Six years after the 2015 Kentucky Derby victory that kicked off his Triple Crown sweep, an already huge month of May for American Pharoah could get even more significant.

Thoroughbreds are often evaluated on paper – on how those black-and-white squares of past performances and Beyer Speed Figures and statistics line up against their foes. But intangible things also can elevate a horse. And if that quality known as heart – the will to win when the chips are down – can be found in a scrutiny of bloodlines, then Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has come by his honestly.

Malathaat avenged the 2013 Kentucky Oaks loss of her dam, Dreaming of Julia, with a victory in the filly classic on Friday at Churchill Downs. She and her dam were both brought to the Oaks by trainer Todd Pletcher, who achieved an exacta of sorts in this year’s edition. He also trained Co Cola, dam of Search Results, a hard-fought second to Malathaat on Friday.

The late Hall of Famer A.P. Indy left a lasting legacy as a sire of sires and as a leading broodmare sire. A.P. Indy and three of his sons accounted for seven graded stakes victories as broodmare sires on the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks cards last week at Churchill Downs.

Almost a quarter-century ago, Bob Baffert began his run into the Kentucky Derby record book with a modestly priced Florida-bred. The Hall of Fame trainer recorded his record seventh Derby victory with another one.

Medina Spirit, a $1,000 yearling who was later purchased for $35,000 on behalf of Amr Zedan as a juvenile, became the seventh Florida-bred to win the Kentucky Derby. Baffert’s seventh Derby win allowed him to break a tie for most wins in the race with the legendary Ben Jones.

Catch the Moon has already established herself as a star broodmare. A win by her son Midnight Bourbon in the Kentucky Derby would put her in the stratosphere.

Catch the Moon, an unraced Malibu Moon mare, has produced four graded stakes winners, all by different stallions, from four starters. Midnight Bourbon will be the second Derby starter for the 12-year-old mare at a relatively young age. Her first representative was Girvin, 13th in 2017.

Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables will send out homebred colorbearers Clairiere and Pauline's Pearl, both by proven classic sires and out of Grade 1-winning mares, in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs.

" 'Royally bred' is not a good enough adjective," said Steve Asmussen, who trains both fillies.

In fact, the only other filly in the Oaks who might be able to contest those girls in gold is a filly raised alongside them. Shadwell Stables' Malathaat, who was bred and sold by Stonestreet, is also out of one of the farm’s Grade 1-winning broodmares.

The band is getting back together.

A five-furlong maiden special weight on Thursday at Churchill Downs has drawn the first entrant from sire Gun Runner, who was 2017 Horse of the Year. Gunite is a homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds, which co-campaigned his sire with Three Chimneys Farm, where the stallion now stands. The colt is trained by Steve Asmussen and will be ridden by Florent Geroux, also the same connections as his sire.

The veteran sire Flatter often flies under the radar – but he may not be able to on the biggest weekend of the year at Churchill Downs.

The Claiborne Farm homebred and resident stallion will be represented by two starters in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks, with unbeaten Search Results and Pass the Champagne in the filly classic. And, although Panadol was declared out of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby when suitable international transportation could not be arranged, Flatter will still be represented, as he is the broodmare sire of King Fury.