Necker Island goes from claim box to Kentucky Derby

Wayne Scherr had tried to reach the Kentucky Derby via traditional ownership routes, buying young horses at yearling and 2-year-old auctions. But when the search for his Derby horse proved fruitless, he proposed a different avenue to trainer Chris Hartman.

“A couple years ago, he decided, why don’t we claim a horse?” Hartman recalled. “I said, ‘Wayne, they don’t run Derby horses for a tag. It just doesn’t happen. You don’t claim Derby horses. But I’ll be more than glad to look.’”

As it turns out, they do run Derby horses for a tag. Necker Island, a $100,000 claim in June for Hartman and the ownership team of Scherr, Raymond Daniels, and Greg Harbut, finished third in both the Grade 3 Indiana Derby and Ellis Park Derby. He is now seeking to become the fourth horse since 1999 to cross the finish line first in the Derby after running for a tag earlier in his career.

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Charismatic won a maiden-claiming race, running for a $62,500 tag, in November 1998 at Hollywood Park. He could have been had for the same price the following February, when he was promoted to first in a claiming race at Santa Anita. He went on to win the 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before finishing third in his Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes while being injured during the race. Nearly a decade later, Mine That Bird won his maiden for a $62,000 tag at Woodbine in his second start. He went on to win three stakes that season to be named Canada’s champion 2-year-old before springing his $103.20 upset in the 2009 Kentucky Derby.

Maximum Security famously won his debut for a $16,000 tag in December 2018. He rose through the ranks to cross the finish line first in last year’s Derby, but was disqualified to 17th for interference.

Necker Island, who was originally trained by Stanley Hough for Sagamore Farm, was the only starter running for the $100,000 tag in a four-horse allowance-optional claiming field on June 13 at Churchill Downs. The race turned out to be a salty one. The victor was subsequent Blue Grass and Runhappy Ellis Derby winner Art Collector, expected to be the second choice in the Kentucky Derby. Finishing second was subsequent Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense, while third-place Finnick the Fierce also is a Derby candidate.

“It was a two-race deal then to see if he was going to be able to get the points to get into the Derby,” Hartman said. “And as it works out, it appears that maybe you’re going to have a horse that’s going to start with no points. But we didn’t know that at the time. He actually ran a really good race in the Indiana Derby. He stumbled out of the gate and had a lot of trouble.”