Tom Pedulla offers five takeaways from the last round of major Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve prep races. Coast-to-coast action Saturday revolved around the the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Race Course, the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct, and and the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park.

TOP CONTENDER: Sierra Leone backed up his Risen Star victory by rallying to win the 100th Blue Grass in authoritative fashion for trainer Chad Brown and jockey Tyler Gaffalione. The rider’s biggest issue was making sure his mount did not make the lead too soon. “I actually tapped on him a little bit at the five-sixteenths to slow him down because he was really wanting to get going,” Gaffalione said. “He has so much ability and he does things so easily. We haven’t even got close to the bottom of him yet.” There was one negative, though. Sierra was the last to load in post-position 10. It appeared the big crowd got the best of him and he was extremely reluctant to step into the gate, delaying the start for several minutes. Expect Brown to do plenty of gate schooling at Churchill Downs in an effort to avoid a repeat of that worrisome scenario. “I don’t anticipate that being a problem for him,” said Brown as he chases his first Derby triumph.

Antonio Fresu celebrates aboard Stronghold. (Eclipse Sportswire)

DERBY DEBUT: Accomplished West Coast trainer Phil D'Amato is headed for his first Kentucky Derby after Stronghold split horses at the top of the stretch and outdueled favored Imagination by a neck to win the Santa Anita Derby. Stronghold had won New Mexico’s Sunland Park Derby Feb. 18 in his only other start as a 3-year-old to put himself on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, but D’Amato wanted to see more. With Antonio Fresu aboard Stronghold for his first Grade 1 score, the trainer got an eyeful. “We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby. We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here,” D’Amato said. “I think this was a great education for him and a nice test that he’s going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby.” The son of Ghostzapper, bred and owned by Sharon and Eric Waller, has never been worse than second with three wins through six career starts for earnings of $827,200.

RECORD WAGERING: Fans celebrated the 100th edition of the Blue Grass in style, setting several wagering records to mark the occasion. All-sources handle for the 11-race card totaled $29,261,346, surpassing the previous single-day wagering record of 28,137,728 set in 2022. Single-race win-place-show wagering on the Blue Grass totaled $2,576,663, smashing the 2019 record of $2,068,046. The All-Stakes Pick 5 closing with the Toyota Blue Grass attracted $1,696,981, clipping the 2022 record of $1,539,098. Fans saw Brown capture the Blue Grass for the third time in the last seven years with Sierra Leone. Previous successes came with Good Magic in 2018 and with Zandon last year. Sierra Leone, a son of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, has been seemingly destined for greatness since he was a $2.3 million purchase as a yearling.

Resilience dominated with the addition of blinkers. (Eclipse Sportswire)

BLINKERS ON: Jockey John Velazquez suggested to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott that Resilience might benefit from the addition of blinkers when the colt could do no better than fourth in the Feb. 17 Risen Star Stakes. Mott welcomed the suggestion and the new equipment appeared to make all the difference when the Into Mischief colt won the Wood Memorial Stakes by 2 ¼ lengths to secure a Derby berth. “The reason we put the blinkers on is because he’s kind of hesitant passing horses,” explained Velazquez. “So, I kind of engaged him a little bit early to see if he’d pass horses and he passed them.” Mott has some unfinished Derby business. Although he owns a victory, it did not come the way he would have chosen. His Country House was elevated to first from second in 2019 when Maximum Security was disqualified for a blatant incident of interference.

TWO FOR THE DERBY: Society Man seemed to be an impossible longshot entering the Wood Memorial Stakes. He had finished a distant eighth in the Feb. 3 Withers Stakes before finally breaking his maiden while going a mile at Aqueduct March 9. But trainer Danny Gargan’s willingness to take a shot in the Wood was rewarded when the seemingly overmatched gelding ran second to secure 50 Derby qualifying points and probably will join stablemate Dornoch in the Derby field. “We’ve always liked him,” Gargan said of Society Man. “I don’t run many maidens [winners] in stakes races, but we’ve always thought he was a talented gelding. We’re all over the moon.” Dornoch, winner of the Remsen Stakes and the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes, is eligible to improve after he finished fourth in the Blue Grass. Gargan, a former jockeys’ agent in only his 12th year as a trainer, grew up a couple of blocks from Churchill Downs.