After he won the 2012 Derby with I’ll Have Another and last year’s Derby with Nyquist, trainer Doug O’Neill is always a good bet to be at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
He just didn’t think Irap would be the one among his 21 Derby nominations to bring him here in 2017.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised,” O’Neill said Wednesday.
He always liked Irap’s size and pedigree. He saw real talent when the horse worked out in the morning. But the race results did not suggest a Derby contender.
Then O’Neill made the surprising choice to enter Irap in the talent-loaded Blue Grass Stakes just 13 days after he finished fourth in the less prestigious Sunland Derby.
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Bingo. Irap surged to the lead and held off a field that included McCraken, the co-second choice in the morning line for Saturday’s Derby.
“Man. The best came out of him in the Blue Grass for sure,” O’Neill said. “It just shows you how physically impressive a horse he is.”
O’Neill said Irap might have improved suddenly for any number of reasons. At the suggestion of owner Paul Reddam, he removed the blinkers before the Blue Grass. And the colt’s feet are the healthiest they’ve been after he struggled with discomfort in earlier races.
Regardless, O’Neill acknowledged he draws confidence from his earlier Derby successes.
“You’re able to be a little bit more calm and enjoy it,” he said. “If you get lucky and win any big race, there’s definitely a little swag and confidence that you get. You try not to air it out and look like a jerk, but it gives you confidence that you know your horse and what it takes to get the best out of them.”