Ron Ellis
Ellis, a Southern California native, was introduced to racing when he was 16, when he went to the races with his father and some friends who owned horses. He turned down a scholarship in automotive engineering and began his career in racing as a barn foreman at Mira Loma Farms, a position he held for over six years. He trained California-bred Love That Red to five stakes wins in 1999 and has trained the stakes winners Twice The Vice, Benchmark, Exotic Wood, Pharma, Pirate's Revenge, and Declan's Moon. The latter was last year's 2-year-old Eclipse Award Champion and early favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby before being sidelined with a knee injury. His only Derby starter has been Atswhatimtalknbout, fourth in 2003.
Tyler Baze
Twenty-two year old Tyler Baze was the Eclipse award winning apprentice jockey for 2000. His mounts earned $10,181,132 last year, good for 14th place nationally. Top mounts included the Grade One winning sprinter Kela, as well as two graded stakes turf winners: Sabiango and Star Over The Bay. His first career mount was a winning one at Santa Anita on Halloween, 1999. Soon after, he moved his tack to Turf Paradise to hone his skills, returning to the Southern California circuit four months later. Many of his family member are or have been jockeys, including second cousin Russell, second all-time winningest rider. Tyler earned his first riding title at the 2004 Hollywood Park spring-summer meet. He rode Indian Express to a 14th place finish in his first and only Derby mount in 2003.
B. Wayne Hughes
A native of Oklahoma, B. Wayne Hughes is the founder and president of Public Storage, which reportedly has more than 572,000 tenants in 38 states. Its worth ranks him in the Forbes 400, a listing of the country's wealthest individuals. He campaigned the Grade I stakes winner Joyeux Danseur and raced the top-class mares Trishyde and Shake the Yoke. He has about 22 horses in training with Ron Elllis in California and Al Stall, Jr. in the Midwest. Hughes also owns about 12 broodmares which he keeps at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky. and Walmac International in Lexington, Ky. His Atswhatimtalknbout ran fourth in the 2003 Derby.
Fans looking for a "horse for the course" for Kentucky Derby 131 should look no further than B. Wayne Hughes well-named son of Stephen Got Even. A seven-length romp in last week's Derby Trial at Churchill Downs improved his racing record under the Twin Spires to three wins in as many starts. Two of those wins came last fall for Churchill-based trainer Paul J. McGee before the colt was moved to California and into the care of Ron Ellis, McGee's brother-in-law. After a trio of moderate efforts in California, Don't Get Mad earned his Derby spot and will join supplemental nominee Greeley's Galaxy as Hughes' two representatives in Derby 131.
Hughes, Ellis and jockey Tyler Baze are all in search of their first Derby wins.
Don't Get Mad is by the Grade I winning millionaire Stephen Got Even, who himself ran in the Kentucky Derby finishing 14th in the 1999 renewal. Stephen Got Even, who is by the great A.P. Indy out of the long-winded Cox Ridge female line, excelled at Classic distances during his race career.
However, Don't Get Mad's dam, Class On Class, was a bona fide sprinter on the Florida circuit at the turn of the millennium. Class On Class was classy enough to place in multiple graded stakes, but she turned in her worst career efforts on the main track when stretching out around two turns. Class On Class is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winning router Class Kris, who is the dam of Grade III winner and 2004 Triple Crown contender Gradepoint, and the Grade I placed Patriot Act, who was considered by many to be a top contender for this year's Kentucky Derby before being sidelined by injury this winter at Fair Grounds.
The good news is that Class On Class is out of the Halo sire line that is prominent for passing along stamina on the female side. The A.P. Indy line has also proven to be a successful nick with Don't Get Mad's female family, as Gradepoint and Patriot Act are both sons of A.P. Indy, who is the sire of Stephen Got Even.
Dosage Index: 2.27
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