Dornoch may be the actual 3-year-old brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage. On paper, Just a Touch is Mage’s brother from another mother. When Mage won last year’s Kentucky Derby, he did so in just his fourth career start, joining Justify (2018) and Big Brown (2008) as the only horses to do that since the filly Regret in 1915. This year, Just a Touch, Catalytic, and Deterministic – in the unlikely event he starts – have made just three starts in front of Kentucky Derby 150. The Japanese-based horse T O Password will bring just two starts into the Kentucky Derby. Just a Touch’s path to the Derby is very similar to that of Mage. Both horses made their debuts on the last Saturday in January, Mage winning a seven-furlong maiden race by 3 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park, Just a Touch a six-furlong race by 4 1/4 lengths at Fair Grounds. Both horses earned an 89 Beyer Speed Figure for their debuts. Mage came back on the first Saturday in March and finished fourth, beaten 6 3/4 lengths by Forte, in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. Just a Touch came back on the first Saturday in March and finished second, beaten two lengths by Deterministic, in the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2024: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more In his third career start, Mage, after having made the lead at the eighth pole in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, finished second, one length behind Forte, who was winning the second consecutive stakes race of his 3-year-old season. Last Saturday, in his third career start, Just a Touch, after making the lead at the eighth pole in the Grade 1 Blue Grass, finished second, 1 1/2 lengths behind Sierra Leone, who was winning his second consecutive stakes of the year. In Kentucky Derby 149, Mage rallied from 15th in an 18-horse field to pull a 15-1 upset in the Derby. Just a Touch, who is more of a stalker, will get to write his next chapter May 4. Mage is by Good Magic. Just a Touch is by Justify. In 2018, Justify won the Kentucky Derby, Good Magic was second. That Just a Touch is light on experience doesn’t weigh heavily on the mind of his trainer, Brad Cox. “He’s handled everything we’ve asked of him in a short period of time very, very well,” Cox said. “He’s got a great mind, we’re trying to get him to peak on the first Saturday in May. I’m hopeful there’s another move forward in him and we’re going to need it, but without a doubt he’s a contender.” Cox felt Just a Touch may have gone too quick early in the Blue Grass, chasing the speedy Top Conor while unable to hold off that horse’s stablemate, Sierra Leone. “I thought he chased that horse a little bit, but he still was able to finish up well and gallop out fine,” Cox said. “I think he’s going to be a better horse for that race. My job as a trainer is to keep him happy, healthy, and hopefully we can get another big effort out of him in four weeks. “Would I love five, six, or seven weeks between races?” Cox added. “Yeah, I guess, but this is where the Derby is drawn up each and every year. We knew going in the Blue Grass was going to be a good race, and it was. Hopefully, we can march forward over the next four weeks.” Just a Touch is one of at least two, possibly three, horses Cox will run in the Derby. Catching Freedom, the Louisiana Derby winner, has made five starts, winning three. Saturday, Cox will run in Encino in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. A victory there, coupled with the likely defection of Deterministic, would put Encino in the Derby. Encino was scratched out of last week’s Blue Grass Stakes. The Lexington is Encino’s first start on dirt after making his first three starts on synthetic. “We’re a little bit of an unknown with him on the dirt,” Cox said. “We thought the Lexington, being a Grade 3, would give us a little bit better idea if he would handle the dirt than running in a Grade 1.” Also in the Lexington, a first- or second-place finish by Hades would move him into the Derby field. ◗ There has been no change in the Derby status of Endlessly, who remains possible for that race as well as the American Turf on the same card. Trainer Michael McCarthy reiterated that owner John Amerman “would like to keep all options open.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Endlessly has never run on dirt. He is 3 for 4 on turf, 2 for 2 on synthetic. ◗ Most jockey assignments have been firmed up for the Derby. The exceptions are Resilience, Honor Marie, Society Man, and Catalytic. Resilience won the Grade 2 Wood Memorial with John Velazquez, who is committed to ride Fierceness in the Derby. The trainers of Honor Marie, Society Man, and Catalytic said they have not firmed up jockeys yet but did not rule out using the ones who rode them in their last starts. Ben Curtis rode Honor Marie to a second-place finish in the Louisiana Derby. Luis Rivera Jr. rode Society Man to a runner-up finish in the Wood. Julien Leparoux rode Catalytic to a second in the Florida Derby. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.