McPeek Cuts His Own Path With Talented 3-Year-Old Trio

Trainer Ken McPeek's willingness to think apart from the crowd, at sales and elsewhere, has him aiming at the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) with two potential starters and at the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) with one prime contender.

Signalman, a $32,000 General Quarters colt purchased from Legacy Bloodstock's consignment to Fasig-Tipton's The October Sale in 2017, makes his 3-year-old debut in the $400,000 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) March 2 at Gulfstream Park.

Harvey Wallbanger, a $50,000 find from the Warrendale Sales consignment to The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Select Yearling Sale, already provided McPeek with a major victory at Gulfstream's championship meet when he pulled a stunning upset at 29-1 in the Feb. 2 Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull Stakes (G2). The son of Congrats  is being aimed at Gulfstream's March 30 Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1).

Restless Rider, bought for $150,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, has already provided a rich return for Fern Circle Stables and Three Chimneys Farm. She boasts $780,160 in earnings after winning half of her six starts as a juvenile with three second-place finishes. Typical of McPeek's willingness to think outside the box, the Distorted Humor  filly will take an unconventional path to the Oaks by competing in just one prep race, the April 6 Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

McPeek, 56, is best known for selecting two-time Horse of the Year Curlin  as a $57,000 yearling. He compares Signalman to 1995 Kentucky Derby runner-up Tejano Run, a $20,000 diamond in the rough that he uncovered at the 1993 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Road to the Kentucky Derby points standings

"I'm fortunate enough that he fell through the cracks to some extent," McPeek said of Signalman. "He was a big, strong horse—modest pedigree—but on the physical side, he was a real standout."

It does not deter McPeek that General Quarters, Signalman's sire, has been relegated to Turkey.

"Where I think I probably spend a lot of time is trying to find the first really good horse out of a family," he said. "When you do that, you get value."

Signalman is already of tremendous value to his owners, Tommie Lewis, Steve Crabtree, Dean Demaree, David Bernsen, Jim Chambers, and Magdalena Racing, which includes McPeek's wife, Sherri. He hit the board in all five of his starts as a 2-year-old and closed his juvenile campaign with a victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs to spike his bankroll to $448,990.

For Lewis, 73, the robust return on investment pales in comparison to the excitement Signalman provides.

"When I wake up in the morning," she said, "he is the first thing I think about."

Lewis, from Spring, Texas, has gone through a number of trainers during her 35 years in the game. She is sold on McPeek.

"Ken has a tremendous eye for a nicely conformed horse," she said. "He can go over with you from the withers all the way back to the flanks, to the tail. It's pretty amazing, really."

She named her prized Derby prospect after her husband, Travis, 75. He is a Vietnam veteran who served as a signalman atop war vessels in the Navy.

Signalman, bred in Kentucky by Monticule out of the Trippi mare Trip South, is a 3-year-old with imposing size and a strong mental makeup.

"He's a bullish-type horse," Lewis said. "He doesn't back down. He's not afraid to split horses. He's not intimidated."

Regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. welcomes the colt's handiness. In the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), for instance, he took back after breaking from post 13, but they still launched a determined rally to outrun odds of 67-1 and finish third, 3 1/4 lengths behind undefeated Game Winner.

"He's really willing to do anything you ask him to do," Hernandez said.

Signalman worked five furlongs in company with Harvey Wallbanger last Saturday at Gulfstream, both clocked in 1:01.75. Signalman already has 18 qualifying points for the Derby, so McPeek is not treating the Fountain of Youth as a must-win situation. Signalman will break from post 6 in a field of 11; he is listed at morning-line odds of 9-2.

"We haven't hammered on him to get him ready for this race," the trainer said. "He needs to run a good race in this upcoming start, and then we'll pick the next prep after that. It's not the end of the world if he gets beaten this weekend. What's important is that he peaks in May."

McPeek is eying the April 6 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland as the likely next stop for Signalman.

Harvey Wallbanger, bred in Kentucky by Tony Holmes and Dr. and Mrs. Walter Zent, is out of the Distorted Humor mare Adorabell. He has been more of a project than Signalman for owners Harold Lerner, AWC Stables, Nehoc Stables, Scott Akman, and Paul Braverman.

"He's going to have to show another level in the next couple of races," McPeek said. "I think a little more time for him to grow up and fill out a little bit will be helpful."

According to McPeek, Restless Rider "may be the fastest 3-year-old of all of them." He is being extremely deliberate in his handling of the filly out of the Unbridled's Song mare Silky Serenade. She worked four furlongs March 1 in :49.25 at Gulfstream, her third recorded work at the track this year. In a pair of three-furlong works, she went :39.47 Feb. 16 and then picked it up to :36.44 Feb. 22. McPeek said he could have started her back earlier but knew he would pass on Saturday's Davona Dale Stakes (G2).

"I don't like running a one-turn mile and then going back to two turns," he said. "I think sometimes it's confusing for a young horse."

Restless Rider, second in the Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), is well-positioned with 22 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. McPeek noted the filly was "borderline tired" by the final start of her six-race juvenile campaign. He is convinced she will benefit from his one-prep approach to the Oaks.

"She will run better fresh," he said of the latest chapter that demonstrates his unwillingness to go by the book.