Zandon to train at Keeneland ahead of Kentucky Derby

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Everything is good with Zandon in the aftermath of the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, where the Upstart colt stamped himself as one of the major players for the May 7 Kentucky Derby with his breakthrough victory Saturday.

Baldo Hernandez, the local assistant to trainer Chad Brown, reported Sunday morning that Zandon “ate up everything” after the Blue Grass and was in good stead.

Minutes after the Blue Grass, which he watched at Aqueduct, Brown expressed his elation with how Zandon, ridden by Flavien Prat, had weaved his way through traffic to win the $1 million Blue Grass by 2 1/2 lengths over favored Smile Happy. Zandon, owned by Jeff Drown, has raced just four times, with a troubled third-place finish behind Epicenter in the Risen Star on Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds being his only prior start at 3.

“He took some dirt and was able to push through, and Flavien made all the right moves and never lost his cool,” Brown said. “The horse really ran to his training. He’d been training like something special, I’ll tell you that.”

“I think he got a lot of experience from the race at the Fair Grounds,” he added. “I can’t help but think it served him well” in the Blue Grass.

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Brown said Zandon will train at Keeneland “for at least two weeks” before moving over to Churchill Downs in Louisville for the Derby. Zandon will be the sixth Derby starter for Brown, a four-time (2016-19) Eclipse Award-winning trainer.

“In the past, we had horses run good in the Derby doing that,” said Brown, alluding primarily to Good Magic, runner-up behind Justify in the 2018 Derby off a win in the Blue Grass. “Even with Practical Joke [in 2017], he didn’t want to run that far [1 1/4 miles], but even from the 19-hole, he got a great trip and was a good fifth.”

Even after the Derby, Brown will have a presence on the Kentucky circuit, where purses are at an all-time high, by maintaining a satellite string at Churchill.

– additional reporting by David Grening