Ramon Vazquez has ridden Practical Move in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs many times in his mind. “I can be in the middle of the pack,” he said over the weekend, envisioning the first run through the stretch. “I want to be out of trouble.” On the backstretch, Practical Move will ideally be in a stalking position. “I would like to be three or four lengths behind the speed and start moving up,” Vazquez said. “By the stretch, I hope to be on the lead. My dream is I win the race.” If it was only that simple. But with a little luck, Practical Move could get that kind of journey through the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles. Vazquez has ridden Practical Move in his last three starts, wins in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December, the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes in March, and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 8. Each time, Practical Move won in the stalking manner that Vazquez yearns to achieve Saturday. Practical Move won the Los Alamitos Futurity and San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles comfortably, but was fully extended to win the Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles by a nose over the Japanese import Mandarin Hero. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more “He’s getting better and better in each race,” Vazquez said. “He’s showed he’s a good horse. Every race, he’s getting smarter.” What works in California will be more difficult at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Derby will have a complex field of as many as 20 runners, led by Forte, the champion 2-year-old male of 2022 who won the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park; Tapit Trice, who won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland; and Derma Sotogake, the Japanese-based runner who won the United Arab Emirates Derby in Dubai. Practical Move belongs in the conversation, Vazquez insists. “I think he can win,” Vazquez said. “He’s an amazing horse. I’ll be excited to be there.” Vazquez has ridden in the Kentucky Derby once, finishing 13th on Mr. Z in 2015, the only time he has ridden on the Kentucky Derby program. Mr. Z was 36-1. Practical Move figures to be about 8-1. Practical Move is the sort of horse that drew the 37-year-old Vazquez to Southern California in April 2022 from Oaklawn Park, where he was among the leading riders. A native of Puerto Rico, Vazquez won five riding titles at the Remington Park summer-fall Thoroughbred meeting from 2013-17, and was the leading rider at the Lone Star Park spring-summer Thoroughbred meeting in 2020. It did not take long for Vazquez to make his presence felt on the West Coast. Vazquez won three riding titles at the brief meetings at Los Alamitos in 2022 and was third at Del Mar in the track’s summer and fall meetings last year. Vazquez finished fourth in the winter-spring portion of the Santa Anita meeting, which ended April 9. At the current spring portion of the season, Vazquez ranked second through Sunday with seven wins, trailing leader Juan Hernandez by three victories. Vazquez had a four-win day on Saturday and single wins on the Friday and Sunday programs. With world-class jockeys such as Frankie Dettori, Flavien Prat, and John Velazquez having recently left Santa Anita to ride elsewhere, Vazquez has a chance to challenge Hernandez through the end of the meeting on June 18. The success has caught the attention of a widespread group of trainers. Of his 25 winners from Dec. 26 through April 9, Vazquez won for 12 trainers, including five races for Phil D’Amato, and three for Ryan Hanson, Peter Miller, and Jonathan Wong. Last December, trainer Tim Yakteen and co-owners owners Pierre and Leslie Amestoy selected Vazquez to ride Practical Move, replacing Drayden Van Dyke, who was aboard the colt for his first four starts. “Pierre and Leslie and I chatted about it,” Yakteen said over the weekend. “They liked the way he was riding and that’s how it all ended up. “We’ve only had two riders on the horse. The horse has run well for both riders. Ramon has the horse running very well in his hands. They seem to team up very well.” :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. On Friday, Vazquez rides And Tell Me Nolies in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks for Miller. Vazquez has been aboard And Tell Me Nolies for all seven of her starts, including two graded stakes wins last year and a well-beaten second in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 8. “I think he’s an underrated jockey,” Miller said. “He rides a smart race. I think he’s rock solid.” Vazquez’s success in the last year has been the groundwork for this weekend, riding the nation’s most famous race. The magnitude of the occasion is not lost on Vazquez. “I’m so happy and so grateful to the owners and trainers that support me,” Vazquez said. “I have the chance to ride amazing horses. Not all jockeys get the chance to ride a horse like Practical Move.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.