Never traveling beyond a mile before June 21, Mo Plex handled his first two-turn test with aplomb to win the $500,000 Grade 3 Ohio Derby June 21 at Thistledown. Even after surging to a two-length victory, Mo Plex appeared keen for more, proving difficult to pull up for jockey Joseph Ramos.

Breaking from the outer post in the field of eight 3-year-olds, Ramos asked Mo Plex for some speed and the colt responded, striding quickly away from the barrier and angling over sharply to the inside. Once clearing most of the rivals to his inside, the colt flanked the pacesetting Clever Again through early fractions of :23.42, :47.75, and 1:12.04, never allowing the 9-5 shot to stray too far out of reach.

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As they rounded the far turn, Mo Plex drew alongside Clever Again, and in one fell swoop, sailed past his tiring pace rival. Driving into the clear, Mo Plex kept late-running favorite Chunk of Gold at bay down the stretch to hit the wire in a final time of 1:50.72. Making his second start since a ninth-place effort in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, Chunk of Gold finished a game second. McAfee, third throughout, ran evenly to complete the trifecta.

An accomplished 2-year-old last year, Mo Plex showed owner R and H Stable and trainer Jeremiah Englehart early that he was a formidable competitor, not just against state breds but also against open company.

After demolishing his rivals by 10 lengths in his New York-bred maiden special weight career debut, he captured the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes and won the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes over state breds before finishing third in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Aqueduct.

The son of second-crop sire Complexity remained at one-turn distances to open his sophomore campaign in 2025. He proved to be a highly effective sprinter last time out with a score in the seven-furlong $145,000 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct April 19 that earned him a 101 Equibase Speed Figure.

Mo Plex ($12.80), never off the board in eight trips to the post, collected the fifth win and fourth stakes tally of his career. The Ohio Derby pushed the bay colt's earnings to $745,000.