Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Helium

Mar 07, 2021 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

D. J. Stable, LLC’s Helium picked up 50 points on the “2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby” challenge series following his three-quarters of a length tally in the $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) on March 6. The unblemished sophomore notched his first graded stakes win when completing 1 1/16 miles on the fast main surface in 1:43.55 under the guidance of Jose Ferrer.

The colt improved his lifetime line to 3-3-0-0, $287,763. Conditioned by Mark Casse, Helium debuted on September 27 at Woodbine and forced the early tempo before drawing clear in the stretch in posting a 3 1/4-length victory at first asking. In his second assignment, the bay went up against black-type foes in the Display S. on October 18 and drew off to a convincing, 4 1/4-length triumph as the 7-5 post-time favorite on the All-Weather oval. His Tampa Bay Derby score was both his three-year-old and dirt debut.

Helium was bred in the Bluegrass State by Teneri Farm and Bernardo Alvarez Calderon, and he was purchased for $55,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale. He is the third black-type performer out of Group 3 heroine Thundering Emilia, preceded by Group 1 vixen Emilia’s Moon, and the Grade-3 placed Mighty Scarlett. This is the same female family that produced Peruvian champion Domingo.

The son of Ironicus has improved with each lifetime performance, and he has registered Brisnet Speed numbers of 84-86-93 to date. Helium is lightly raced with a lot of room for improvement, and the colt has a catalog page that hints that he could endure longer distances.

“What was amazing is that he wasn't overly exhausted after the race. He's a beautiful horse, he's bred to run all day long and he looks like a Derby horse, so it's exciting,” Casse stated following the impressive upset victory.

Helium’s connections suggested that while he may train up to the ‘Run for the Roses’ on May 1 at Churchill Downs, a final decision on where he will run next would be made at a later date.