Chiropractor Closes for Hollywood Derby Upset

Jumping into stakes competition for the first time Nov. 28 at Del Mar, Chiropractor now boasts the label of grade I winner after a rallying score in the $300,000 Hollywood Derby (gr. IT).

Exiting a second-place finish in allowance company at Del Mar, the 3-year-old Kitten's Joy   gelding closed from 10th—as many as 11 1/2 lengths back—to finish the 1 1/8-mile test a head in front of graded winner March in 1:48.87 under jockey Corey Nakatani.

Om, off at 4-5 and usually on the lead, was out of his comfort zone early as Acceptance shot to the lead to set fractions of :23.51, :47.41, and 1:12.23 through six furlongs as the favorite tracked in second. Om took command in the turn but could not hold off the closing top pair and finished third.

"It was a super effort by this horse today," said Om's jockey, Gary Stevens. "He threw a fit in the starting gate. We had all kinds of problems. He kicked the you-know-what out of it. He was good during the running though. He wasn't pulling. He ran his race and ran well. We just got beat."

Chiropractor gave owner Glen Hill Farm and trainer Tom Proctor a graded stakes turf double after Family Meeting won the Jimmy Durante Stakes (gr. IIIT) earlier in the card and delivered $30.80, $18, and $6 across the board. March brought $14.80 and $6.80, and Om paid $2.60 to show.

"What a great outfit to ride for," Nakatani said. "Tom always has them ready. I asked him if he wanted me to do anything special, but he said, 'No, just ride your race. Get him to settle and you'll be fine.' With these kind of races, the pace is the key and that worked well for us today. The colt was full of himself today and when it came time, he fired."

Fundamental made mild gains to finish fourth, followed by Offering Plan, Soul Driver, Closing Bell, Money Multiplier, Mister Brightside, Sharla Rae, Acceptance, Crittenden, Royal Albert Hall, and Win the Space, to complete the order of finish.

Bred in Florida by Glen Hill, out of the Theatrical mare Eversmile, Chiropractor now has a 3-2-0 record from seven starts, with earnings of $273,100.

Glen Hill Craig Bernick took to Twitter after the race to express his excitement and indicated Chiropractor has battled back from an injury in the past.

"So nice to win a (grade I) with Chiropractor," Bernick said on the social media platform. "Horses are so resilient if you give them time. He had a broken back (and) comes back to win a (grade I). Amazing."