Resilience

Resilience needed four starts to earn his first career victory, which came on Jan. 1, 2024 in his 3-year-old debut in a 1 1/16-mile race at Gulfstream Park. His following start was a significant class test against stakes competition and he stalked the pace and held on for fourth in a 12-horse field in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 17.

The Risen Star was a prep race on the road to the Kentucky Derby, and with his fourth-place finish, Resilience earned 10 qualifying Derby points.

In his next start, Resilience punched his ticket to the first jewel of the Triple Crown with a dominant win in the $750,000 Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino. He tracked the pace from third under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, made his winning bid approaching the turn, and surged clear to prevail in 1:50.23 for 1 1/8 miles on a track rated as fast.

The Into Mischief colt banked 100 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby, guaranteeing his spot in the starting gate for the May 4 race at Churchill Downs.

Resilience was bred in Kentucky out of the winning Smart Strike mare Meadowsweet, a daughter of Grade 1 winner and multiple stakes producer Tranquility Lake.