Kentucky Derby Context: Great White

A frontrunning winner of the John Battaglia Memorial two starts back, Great White will try to rebound from a fifth in the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland if he makes the Kentucky Derby field. The gray colt will be entered as an also-eligible, needing at least one defection to be included in a 20-horse field, and Great White may add some speed to the mix. A debut maiden winner at Turfway Park in December, Great White has been overlooked in all four starts, never going off at shorter than 7-1 odds, and he promises to be long odds if he draws in the Kentucky Derby.

OWNER: Three Chimneys Farm (Goncalo Torrealba) and John Ennis own Great White. Great White would give Three Chimneys their second Kentucky Derby starter since being purchased by the Torrealba family, finishing third in partnership with Gun Runner (2016), who went on to be named Horse of the Year the following season and has established himself as a top-class stallion at Three Chimneys. Ennis looks to make his first start as owner.

TRAINER: A native of Ireland, John Ennis has trained a previous Kentucky Derby runner, Epic Ride, who finished 14th in 2024. He started his career as a jockey, serving as exercise rider for two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, and launched his training career in late 2012.

JOCKEY: Great White would provide Alex Achard with his first Kentucky Derby ride. A native of France, Achard started riding in the United States about eight years ago, riding primarily at Turfway Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis, and his first Grade 1 win came at Keeneland in 2021.

BREEDER: Bred in Kentucky by Stud TNT (Goncalo Torrealba), Great White would be the second Kentucky Derby bred by Stud TNT, a prominent Brazilian Thoroughbred breeding and racing organization that also operates in Kentucky. Great White sold for $55,000 as a yearling.

SIRE: Great White is from the second crop of Grade 1-winning sprinter Volatile, a son of Violence. Violence is best known as the sire of 2022 champion two-year-old male Forte, who was forced to scratch as the morning line favorite from the 2023 Kentucky Derby due to a foot issue and came back to finish second in the Belmont.

DAM: Great White is the first foal to race from Kelly Bag, a daughter of Uncle Mo, who is best known as the sire of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. As a broodmare sire, Uncle Mo claims 2025 Preakness winner Journalism, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, and 2024 Horse of the Year and Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna from a relatively small sample.