King Fury targeting Ohio Derby following lingering illness

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – King Fury, the only scratch from an original field of 20 in the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, is gearing up for a run in the June 26 Ohio Derby at Thistledown. The Curlin colt recently resumed a regular breeze pattern at Churchill Downs after missing a little more time than trainer Kenny McPeek would have hoped with a lingering respiratory illness.

“Even after his work this past weekend, he was still clearing it out,” McPeek said this week. “He clogged up pretty bad. He had a sustained fever for a few days after it first came up and he had kind of a lingering cough for nearly three weeks.

King Fury went a half-mile in 47.60 seconds last Saturday, May 22, and was scheduled for a second breeze this weekend.

“He seems to be on the other side of this illness,” said McPeek. “Horses tend to need three or four weeks to get over something like that. The best news is his work back was superb. It was great to see.”

King Fury, owned by Fern Circle Stables and Three Chimneys Farm, is the most expensive horse McPeek has bought at auction in a training career dating to 1985. Produced by the Grade 1-winning mare Taris, the colt brought $950,000 at the Fasig-Tipton summer yearling sales at Saratoga in August 2019.

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Before being scratched off the program as No. 16, King Fury had become a sort of wise-guy horse for the May 1 Kentucky Derby following an eye-catching 2 3/4-length jaunt under Brian Hernandez Jr. in the April 10 Stonestreet Lexington at Keeneland. He earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure in what is still his only race this year.

Even assuming King Fury progresses to satisfaction in his daily training and is able to return in the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby, he will need a new rider. The 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby coincides with the seven-stakes card led by the Stephen Foster on closing day of the Churchill spring meet, and many local jockeys, including Hernandez, are already committed to riding here. Moreover, coronavirus-related quarantine restrictions have been in effect at Thistledown in suburban Cleveland to make traveling there impractical for most out-of-town riders, although it remains to be seen whether such protocols will be eased in the intervening weeks as the pandemic wanes.

Other notable Churchill-based 3-year-olds being pointed to the Ohio Derby are Keepmeinmind and Masqueparade. Also, horses entered here Saturday in the Matt Winn could conceivably run back in four weeks, including morning-line favorite O Besos.

◗ With the Belmont Stakes and its deep undercard being a primary focus of horseplayers here and elsewhere next Saturday, the highlight at Churchill next weekend is the Mighty Beau, a $110,000 overnight stakes for older turf sprinters on Saturday. The next graded stakes is the Grade 3 Mint Julep on June 12.