Shared Sense pulls away in stretch to claim Indiana Derby

Shared Sense wanted the Indiana Derby prize all to himself.

Bulling his way to the outside at the quarter pole, Shared Sense got up a full head of steam into the homestretch and drew clear to win the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby by three lengths.

Major Fed finished a tough-luck second and a claim of foul lodged by his jockey, James Graham, against Florent Geroux on Shared Sense for interference at the quarter pole was disallowed. Shared Sense bumped Major Fed as the eventual winner angled to his right, briefly pushing Major Fed off stride.

Geroux and trainer Brad Cox swept the two graded stakes on the card, winning the Indiana Oaks with Shedaresthedevil.

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Cox trains Shared Sense for Godolphin and coaxed a graded stakes win from the colt, by Street Sense out of Collective, by Bernardini, in his eighth start. Shared Sense was placed first via a medication disqualification in his maiden win and won an allowance race by a nose in February at Oaklawn Park. Most recently, he finished a distant second to Art Collector, who got a 100 Beyer Speed Figure winning a Churchill Downs allowance.

“That race didn’t set up for him at all, and he ran a big race,” Cox said. “He’s just a horse I think will get better with distance and racing.”

Major Fed finished second by a half-length over Necker Island, with Earner another two lengths back in fourth. Kentucky Derby qualifying points were awarded 20-8-4-2 to the top four finishers, and Shared Sense, who’s not a Triple Crown nominee, got his first points. This was Shared Sense’s first try at a distance beyond 1 1/16 miles, and all his best races have come on dry dirt surfaces. Shared Sense clocked 1:49.37 for 1 1/8 miles on a fast track off splits of 23.93 seconds, 47.69, and 1:12.27. He paid $7.60 as the mild favorite.

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Shared Sense lacks early speed, and Cox said before the race that his horse would need “a setup,” but Geroux, saving ground the entire first turn and half of the second, was able to position Shared Sense surprisingly close to the pace, tucking in just behind the lead pack before he made his move.

“I was about to get the split right turning for home,” Geroux said. “Maybe I had contact with Major Fed. But, honestly, I don’t think it made a difference. If I beat him a head, maybe we can make a case for it. But when my horse ran going away like this, it was pretty clear there was not too much going on there.”

Major Fed continued his run of tough trips Wednesday, the trouble beginning when he broke a half-step slow, immediately getting sandwiched between rivals and pushed to the back of the field. He rallied very wide around the far turn and lost some momentum when Shared Sense came out into him.

Necker Island turned in a solid performance racing fresh off a $100,000 claim. Earner took plenty of betting action in his stakes debut, cornered poorly into the first turn, attended the pace, and flattened out while pushed down toward the inside in the homestretch.

Cox said plans would be plotted with Godolphin’s team but did mention the Travers Stakes as one possible spot for Shared Sense this summer.