First Derby for Jockeys Soumillon and Geroux

An internationally acclaimed champion jockey and a French-born, U.S.-based rider with championship aspirations will be making their first starts May 2 in America's preeminent classic.



Six-time French champion Christophe Soumillon will have his inagural ride in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) on Mubtaahij, the runaway winner of the United Arab Emirates Derby Sponsored by Saeed & Mohammed Al Nabbodah Group (UAE-II). The Irish-bred son of Dubawi was bred by Dunmore Stud and bought at the Arqana Deauville yearling sale for €450,000 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum. Mubtaahij is conditioned by top international trainer Mike de Kock.



Also making his maiden voyage in the Derby is Florent Geroux, who began riding in his native France when he was 17. Geroux will be aboard longshot Louisiana Derby (gr. II) runner-up Stanford, who was bred by WinStar Farm and is owned in partnership by Stonestreet Stables, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith. Geroux rode the son of Malibu Moon   in the Louisiana Derby.



The final decision on whether Stanford would start in the Derby wasn't made until the day of the post position draw, but Geroux said he had already been preparing for the race by studying the replays of previous Derbys.



"(Stanford) is not a favorite but he runs hard," he said. "It would not be the first time a longshot won this race, you know? This year there are a lot of good horses but a lot of things can happen. The jockeys can make mistakes."



Pletcher bought Stanford for $550,000 at the 2014 Barretts March 2-year-olds in training sale. The colt broke his maiden at first asking at Monmouth Park. Pletcher thought enough of Stanford to enter him in the Saratoga Special (gr. II) for his second start, but a bobble at the break hurt his chances at a decent finish. Stanford began his 3-year-old campaign with a win in a $75,000 allowance/optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park. He then finished second to Materiality, eventual winner of the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I), in the Islamorada Handicap but got disqualified for veering out at the three-quarter pole and placed sixth. In the Louisiana Derby, Stanford set the pace and nearly won the 1 1/8-mile test at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots gate-to-wire. International Star passed him a furlong before the finish line to win by a neck.



While Stanford has performed his best on the front end, Geroux said he believes Stanford has enough versatility to handle whatever the Derby throws at him.



"He has been on the lead the last two times, but he doesn't need the lead," the jockey said. "I think I can put him pretty much anywhere I want to. I can be good off the pace."



Geroux said he is excited about competing in the Kentucky Derby with Soumillon, who he rode against often while in France and considers him the most talented rider he's ever seen.



"This is a very good chance for him to come to Kentucky Derby; I'm sure it is on his bucket list," Geroux said. "There are not many jockeys from Europe who get in this race, let alone win it. With the points, it is only the one race (the U.A.E. Derby). I think it really paid off to keep that race as a qualifier because now he is the mystery horse. Either (Mubtaahij) has a good chance or no chance. We won't know which until Saturday."

Soumillon is quite accustomed to competing on racing's biggest stages. The 33-year-old native of Belgium has won more than 50 grade/group I races at least once worldwide in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. His career highlights include winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) twice with Dalakhani (2003) and Zarkava (2008); the QIPCO Champion Stakes (Eng-I) with Cirrus des Aigles (2011); the Coronation Cup (Eng-I) twice with Shirocco (2006) and Cirrus de Aigles (2014); the John Deere Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) with Shirocco (2005); the Pattison Canadian International Stakes (Can-I) with Sarah Lynx (2011); the the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile (HK-I) three times with Good Ba Ba (2007-2009); U.A.E. Derby twice with Mubtaahij and Musir (2010); and the Japan Cup (Jpn-I) with Epiphaneia (2014).



In the days before the race, the French champion declined to talk about what he'll do to prepare for the Kentucky Derby.



"This is what he does," said Shippy Ellis, Soumillon's British agent. "He just wants to let his riding do the talking."



"The Kentucky Derby is a race that has always been watched by everyone in Europe, so there is a familiarity already," Ellis said. "Christophe will watch videos to observe how the race has previously been run; he will look at how a high post or a low post affects the race. But what he will do to prepare are things a top-class jockey does anyway as a matter of habit."



As for making his first Derby start, Geroux said he will be focused solely on what he and his mount need to do to win—the approach he's taken with every race he's ridden since launching his U.S. career in 2007. He started out in California with native French trainer Patrick Biancone, who had encouraged him to bring his tack to America. His star has been steadily rising since then.

In 2008 Geroux had an 8% win rate and $350,638 in earnings. The next year he cracked the $1 million mark in earnings and by 2011 he had a 15% win rate and nearly $3.3 million in earnings. Geroux's breakout year came in 2014 when his won first Breeders' Cup World Championship race and first grade I with Work All Week in the Xpressbet Breeders' Cup Sprint. He won a total of 12 stakes last year, including six graded stakes, and won more than $5.8 million in earnings.



Besides the Derby mount, Geroux will be making his first start in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) aboard top contender I'm a Chatterbox. Fletcher and Carolyn Gray's homebred daughter of Munnings   is coming into the Oaks off a three-racing winning streak—an eight-length romp in the Silverbulletday Stakes, the Rachel Alexander Stakes (gr. III), and the Fair Ground Oaks (gr. II).



But a good showing in the Kentucky Derby can be a game-changer for a jockey's career.



"We are working hard on every horse every time to get the opportunity to be in this kind of race," said the 28-year-old jockey. "The Derby is the most important because it is the race in North America, but it is still just a race. You just ride your horse and don't worry about anyone else. You need to relax."