Welcome to 2023 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we’ll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the racehorses earn points toward qualifying.

The 1 ¼-mile, $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 6, 2023, at Churchill Downs.

This week, we’ll take a closer look at Lord Miles, winner of the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino on April 8 at Aqueduct. Lord Miles earned 100 points toward qualifying for the 2023 Kentucky Derby with the Wood Memorial win and ranks sixth on the latest Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, meaning his spot in the first jewel of the Triple Crown is secure.

Racing Résumé: Whenever a horse wins a race at a massive price, the natural inclination is to go back and look for what the bettors overlooked. In the case of Lord Miles, the $120.50 winner of the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes had some reasons for optimism but you needed to dig pretty deep to uncover them.

Lord Miles made a terrific first impression in winning his career debut by 5 ¾ lengths Nov. 19, 2022, at Gulfstream Park and he then finished a fast-closing third in his stakes debut in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes, also at Gulfstream, in just his second start.

From there, things did not go as smoothly for the bay Curlin colt. Unplaced finishes in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes Feb. 4 and the Grade 3 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby March 11 led the public (myself included) to lose faith in Lord Miles.

Lord Miles broke from the inside post and was mostly hemmed in behind horses throughout the running of both races. I did not think he showed much in either race, but to his credit he never stopped trying and finished willingly while beaten by 5 ¾ lengths in the Tampa Bay Derby.

Lord Miles was the third betting choice at 3.30-1 odds in the Holy Bull but the betting public’s confidence waned and he was 29.50-1 in the Tampa Bay Derby and 59.25-1 in the Wood Memorial.

Paco Lopez was aboard Lord Miles for the first time in the Tampa Bay Derby and trainer Saffie Joseph said the jockey was able to teach him to persevere in that race even if he didn’t have a chance to win.

“In the Tampa Bay Derby, Paco taught him to keep running. He tried on him and he kept running and got fifth,” Joseph said. “I was very proud of him that day.”

That experience paid dividends in the Wood Memorial as Lord Miles was bumped early but gained a much better stalking position in the clear just in behind pacesetter Arctic Arrogance. When Lopez called upon Lord Miles to dig in near the eighth pole with four runners lined up across the track, he responded resolutely to outfinish favored Hit Show and second choice Dreamlike to win by a nose and punch his ticket to the Kentucky Derby.

“After his first start, I was dreaming Derby,” Joseph said. “The Mucho Macho Man was good, but from there everything was derailed. The Holy Bull went wrong, the Tampa Bay Derby was a step in the right direction, but we were probably running out of time. Today, here we are, one more time and it worked out.”

Rarely does a racehorse post a huge upset like the one Lord Miles pulled off in the Wood Memorial and compete at similar odds in his next start, but I would expect him to be very high odds again in a 20-horse field on Kentucky Derby day, so you should be rewarded handsomely if lightning strikes twice.

Speed Figures: Lord Miles’ first stakes victory in the Wood Memorial was a breakout race from a speed-figure perspective as well as he boosted his Equibase Speed Figure 11 points to a career-best 100 and his Beyer Speed Figure by 14 points to a new top of 93. He would need another jump on the speed-figure scale to compete for a win in the Kentucky Derby, which is a tall ask on four weeks rest.

Lord Miles (Eclipse Sportswire)

Running Style: In both the Holy Bull Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby, Lord Miles broke well from the starting gate and had quality early position before dropping back from his position along the rail. Whether he needed to be encouraged to keep up or simply fell back because he had little choice while behind (and on the inside of) other horses, he had significant ground to make up late and was unable to do so. He was significantly nearer to the pace in the Wood and that allowed him to grind out a win. Like his sire, Curlin, Lord Miles can carry his speed well but does not boast eye-catching acceleration.

Connections Ocala-based Peter Vegso and his wife, Anne, breed and race as Vegso Racing Stable. Lord Miles is a homebred of the Vegsos’ operation out of the Majestic Warrior mare Lady Esme, who is named after Anne’s aunt.

Peter Vegso purchased his first ownership stake in a racehorse in 1988 and in 1993, he “got sucked into buying a farm.” Vegso is a successful entrepreneur who founded the famed “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series. Lord Miles would be the first Kentucky Derby starter for Vegso, who has raced graded stakes winners such as Go Between, Silver Tree, Splendid Blended and campaigned in partnership 2010 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner Unrivaled Belle.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is a native of Barbados who began training in South Florida in 2011. Joseph, the son of a trainer in his home country, started his career in Barbados and conditioned 2009 Barbados Triple Crown champion Areyoutalkintome. He earned his first of 25 graded stakes win to date when Math Wizard won the 2019 Pennsylvania Derby at 31.10-1 odds.

“Peter Vegso has been a big supporter of us and to run a horse at 59-1, he didn’t get scared away. He gave us a chance to do it,” Joseph said of the Wood Memorial win. “When you take chances, this is where you are. I learned to take chances because of Math Wizard. John Fanelli, the [co-] owner [of Math Wizard], pushed me to run there and it worked out. From there, I learned in life to never stop taking chances. If the horse is doing good, take a chance, because each chance you don’t take is a chance you miss.”

Joseph has had two starters, both unplaced, in the Kentucky Derby and finished third in the 2022 Belmont Stakes with Skippylongstocking.

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Jockey Paco Lopez has amassed more than 3,500 victories since taking out his jockey’s license in 2007. The Veracruz, Mexico native won the Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice jockey in 2008 and has been a top rider at Monmouth Park since 2009. Lopez has won eight career Grade 1 races, including the 2018 Twinspires Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Roy H, and was unplaced with two previous starters in the Kentucky Derby.

Pedigree Notes: Lord Miles is from the 11^th crop of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, winner of the 2007 Preakness Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic and the 2008 Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup. He has carried that success to the breeding shed where he has developed into an outstanding sire and one of the best stamina influences among U.S. stallions with champions such as Vino Rosso, Malathaat, Nest, Good Magic, and Stellar Wind who all thrived in route races.

Lord Miles hails from a Vegso Racing Stable family as his dam (mother) is Vegso homebred Lady Esme, by Majestic Warrior, and his grandam (maternal grandmother) is another Vegso homebred named Come a Callin, by Dixie Union. Come a Callin produced 2017 champion 2-year-old filly Caledonia Road and multiple graded stakes winner Officiating.

Derby Potential: Lord Miles has a solid pedigree for 1 ¼ miles and he took a big step forward in the Wood Memorial to run the fastest race of his life, earn his first stakes win, and cement a spot in the 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby. He could be a live longshot in the first jewel of the Triple Crown to fill out the trifecta or superfecta, but my main concern is that he’d need to make another significant leap in terms of improvement on just four weeks rest. He also might have trouble getting an ideal stalking trip in a 20-horse field and have too much ground to make up late, but the price should be appealing if he tickles your fancy.