Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Dubyuhnell

Unwavering tenacity carried Dubyuhnell to a hard-fought victory in the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct, stamping the chestnut colt as a contender for the 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1).

The Remsen proved Dubyuhnell can carry his pace-pressing speed over 1 1/8 miles, but is the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Kentucky Derby within reach? His pedigree gives off mixed signals.

There’s nothing concerning about the top half of Dubyuhnell’s pedigree. He’s a son of Good Magic, the champion two-year-old male of 2017 and runner-up in the 2018 Kentucky Derby. Good Magic is a son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, a stamina influence known for siring Preakness (G1) winner Exaggerator and Belmont (G1) hero Palace Malice. Good Magic’s dam sire is Kentucky Derby runner-up and Preakness third-place finisher Hard Spun.

Good Magic’s first foals hit the races in 2022, and he’s clearly following in Curlin’s footsteps as a sire of long-winded dirt runners. In addition to Dubyuhnell, Good Magic is the sire of Champagne (G1) winner Blazing Sevens and Iroquois (G3) victor Curly Jack, giving Good Magic three graded stakes winners on the 2022-23 Road to the Kentucky Derby.

But the bottom half of Dubyuhnell’s pedigree paints a completely different picture. Classic stamina is replaced by speed, speed, and more speed starting with Dubyuhnell’s dam, Wild Gams.

A New Jersey-bred daughter of Forest Wildcat out of Diamonds and Legs, Wild Gams was a consistent and durable mare who won seven stakes and nearly $1.2 million over four seasons of competition. Each and every one of her stakes wins came sprinting six furlongs, including her signature triumphs in the Thoroughbred Club of America (G3), Safely Kept (G3), and Cicada (G3). For good measure, Wild Gams ran second by a neck in the six-furlong Prioress (G1).

The source of Wild Gams’s speed is readily apparent: both her sire and dam were sprinters. Forest Wildcat was best traveling six furlongs, the distance over which he won the Maryland Breeders’ Cup H. (G3), Finger Lakes Breeders’ Cup (G3), Ben Cohen S., and Phoenix S. Diamonds and Legs likewise proved best sprinting six furlongs, winning the Laura Gal S. and finishing second in the Peach Blossom S.

Prior to producing Dubyuhnell, Wild Gams passed on speed to her stakes-winning foals Cazadero and Mt. Brave. Cazadero won the six-furlong Bashford Manor (G3) on dirt as a juvenile before tackling grass to win the Nearctic (G2) as a four-year-old, while Mt. Brave used her speed to post a convincing win in the six-furlong Flashy Lady S.

One exception to this tendency toward speed can be found in Forest Wildcat’s record as a broodmare sire. While his progeny tended to be sprinters and milers (winning at an average distance of 6.2 furlongs per Brisnet stats), Forest Wildcat’s daughters have produced at least a few longer-winded types, including 1 1/4-mile E.P. Taylor (G1) winner Starship Jubilee and 1 1/16-mile Santa Anita Oaks (G1) winner Paradise Woods.

Starship Jubilee was sired by the stoutly bred five-time stakes winner Indy Wind, and Paradise Woods is a daughter of Belmont winner Union Rags, so evidence would suggest daughters of Forest Wildcat are capable of foaling route runners when bred to suitably stout stallions. That’s good news for Dubyuhnell, because it opens the door for Good Magic’s classic stamina to outweigh the speed of Wild Gams/Forest Wildcat and successfully carry Dubyuhnell over 1 1/4 miles.