Three prep races for the 2026 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve contested in two different countries promised to shake up Week 4 of the Rookie Rankings. But the impact was smaller than expected.

The two stateside qualifiers yielded intriguing results, but the winners weren’t quite strong enough to make the Top 10 cutoff.

At Fair Grounds, Chip Honcho joined the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a tenacious triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds. After pressing the pace in second place, he appeared out of steam at the top of the homestretch. But his rivals were running out of gas too, and as the long run down the homestretch unfolded, Chip Honcho gradually re-rallied to win by three-quarters of a length.

Chip Honcho’s tenacity is admirable, but his winning time of 1:44.76 was a bit on the slow side. He’s progressing in the right direction, but needs another step forward to join the Rookie Rankings.

Meanwhile, Express Kid surprised at 34.50-1 odds in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park. Coming off an allowance win over Remington’s turf course, Express Kid exceeded expectations while switching to dirt, sprinting to the lead through fractions of :23.54, :47.58, and 1:12.83 before kicking on down the homestretch to dominate by 6 ¼ lengths.

Express Kid’s winning time of 1:38.99 stacked up well against other one-mile races on the card. He nearly made our Top 10 cutoff, but several short-priced runners in the Springboard Mile failed to bring their best, so the caliber of competition Express Kid defeated is uncertain.

As a result, the lone new name in this week’s Rookie Rankings is Pyromancer, winner of the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Carrying the famous royal blue silks of Godolphin, Pyromancer spent much of the race tracking the pace in second place before taking over and turning back multiple challenges to win by a neck, completing 1,600 meters (about one mile) in 1:44.20.

Recent editions of the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun have been won by Forever Young and Derma Sotogake, two colts who went on to compete in the Kentucky Derby. Pyromancer aims to follow their example, with Godolphin’s Japan racing manager stating on their website that the March 28 United Arab Emirates Derby in Dubai is the Pyro colt’s next major target. A win there would almost certainly secure Pyromancer a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.

Pyromancer debuts in the #10 slot on the Rookie Rankings. He replaces Mr. A. P., who previously ranked #5. According to Brad Free of the Daily Racing Form, Mr. A. P. is getting time off to resolve a small training setback and will miss the Kentucky Derby.

Here’s how the latest Rookie Rankings stack up:

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1. Ted Noffey: If Ted Noffey wins the Kentucky Derby, he’ll become the third horse to complete the elusive Breeders’ Cup Juvenile/Kentucky Derby double, following Street Sense (2006-07) and Nyquist (2015-16).

Owner: Spendthrift Farm

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Last Race: 1^st, FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA, Oct. 31 at Del Mar

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2. Paladin: Purchased for $1.9 million as a yearling, Paladin seeks to become only the second million-dollar auction acquisition to win the Kentucky Derby, following Fusaichi Pegasus ($4 million) in 2000.

Owners: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook Smith, and Summer Wind Equine

Trainer: Chad Brown

Last Race: 1^st, Remsen Stakes, Dec. 6 at Aqueduct

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3. Further Ado: The form of Further Ado’s Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes win took a bit of a hit when fourth-place finisher Very Connected finished fifth in a slow edition of the Gun Runner.

Owner: Spendthrift Farm

Trainer: Brad Cox

Last Race: 1^st, Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs

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4. Satono Voyage: Satono Voyage’s trainer, Hiroyasu Tanaka, is one of the leading conditioners of dirt horses in Japan. He’s enjoyed strong success with Lemon Pop, a three-time Group 1 winner and two-time champion in that country.

Owner: Hajime Satomi

Trainer: Hiroyasu Tanaka

Last Race: 1^st, Cattleya Stakes, Nov. 29 at Tokyo Racecourse

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5. Blackout Time: Blackout Time’s runner-up finish in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity was flattered when third-place finisher Litmus Test won the Los Alamitos Futurity.

Owners: Brookdale Racing, Lance Gasaway, and Magdalena Racing

Trainer: Kenny McPeek

Last Race: 2^nd, Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, Oct. 4 at Keeneland Race Course

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6. Litmus Test: After competing in four straight graded stakes, including three Grade 1s, Litmus Test is one of the most battle-tested horses on the Kentucky Derby trail.

Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Last Race: 1^st, Los Alamitos Futurity, Dec. 13 at Los Alamitos Race Course

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7. Napoleon Solo: Purchased for only $40,000 as a yearling, Napoleon Solo has already earned back nearly eight times that price, making him one of the best bargains on the Derby trail.

Owner: Gold Square

Trainer: Chad Summers

Last Race: 1^st, Champagne Stakes, Oct. 4 at Belmont at the Big A

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8. Cannoneer: Expect to see Cannoneer race down south this winter, perhaps in Kentucky Derby qualifiers at Oaklawn Park or Fair Grounds, where many of trainer Brad Cox’s top 3-year-olds compete.

Owners: St. Elias Stable and Stonestreet Stables

Trainer: Brad Cox

Last Race: 1^st, maiden special weight, Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs

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9. Iron Honor: As a son of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist out of a mare by champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame, Iron Honor is bred to handle the Derby’s 1 ¼-mile distance.

Owners: St. Elias Stable, William Lawrence, and Cathi Glassman

Trainer: Chad Brown

Last Race: 1^st, maiden special weight, Dec. 13 at Aqueduct

Katsumi Saito

10. Pyromancer: Japan’s best dirt horses are competing with aplomb on the international stage. Pyromancer aims to do the same.

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Keiji Yoshimura

Last Race: 1^st, Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, Dec. 17 at Kawasaki Racecourse