Welcome to 2024 Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, 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 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 4, 2024, at Churchill Downs.

This week, we’ll take a closer look at No More Time, winner of the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes Feb. 10 at Tampa Bay Downs. The Not This Time colt earned 20 points toward qualifying for the 2024 Kentucky Derby with that win and moved into sixth place on the latest Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

Racing Résumé: No More Time improved to two wins in four starts with a 1 ¼-length victory in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, a nice step forward from a troubled fifth-place finish in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes Jan. 1 at Gulfstream Park. No More Time ran second in his career debut sprinting in September and showed even more potential in his second race with a 6 ¾-length romp as the 8-5 favorite while stretching out to a mile Oct. 22, both also at Gulfstream.

Hindsight is 20/20, but re-watching the Mucho Macho Man Stakes it’s pretty clear that a brutal start cost No More Time any chance at winning. He hopped at the start of the one-mile race, ducked in toward the rail, and then hustled forward to stay within range of the other five runners while trailing the field. No More Time made a bold middle move into contention entering the stretch, but he flattened out in the final furlong.

What I failed to identify before the Sam F. Davis – the troubled trip in the Mucho Macho Man severely cost the talented 3-year-old Not This Time colt – others very clearly noticed as he was sent off as the 3.30-1 favorite under Paco Lopez.

With the benefit of a much, much better start, No More Time set the pace in the Sam F. Davis, turned back a bid from West Saratoga entering the stretch, and then held off a late rally from Agate Road for the clear victory. No More Time was entered in the Holy Bull Stakes Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park, but trainer Jose D’Angelo scratched in favor of the Sam F. Davis to give him a bit more time to tighten the screws on the colt.

“He was supposed to run in an allowance race in December and got a fever, and he only had two workouts for the Mucho Macho Man Stakes,” D’Angelo explained. “We’re trying to make a campaign for him, and I thought he needed one more workout before his next start to be at his best.”

Indeed, No More Time flashed his best form in the Sam F. Davis, closing the race with a final sixteenth of a mile in 6.67 seconds, which is better than it looks considering he set the tempo through a strong half-mile in :46.61. The tentative plan is for No More Time to target the $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 9.

Speed Figures: No More Time earned a career-best 94 Equibase Speed Figure and a new top 80 Beyer Speed Figure for the Sam F. Davis victory. He will need to make significant strides in his next couple of starts to be within striking distance of the fastest 3-year-olds.

Running Style: No More Time has been most effective racing on or near the pace. While he may have lacked a bit from a fitness standpoint in the Mucho Macho Man, the slow start ruined his chances. He looks to be a better racehorse when allowed to use his high cruising speed to his advantage. While he led from start to finish in the Sam F. Davis, that was not the plan.

“[D’Angelo] told me to put on the brakes out of the gate and sit third or fourth, but my horse broke unbelievable and I let him go,” Lopez said. “The pace was a little faster than I wanted, but his first and second quarters were very natural. I had plenty of horse the whole way and when I asked him, he gave me everything.”

Connections: No More Time is owned by Morplay Racing, a partnership that includes Rich Mendez and his son Josh along with longtime bloodstock agents Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo. Hartley/DeRenzo purchased the dark bay or brown colt for $40,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale. No More Time is the first graded stakes winner for Morplay Racing.

Trainer Jose D’Angelo also earned his first graded stakes win in the Sam F. Davis. He has amassed 322 wins through Feb. 11 since taking out his trainer’s license in 2017. Jesus’ Team ran second for D’Angelo in both the 2020 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes.

Winning connections celebrate. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Paco Lopez is the third different rider for No More Time in four starts. Lopez has more than 3,800 career wins through Feb. 11, including a victory in the 2018 TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint aboard Roy H. He has competed in the Kentucky Derby twice with an eighth-place finish aboard Ny Traffic in 2020 his best result.

Pedigree Notes: No More Time is from the fourth crop of graded stakes winner Not This Time, the 2016 Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up whose career was cut short by injury. Not This Time, by Giant’s Causeway, is off to a running start at stud with 2022 champion 3-year-old male Epicenter and 2023 champion turf male Up to the Mark from his first crop. In addition to passing along class to his progeny, Not This Time also appears to be a source of stamina.

No More Time is out of the Speightstown mare Baroness Juliette, whose lone win in nine starts was in a three-quarter-mile sprint. He hails from the same family that produced recent Southwest Stakes winner Mystik Dan as well as Grade 1 winners Siphonic, Laragh, and Smooth Like Strait along with Grade 2 winner and sire Summer Front.

Derby Potential: Just as Not This Time looks like a promising young sire, so too does No More Time looks like an exciting 3-year-old prospect. He does not come from the barn of a big-name trainer but that has never been a prerequisite for success on the Triple Crown trail, and Jose D’Angelo showed he can handle the big stage with the aforementioned seconds in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2021 Pegasus World Cup. There is much to like, no doubt, but I have a tough time overlooking No More Time’s modest speed figures. He’s just not fast enough right now. With only four starts under the saddle, that could change in a hurry and it will have to for him to be a factor on Kentucky Derby day.