Warren Stute
Stute, 83, would become the oldest trainer ever to win the Derby. He has had one previous Derby starter, Field Master, who finished 13th in 1967. A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, he now lives in Arcadia, California. He began his career walking hots and galloping horses, learning under trainer Yorky MacLeod. He established a public training stable in 1948. He won a million dollar race at age 80, taking the 2002 Godolphin Mile in Dubai. He continued to gallop horses throughout his career until suffering a minor stroke in 2002. His older brother, Mel, is also still training in Southern California.
Kent Desormeaux
Desormeaux, a native of Maurice, La., began riding in 1986 at Evangeline Downs; a year later he moved from Louisiana to Maryland. There, he led the nation's apprentices in victories in 1987, but his 450 wins led all jockeys. In 1989, Desormeaux blitzed the record for victories in a year by riding to the winner's circle 598 times, breaking Chris McCarron's 1974 mark of 546. He shifted his tack to Southern California in 1990 and has won Eclipse Awards in 1987, 1989 and 1992 in addition to the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1993. He has won riding titles at all of the southern California tracks as well as Laurel, Pimlico, and in Tokyo, Japan. The close of 2004 saw Desormeaux ranked 15th nationally in purses won, earning over $8.7 million, with some of his top horses being Musical Chimes, Ticker Tape, Island Fashion, and Domestic Dispute. He teamed up with Drysdale to win the 2000 Kentucky Derby aboard Fusaichi Pegasus; also won the 1998 Derby aboard Real Quiet. He is still looking for his first Kentucky Oaks win. He and his wife, Sonia, have two sons, Joshua and Jacob.
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.
Runnymede Farm Inc (Joseph and Catesby Clay (KY))
Historic Runnymede Farm was founded in 1867 by Civil War Colonels Ezekiel Clay and Catesby Woodford, and is the home of the Cooper’s Run Baptist Meeting House, circa 1800. Runnymede-bred horses claim wins in the Kentucky Derby; Agile in 1905 and Ben Brush in 1896, the Kentucky Oaks (2), and the Belmont Stakes (2). They also bred 1995 Kentucky Derby runner-up Tejano Run. Runnymede currently breeds for the commercial sales in central Kentucky.
05.06.05 - Spanish Chestnut Due In Saturday Morning 05.01.05 - Sunday Barn Notes 04.30.05 - Saturday Barn Notes 04.29.05 - Friday Barn Notes 04.28.05 - Thursday Barn Notes 04.10.05 - Greeley's Galaxy To Arrive On Wednesday
Regardless of how he performs on Derby Day, Greeley's Galaxy will make Derby history by becoming the first supplemental entry in the history of the race. Owner B. Wayne Hughes paid $200,000 to make the son of Mr. Greeley eligible for the race after Greeley's Galaxy scored a 9 1/2-length win in the Illinois Derby (GII). Veteran trainer Warren Stute has had only one previous Derby starter (Field Master, 13th in 1967), but a victory by the 83-year-old veteran would make him the oldest trainer to saddle a winner in the race. Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham set that record when he won the 1989 Derby with Sunday Silence at the age of 76. Greeley's Galaxy has won three of four races and has earned $358,480.
Greeley's Galaxy is a son of the top sprinter Mr. Greeley, who won the seven furlong Lafayette (GIII) and the Swale (GIII) at the same distance. He was also second in the Breeders' Cup Sprint to Desert Stormer. Overall, he ran first or second in 11 of 16 starts, earning $474,452. Mr. Greeley is inbred 4x4 to the classic distance sire Native Dancer, one of the best horses of the 20th century who's only loss was a second in the 1953 Kentucky Derby.
As a sire, Mr. Greeley has seven crops of racing age, with 22 stakes winners, including Nonsuch Bay, who took the Mother Goose (GI), El Corredor, winner of the Cigar Mile Handicap (GI), Fan Club's Mister, American Derby (GII) victor, Celtic Melody, Humana Distaff Handicap (GI) champ, and Whywhywhy, winner of the Belmont Futurity (GI).
Greeley's Galaxy is the lone foal to race from his dam Ascot Starre. The Canadian bred mare won three of 18 starts, all of the victories coming on the turf. She is a half-sister to the multiple graded stakes winner License Fee, who won stakes on both dirt and turf on her way to earning over $1.2 million. There are several stakes winners further down in Greeley's Galaxy's tail female line, but most are from fairly obscure or minor races.
Ascot Starre has several prominent sires in her pedigree to offset the suspect tail female line. She is inbred 3x4 to 1964 Derby champ and world class sire Northern Dancer through two other top class sires, Deputy Minister and Danzig. An interesting name to show up in her pedigree is Better Bee, who ran 8th in the 1957 Derby, widely considered to be one of the strongest runnings in the history of the race. He ran a remarkable 89 times in his career, with several stakes wins as well as second in the Churchill Downs Handicap and third in the Derby Trial.
Dosage Index: 4.00
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