As the drama of Kentucky Derby 132 continues to unfold, one will find the stage filled with a refreshing cast of new characters seeking the glory that is the Race for the Roses. Jockey legends Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens and Pat Day, who own six Derby-winning mounts between them, have left the scene for curtain calls; John Velasquez, an heir apparent to the void left by these sports giants, is sidelined with a broken shoulder. Rising stars like Rafael Bejarano, Garrett Gomez and John McKee, and stalwarts like Corey Nakatani and Alex Solis are ready to finally take the bronze ring. Perennial Derby trainers D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito failed the audition, no Derby mounts, replaced by upstart surrogates Michael Matz, Dan Hendricks and Michael Trombetta bringing their respective horses Barbaro, Brother Derek and Sweetnorthernsaint, fresh and groomed to face the mile and a quarter bout. However, the most intriguing new faces this Derby Day may well be the ones you won’t see at Churchill Downs. Its impact may well determine the outcome of this wide-open affair. Their names are Benchmark, Sweetsouthernsaint, Point Given, Broken Vow, Aptitude, King Cugat and Strategic Mission, bulls whose progeny will be represented in the Kentucky Derby for the first time, and who will benefit from getting the nod as sire of a Kentucky Derby Winner. Kentucky Derby.

Benchmark, the sire of Dan Hendricks-trained brother Derek, is the son of classic racing great Alydar, who won the hearts of racing fans with his memorable duels with Triple Crown winner Affirmed. Benchmark was a graded stakes winner at 1 1/8 miles and a graded stakes sprinter and, in his first four vintages to compete, he has been a useful sire of the California breeds and a handful of stakes winners. . Brother Derek is by far his most impressive son and is hands down the best class of this year’s West Coast contingent. As talented and experienced as Brother Derek is, the Derby may be the place where his flaws are revealed. In his only race outside of California and in a field of more than eight horses, the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile at Belmont, he finished fourth. With a penchant for getting excited in the post-parade, jockey Alex Solis must help brother Derek find a way to handle the large, boisterous crowd at Churchill Downs. However, Brother Derek’s meteoric rise to prominence is a hopeful sign that Alydar’s brave blood has gotten a much-needed renaissance.

A gelding son of the Florida stallion Sweetsouthernsaint, Sweetnorthernsaint has become something of a wild card in the Derby mix. It seems that the longer the distance Sweetnorthernsaint runs, the better, and this should give anyone who is handicapped in the Derby something to think about. His jockey, Kent Desormeaux, has practically declared the mile and a half of the Belmont Stakes his to lose. Considering the fact that the Belmont Stakes is more jockey’s race than endurance test, you’d better be prepared to back up his bold words. Sweetsouthernsaint, with two vintages to compete, was a precocious two-year-old in Florida who never made it to the Derby track due to injuries. But, as a son of the prolific late Saint Ballado, the sire of reigning Horse of the Year Saint Liam, as well as champion distaffer, Ashado, both of whom were Grade 1 winners over one and a quarter miles, and sporting a classic stay. Under a dose index of 1.22, the Sweetsouthernsaint offspring seems capable of going the distance. Sweetnorthernsaint’s dose of 1.33 suggests the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree and if the Michael Trombetta-trained gelding gets a clean trip, crops could be good.

Point Given, Broken Vow, Aptitude, Strategic Mission and King Cugat are all stallions represented in the Kentucky Derby by members of their first crop, which certainly pleases their breeding farms, but also adds an unknown element to the handicap calculation. Point Determined is a Maryland-bred son of Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Point Given, and is owned by The Bob and Beverly Lewis Trust, who has won the Kentucky Derby twice before, with Silver Charm and Charismatic. Point Determined has butted heads with Brother Derek, AP Warrior and Bob and John all winter in California, coming into the Derby without a stakes win to his credit. However, driving him to a second-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby, a series of shot jobs since, and with Rafael Bejarano in the irons, he’s a dangerous horse. Point Given entered the Kentucky Derby as the prohibitive favorite, and if he hadn’t been subject to the torrid pace of that race, the next Horse of the Year would have been a Triple Crown winner, racing superstar, and worth considerably more than his $50,000. stud fee. Bob Baffert, who coached Point Given as well as Point Determined, may be a bit more subdued these days, but, with three live shots at this year’s Derby, along with Sinister Minister and Bob and John, he’s in Louisville prepared for the bear. . A victory determined by one point would also be a poignant and fitting epitaph for the late Bob Lewis, one of racing’s true gentlemen, who passed away this February.

Broken Vow, the sire of the Steven Asmussen-trained Private Vow, is the son of memorable 1990 Derby winner Unbridled, who also sired Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone, Preakness winner Red Bullet and Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker. Although Private Vow has run just twice this year, beaten by Lawyer Ron both times at Oaklawn Park, he remains an experienced horse with a graded stakes win on the Churchill Downs fringe and a recent bullet job there, for begin. Broken Vow was a late development grade stakes winner with an impressive female family. Her mother and her grandmother, sired by Nijinsky II and Blushing Groom, respectively, were gambling producers. When you add in the sire of the Private Vow dam, the main broodmare sire Vice Minister has a horse that, on paper, has a classic winning pedigree.

The sire of the late Steppenwolfer, Aptitude, finished second in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, and is himself a son of Horse of the Year and producer of the AP Indy classic racer. Armed with the most intriguing pedigrees, Aptitude offers a variety of classic blood closely in his pedigree, including the aforementioned AP Indy, Derby winners Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Northern Dancer, as well as the Buckpasser inbreed. At four years old, Aptitude won two grade ones, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Hollywood Gold Cup, and one grade two, the Saratoga Breeder’s Cup, over a mile and a quarter. More anecdotal than anything else, Steppenwolfer’s great-great-grandmother’s father was the Triple Crown-winning great Citation. Lawyer Ron may have had Steppenwolfer [named after the rock band Steppenwolf] number all winter at Oaklawn Park, but, if the Derby’s pace is as close as expected, he may be the one to ride the magic carpet to the winner’s circle.

Sailing into the Derby is Seaside Retreat, a Canadian stakes winner that also stood at the Grade 2 Lane’s End on Turfway Park’s Polytrack surface. Seaside Retreat’s sire King Cugat was a graded stakes winner on turf in races over 9 and 11 furlongs, and graded stakes in races over 12 furlongs. Son of the impeccably bred Kingmambo, who sired Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, the King Cugat offspring seem much better suited to running a lot on turf. However, Seaside Retreat’s recent work at Churchill Downs has convinced his Canadian trainer, Mark Casse, and regular jockey, Patrick Husbands, to meet at the Derby.

The light but courageous Lexington Stakes winner Showing Up is a son of Strategic Mission, a New York stallion whose first crop consists of just 14 named foals. Barclay Tagg trains the unbeaten Showing Up, the younger half of the two-horse, two-trainer Derby delegation from Lael Stables of Roy and Gretchen Jackson which includes another unbeaten colt Barbaro, a potential morning line favorite who is trained by Michael Matz and will be ridden by the always dangerous Edgar Prado. Tagg, who caught lightning in a bottle with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, certainly has his work cut out for him. Showing Up not only has only three career starts for him, but his sire, Strategic Mission, a son of Mr. Prospector, was a turf racer and only good at it. Named for the old Woody Allen line that “80 percent of success is showing up,” Showing Up will have to do a lot more than that if he’s the one to get the Jackson family into the winner’s circle.

As difficult as the Derby road is, just showing up is certainly an accomplishment. Getting to the finish line first, though, is the Holy Grail, and at this year’s edition, fresh new faces may be smiling in the winner’s circle.

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