Aaron previews the 2024 Indiana Derby (G3) from Horseshoe Indianapolis & gives his top win pick from Saturday’s top horse race for 3-year-old dirt horses.
Will trainer Brad Cox win his 2nd straight running of this race with the up-and-coming Dragoon Guard? Tell us YOUR thoughts in the Comments!
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The press release:
Stronghold, starter in this year’s Kentucky Derby, will make his return to racing Saturday, July 6 in the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Ridden by Antonio Fresu, Stronghold will begin from post two in the eight-horse lineup, which headlines a total of eight premier races for Indiana’s biggest day of horse racing.
A Grade 1 winner of the Santa Anita Derby, Stronghold has not started since the Kentucky Derby in early May. The son of Ghostzapper is two for three this season and has only finished worse than second once in his career which was his seventh place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Overall, the Philip D’Amato trained colt has three career wins and more than $682,000 in earnings. He has been tagged at morning line odds of 7-2.
Joining Stronghold as a major contender for the Indiana Derby title is EJ Won the Cup, who comes to Indiana off a win in the $300,000 Texas Derby at Lone Star. The Omaha Beach colt, owned and trained by Doug O’Neill, has won three of his last four races and finished third to Stronghold in the Santa Anita Derby. Hall of Fame Jockey Mike Smith, who has more than 5,700 career wins, is headed to Horseshoe Indianapolis to ride at odds of 5-1 from post seven.
The early morning line favorite in the race is Dragoon Guard, who looks to give Brad Cox his third Indiana Derby winner since 2020. The grey son of Arrogate steps up into stakes action for the first time in his career off two impressive wins in Kentucky, making him undefeated in 2024. Florent Geroux, who was aboard Cox’s 2020 winner Shared Sense, will ride from post eight at odds of 8-5. Cox is the defending Indiana Derby winning trainer, saddling Verifying to victory last season.
The Indiana Derby field, in post position order with jockey and odds:
- Woodcourt (Emmanuel Esquivel, 12-1)
- Stronghold (Antonio Fresu, 7-2)
- Real Men Violin (Brian Hernandez Jr., 10-1)
- Kitty Hawk (Fernando De La Cruz, 20-1)
- Informed Patriot (Ricardo Santana Jr., 6-1)
- Sir Greylind (Corey Lanerie, 8-1);
- EJ Won the Cup (Mike Smith, 5-1)
- Dragoon Guard (Florent Geroux, 8-5)
Post time for the Indiana Derby, which is the final race slated as the 12th, is 6:41 p.m.
