kingdom, a 1-for-3 American Pharoah colt who has not raced since finishing second in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes on Nov. 14 at Del Mar.

“He stumbled leaving the gate, ripped a quarter off, then ran off mad about it,” Mandella said.

Monday morning, he stamped his pending return with a sharp five-furlong work in 59.40 seconds. Mandella was happy with the work and said Forever Kingdom will run next in the seven-furlong Grade 2 San Vicente here Jan. 29.