Brown Wants Highly Motivated Off Pace in KY Derby

Highly Motivated  nearly upset Essential Quality  in the April 3 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland by going to the lead and trying to outlast him, but trainer Chad Brown doesn't expect—or want—his colt to employ similar upset tactics in the May 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

Speaking with reporters on the Churchill Downs backstretch April 20, two days after Highly Motivated tuned up for the race with a bullet half-mile workout in :47 1/5 at Keeneland, Brown indicated he wishes to see his Derby starter off the pace in the 1 1/4-mile classic. The Blue Grass, Highly Motivated's only race around two turns, was the first time the 3-year-old led early in a race, tactics that were partially the result of the Blue Grass being relatively short of frontrunners.

"I do think he's more effective with a target," Brown said. "What I'm hoping for is more pace in the Derby, where he can be close but following somebody. I think if that happens, you're going to see this horse get the mile and a quarter without any problems."

Told of trainer Brad Cox's announcement earlier Tuesday that Caddo River , the pacesetting runner-up in the Arkansas Derby (G1), would run in the Derby and not bypass it, Brown added that he welcomed the addition of pace.

"I am in favor of more speed in the race, even though again, we were on the lead last time. It's not our preferred way to run. I do know that about the horse," the trainer said. "You know, I've been here before, and obviously with the Derby, a lot of luck has to go your way, as well. The post position draw—that's maybe the most dreaded part of the week for everybody. And then, getting out of the gate clean. There's always a weather factor. There's so many things."

Highly Motivated, a homebred Into Mischief   colt for Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, will provide Brown with his sixth Kentucky Derby starter. Riding the colt is Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, seeking his first Derby win in his 15th attempt.

Brown's best Derby finish came in 2018 when champion Good Magic   ran second to eventual Triple Crown winner Justify  . His next closest finish was a fourth from Normandy Invasion  in 2013. That 3-year-old, Brown's first Derby starter, took command at the head of the stretch and held the lead until the eighth pole before tiring to fourth behind Orb  .

"So just getting to the quarter pole cleanly with a chance to win is really what you're looking for. So many things have to go right," he said.

Brown, whose lone Triple Crown victory came in the Preakness Stakes in 2017 with Cloud Computing  , a colt owned by Klaravich Stables with William Lawrence, admits to being selective with the 3-year-olds he brings to the Derby. With slower-to-develop types, including those that might not handle the rigors of a 20-horse Derby, he has opted to instead wait for other races such as the Preakness.

He will do that again this year with Klaravich Stables' Crowded Trade , third in the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino (G2), sitting out the Derby in favor of the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

Brown has started just one horse for Klarman in the Derby, that being Practical Joke  , who finished fifth for Klaravich Stables and Lawrence in 2017.

Klaravich Stables' Read the Footnotes  was Klarman's first Derby starter, finishing seventh in 2004. The late Rick Violette trained him.

Highly Motivated, who set a track record at Keeneland last fall when he zipped 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:14.99 in winning the Nyquist Stakes Nov. 6, ranks among the fastest "handful" of Derby horses on the speed figures Brown uses to measure performances, the trainer indicated.

The bay is not the only horse he is excited about to race at Churchill next week. The four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer has a contender in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) with Klaravich Stable's Search Results , a Flatter   3-year-old filly unbeaten in three starts who won the Gazelle Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack April 3.

Her time for 1 1/8 miles over a tiring surface was 1:54.14—faster than the time posted by Bourbonic  in winning the Wood Memorial in 1:54.49 also on the April 3 card.

Brown previously was third in the 2016 Oaks with Alpha Delta Stables' Lewis Bay , who also took the Gazelle in her final Oaks prep.

"Any one of about a half a dozen horses in there I could see winning that race with a clean trip, but I think she's one of them," Brown said of Search Results. "It's exciting to come to the Oaks with an undefeated horse."

As coveted a prize as the Oaks is, it is not the Derby, a race watched by more than 16 million viewers on NBC when it was last run on the first Saturday in May in 2019.

"No matter where you're from or where you're based, you want to aim for the Kentucky Derby," Brown said. "It's something that—if you're lucky enough to win it—it's something that everybody understands whether they're a horse racing fan or not."