Kentucky Derby Profile: Zandon

Zandon has bounced around the Road to the Kentucky Derby, popping up at Aqueduct, Fair Grounds and Keeneland. He's hit the board each time. Does that indicate he's a contender on Saturday? JN Campbell weighs in...

Chad Brown’s chief attempt at KYD glory rests with this talented 3-yr-old by Upstart. That’s not a sire that necessarily has gotten much attention of late, but Jeff Drown ended up investing in a good one. Brown has brought his runner along nicely, and the Remsen S. (G2) going 1 1/8th on the dirt at Aqueduct was his coming-out-party. In only his 2nd career race, he went hoof-to-hoof with Mo Donegal, and it was a thrilling finish at-first-glance.

With John Velazquez aboard, it appeared Zandon was severely fouled by Irad Ortiz. Drown threatened legal action against the loss, and Ortiz was given a suspension for dangerous race riding then and in other contests. But the result stood … In the new year, Brown got aggressive, shipping the colt to New Orleans to run in the Grade 2 Risen Star against the likes of Epicenter. The second half of the race was impressive, as Zandon made some late moves to get-up in time for Show, just short of Smile Happy.

A month and a half later, Brown kept his colt on the move by sending him to Keeneland for the Blue Grass Stakes (G2). It was a bold choice, but one that the New York-based conditioner has made before this time of year. His charge responded incredibly with Flavien Prat in the irons. Making a middle move just before turn-2, Prat shot from almost the back of the field towards the top of the lane. That was a “Derby-esque” burst of power, and precisely the kind of talent that can assist at Churchill. Running from off-the-pace is dangerous though, especially because of traffic troubles, but we can expect that a rider of Prat’s caliber to be up to the challenge once again. Drown has quite a triad here, and expect this runner to be involved late. I will be using this one on all of tickets, for sure. Possible favorite … Hmm …

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