By Gavin Fraser
Owen Almighty is a bit like the Hokey Pokey when it comes to the Derby. He’s been in, out, out and in, and on it goes. This looks like one of the great “owner picked spots” of all time.
Owen Almighty comes in 12th on the leaderboard with 65 points and will be a longshot on the day.
Racing Record and Notable Performances
With four starts under his belt this year already, he’s certainly coming in race fit, and after two excellent back-to-back efforts over two turns going 1 1/16 miles finishing second in the Sam F. Davis and then winning the Tampa Bay Derby, he went into the G1 Bluegrass Stakes as one of the more favored runners to take the race, but ended up a disappointing 6th alongside the equally well fancied Chancer McPatrick.
Pedigree and Connections
- Sire: Speightstown
- Dam & Damsire: Tempers Rising (By Bayern)
- Owner: Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing LLC
- Trainer: Brian A. Lynch
- Jockey: Javier Castellano
There isn’t a lot of help for getting this far when it comes to his sire, the champion sprinter Speightstown. What we do know is he’s won over 1 1/16 miles at Tampa, but the Derby is over 1 1/4 miles, and his trainer doesn’t seem to be overly enthusiastic about him going over the distance either.
When it comes to his jockey, he gets Javier Castellano for the first time. This will be his 17th ride in the Derby with his first and only win in the race so far coming in 2023 when he rode Mage to victory beating Two Phil’s by a length in a winning time of 2:01.57.
Trainer Brian Lynch is having just his second ever runner in the Derby after Classic Causeway finished 11th in the 2022 edition of The Run For the Roses.
Final Prep Analysis
- Final Prep Race: G1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland (April 8th)
- Finishing Position: 7th (dead heat) out of 7
- Final Time: 1:51.09
- Beyer Speed Figure:
He encountered a little trouble at the start when he bobbled and was bumped, but that didn’t stop him from having the perfect trip in a race that was run to suit him. Essentially, he came up empty and faded to finish in joint last position. A race with no real excuses other than a lack of stamina.
Strengths and Concerns
Strengths:
I’m struggling here. He’s clearly a talented racehorse who showed his precocity with nice runs as a two-year-old and he looked a peripheral Derby type before his last run.
Concerns:
Sure seems like his trainer would rather be in the Pat Day Mile. That’s a huge issue to me.
He doesn’t seem like he’ll see out the trip.
Even if he does, nothing suggests he has the overall speed or class to tangle with the best of these.
Expert Opinions and Odds
Incoming! This will be a bombs away situation market wise. He’s listed at 50-1 internationally. Are there enough people named Owen out there to drive the price down on the day? That remains to be seen. But this will be a test of PTF’s theory that Derby longshots are never as long as they should be because this horse should be at least 50-1.
Conclusion
Owen Almighty is a giant longshot who is nearly impossible to endorse in this spot. He could be of interest later in the Summer when turned back in distance.
Kentucky Derby Contender Profiles
Journalism – Sandman – Sovereignty – Burnham Square – Luxor Cafe – Tappan Street – Citizen Bull – Tiztastic – Coal Battle – Rodriguez – American Promise – Final Gambit – Grande – East Avenue – Publisher – Chunk of Gold – Owen Almighty – Flying Mohawk
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