Jerkens Family Chases Elusive Derby Win

Wicked Strong carries the Derby hopes of the Jerkens family. (Photo by Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
By Tom Pedulla, America's Best Racing
No one has a deeper understanding of how difficult it is to win the Kentucky Derby than the Jerkens family.
Allen, the 85-year-old patriarch, did not come close with any of the three starters he trained. His best finish occurred when Sensitive Prince ran sixth in 1978. One son, Steven, watched in dismay when Pax In Bello could do no better than seventh in 1983.
Another son, Jimmy, has high hopes for Wicked Strong in the 140th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, but will hold his breath for many reasons until the colt actually breaks cleanly from the starting gate and is underway. He knows firsthand how quickly everything can unravel on the Road to the Derby.
He thought he was in a commanding position five years ago after Quality Road swept the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Florida Derby. On paper, he loomed as a top contender. But the trainer had been battling foot problems all along. When the swift 3-year-old was unable to make his final workout, there was no choice but to withdraw him from consideration five days before the once-in-a-lifetime race for Quality Road.
QUALITY ROAD DID NOT MAKE THE DERBY STARTING GATE

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Jerkens, 55, still laments the one that got away. “His talent was far beyond anything of any horse I’ve ever had by a long shot,” he said of Quality Road. “I mean he could do things that just make the hair on the back of your neck stand up as easy as he could do them. He could put some workouts in the morning that were just incredible.”
Jerkens added: “To know that you had a horse that was that much better talent-wise and not be able to get him over there was incredibly frustrating.”
He can only hope Wicked Strong is the right horse at the right time. The son of hard-knocking Hard Spun is a closer who should benefit from a strong pace in the Derby. He sure looked the part when he stormed home first by 3 1/2 lengths in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in his last Derby prep. He has won two of six starts with one second-place finish and one third for earnings of $704,610.
Jerkens worries about the mental readiness of Wicked Strong more than anything from a physical standpoint. He compares the colt to “having a teenager at home.”
Jerkens continued, “Sometimes you’ve got to exchange. I’ll let him have his way some days and then he turns around and gives you a little slack. You know, that’s the way he is. He’s a tough little guy.”
Wicked Strong acted up so badly in the starting gate for the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park early this year that he suffered a long gash beneath his tail. He was in no mood to run after that and it showed as he trailed throughout.
HALL OF FAME TRAINER ALLEN JERKENS AT SARATOGA
Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Jerkens constantly draws on the invaluable lessons he learned from his Hall of Fame father, who is held in such high esteem that the training title for the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course is named after him. He is schooling Wicked Strong in the paddock, doing everything he can to make him comfortable at Churchill Downs.
He also knows there is only so much he can do to prepare Wicked Strong for the frenzied atmosphere of Derby Day and the roar of the crowd that inevitably precedes the most exciting two minutes in sports.
“There is no way of really knowing how it is going to work out. You hope and pray he handles it,” Jerkens said. “There isn’t a whole lot of preparation you can do for that. You can’t duplicate that kind of noise.”
After decades of frustration and disappointment, the Jerkens family can only hope its time has come.