Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, where we take a look each week at a recent winner on the Road to the Derby schedule from which racehorses earn points toward qualifying for the 1 ¼-mile classic race May 1, 2027, at Churchill Downs.

We take a closer look this week at Hughes, the winner of the 2026 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Oct. 30 at Keeneland. The bay Into Mischief colt earned 30 qualifying points for the 2027 Kentucky Derby and ranks first overall with 40 qualifying points total. He is named after pro hockey player Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal for Team USA in the gold-medal game against Canada at the 2026 Olympic Games.

Racing Résumé: Hughes is undefeated in five starts by a combined margin of 26 ¾ lengths, ranging from his 7 ¾-length romp in the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes Aug. 8 at Del Mar in his stakes debut to a 2 ¼-length win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

He excelled sprinting to begin his career, sweeping his debut, the Best Pal, and the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity at distances ranging from five-eighths of a mile to seven-eighths of a mile. Added distance also proved a navigable hurdle as Hughes dominated the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah Stakes Presented by DK Horse Oct. 3 at Santa Anita Park by six lengths before pulling away to a convincing win in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his toughest test to date.

In the Breeders’ Cup, Hughes pressed a solid pace while second by a head through a half-mile in :46.65 and still had the stamina to finish strong with a final eighth of a mile in :12.42, a very solid clocking for the final furlong of a two-turn dirt race.

“This horse had never been in a battle, and he really battled. He was very impressive,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. “The fractions were pretty hot and this horse hadn’t been asked to do that, so you don’t know how they’re going to respond.”

Speed Figures: Hughes’s Equibase Speed Figures have ranged from a 93 in his career debut to a career-best 105 for his American Pharoah Stakes win. He earned a 98 for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile victory. His Beyer Speed Figures paint a little bit of a different picture, showing significantly faster races at longer distances. His Beyer Speed Figures for his three sprints to start his career ranged from 81 to 84. He improved to a 100 for the American Pharoah Stakes and was given a 98 Beyer figure for the Juvenile. Triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures for 2-year-olds on dirt indicate quality.

Hughes wins Breeders' Cup Juvenile (Eclipse Sportswire)

Running Style: Hughes has a high cruising speed that allows him to gain good tactical position in races. He’s fast enough to set the pace if no other competitor is intent on going to the front and versatile enough to rate just behind the leaders in the early stages and launch his bid approaching the stretch. His elite natural speed should be a huge asset on the Kentucky Derby trail in 2027.

Pedigree Notes: Hughes is by Into Mischief, the leading sire in North America every year since 2019 whose top runners include 2020 Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Authentic, 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun, and 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty, recent winner of the 2026 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Into Mischief has sired 11 champions and 102 group/graded stakes winners internationally through Nov. 2.

Hughes was produced by multiple Grade 1-placed winner K P Dreamin, by 2012 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags.

Derby Potential: No Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby since Nyquist in 2015-’16, and the only other horse to complete that double is Street Sense in 2006-’07, so winning both races obviously is a significant challenge. A huge part of the task is simply keeping a racehorse physically sound and in elite form during the seven months or so from late fall of their 2-year-old season to spring of their 3-year-old campaign, a time when Thoroughbreds develop rapidly mentally and physically.

Hughes has quite a bit going for him: trainer Baffert has won the Kentucky Derby six times; Hughes has natural speed and versatility; and he’s improved when stretching out to two-turn races and is bred to excel at longer distances. He should be a formidable 3-year-old in 2027, but predicting Kentucky Derby success six months before the race is a fool’s errand.