$1.3M Colt Unleashes Strong Debut for Mage Connections

This column highlights the performances of maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Saratoga Race Course

Mage  's victory in the 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) opened a window of opportunities for Ramiro Restrepo and Gustavo Delgado Jr. The two horsemen made the most of their newfound success Aug. 3 when their $1.3 million acquisition Ferocious  delivered an eye-catching debut win at Saratoga Race Course.

Restrepo and Delgado Jr. had selected Mage out of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale and raced him in partnership through a memorable campaign that saw the son of Good Magic   capture the Derby and earn grade 1 placings in the Florida Derby (G1), Preakness Stakes (G1), and Haskell Stakes (G1) before retiring to Airdrie Stud in Kentucky.

Dreams of Derby roses resurfaced following Ferocious' scintillating 7 3/4-length romp over a distance Delgado claimed was too short for the colt after the race. Ferocious had broken a step tardily but wouldn't miss another beat as he skipped over the slick, sealed track. Tracking the pace under Javier Castellano, the rider of Mage tipped the colt into the clear turning for home and the pair whisked past the front-runner.

Ferocious, whose powerful and deliberate strides produced a :09 4/5 eighth-mile clocking at the OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training under tack show, charged to the wire in 1:09.65 for the six furlongs. His herculean first-time effort resulted in the highest Equibase Speed Figure for any 2-year-old this year—a 102.  

"What Javier told me after the race was all positive feedback," Delgado Jr., assistant trainer to his father, Jorge Delgado Sr., told Carlos Morales of Agentes 305 in the Saratoga winner's circle. "Maybe the distance was not ideal for him, and with more distance he will be even better because he will have time to relax."

The Sept. 2 $300,000 Hopeful Stakes (G1), contested over seven panels at Saratoga, could be an imminent target.

Ferocious hails from the penultimate crop of the late Claiborne stallion Flatter and topped off a fantastic Saturday afternoon for the sire, who was also responsible for Lure Stakes winner Film Star . The second highest- priced horse to come from the ring at OBS March, Ferocious descends from the prominent Juddmonte family of such stakes horses as Obligatory, Etoile Montante, and Country Grammer  .

Video: Saratoga, Race 6, MSW