Tom Pedulla is interviewing prominent owners, trainers, and jockeys for America’s Best Racing as they travel the Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on Saturday, May 4, at Churchill Downs.

In the latest installment, he speaks to trainer Danny Gargan, who hopes Tax will provide him with his first Derby starter. Gargan claimed Tax, a gelded son of Arch, from Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider for $50,000 on Oct. 21 at Keeneland in a seven-way shake, meaning six other parties also attempted to claim the horse.

Tax showed so much for his new connections in the morning that fellow trainer Kiaran McLaughlin persuaded Gargan to supplement the 2-year-old to the Dec. 1 Remsen Stakes, where the gelding finished third. He opened his 3-year-old campaign by overcoming a stumble at the start and bulling his way through a narrow opening on the rail for jockey Junior Alvarado to capture the 1 1/8-mile Withers Stakes on Feb. 2 at Aqueduct.

Tax is owned by Hugh Lynch, Corms Racing Stable, R.A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. He has 12 qualifying points on the Road to the Derby and can ensure his place in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May if he finishes first or second in the Wood Memorial Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday at Aqueduct. The last major prep race in New York will award points to the top four finishers on a 100-40-20-10 basis.

Tax wins the Withers. (Eclipse Sportswire)

PEDULLA: How big is your operation?

GARGAN: I have 40-something horses.

PEDULLA: What did you start with?

GARGAN: Two.

PEDULLA: How long have you been training?

GARGAN: The last four years I’ve trained consistently. Before, I just had a few horses for me and a few friends. This is the fifth year that I really focused and started to build my stable.

PEDULLA: What first attracted you to Tax?

GARGAN: I watched him run at Churchill (when he placed second in a $30,000 claiming race last Sept. 29). He looked like a big, beautiful horse and he looked like he was bred to run long on the grass. I put him in my stable mail and followed him after that.

PEDULLA: Do you study a lot of races, never knowing what you might spot?

GARGAN: I focus more on the 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds. I focus a lot on younger horses that have a chance to change and get better.

PEDULLA: Were you surprised when Tax was available for $50,000?

GARGAN: I was looking for him to be in at Keeneland for $50,000 because he was a gelding and Claiborne, they don’t keep geldings. They are breeders and they sell horses.

PEDULLA: What convinced you to claim this horse?

GARGAN: He’s well-bred. You are claiming the horse off people who take really good care of their horses. Claiborne is going to run a nice, sound, well-raised animal. You’re getting from one of the best people in horse racing. It’s a pretty safe gamble to claim off people who are that quality of owners.

PEDULLA: When did you start to realize you had something pretty good in Tax?

GARGAN: The first time I worked him, he worked pretty good. I wasn’t thinking about the Remsen, that was kind of an afterthought, but I breezed him one day and he breezed really, really good. After the breeze, I really didn’t have any place to run him. A trainer who is a friend of mine (Kiaran McLaughlin) said, ‘You should supplement him to the Remsen.’ I said, ‘I can’t do that. I just claimed him in a maiden 50.’ He said, ‘I would do that if I had him.’ We ended up supplementing him and taking a shot.”

PEDULLA: Were you surprised when he won the Withers?

GARGAN: We were expecting him to win the race. I’m not going to lie. We liked him going in. He overcame four or five obstacles to win the race. You never know a horse will do all those things until they actually do it.

PEDULLA: He seems to have the mind to go with the body?

GARGAN: For sure.

PEDULLA: I guess you can’t train the mind?

GARGAN: No. You can’t train the heart, either. He has that, and that’s a big factor, too. That’s all bred into him.

PEDULLA: What are your expectations for the Wood?

GARGAN: Well, obviously, you’d like to win the race. It’s going to be a lot tougher race. We’d love to hit the board in this race and move forward.

PEDULLA: If he goes on to the Derby, can he handle the mile-and-a-quarter distance?

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GARGAN: He’ll run all day. He’s the type of horse that can be around late in the Derby. He’s not a late closer. He has tactical speed. If you have the type of horse that can be around it at the quarter pole at Churchill, you can be in the mix to get some of it.

PEDULLA: What would it do for your career if you could have a Derby starter?

GARGAN: It would be tremendous to have one. Any time you start running in these types of races, it helps you a lot to get noticed.

PEDULLA: Could Tax possibly win the Derby?

GARGAN: If he’s one-two in the Wood, he can definitely win the Derby. Horses that are bred like him run good at Churchill. He has a little bit of turf pedigree, and they run really well at Churchill.