Kentucky Derby Maiden Watch: Civil Liberty breaks through

Typically, horses that break their maidens 20 days prior to the Kentucky Derby (G1) don’t wind up in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. But Civil Liberty isn’t your typical maiden winner.

Even though Civil Liberty scored his first career victory at Keeneland last Sunday, he already has experience on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. In fact, he owns a couple of Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

While it’s unlikely Civil Liberty will pursue a start in the Kentucky Derby, if he does seek entry, those points could prove critical. The Kentucky Derby is limited to 20 starters, but up to four also-eligibles can enter the race. In theory, Civil Liberty’s points would give him preference over horses without points on the also-eligible list, improving his chances of sneaking into the Kentucky Derby field if there were scratches from the main body of the field.

Thus, Civil Liberty tops the rankings in our final Kentucky Derby Maiden Watch of the 2025-26 season.

Civil Liberty

Civil Liberty raced three times as a juvenile last year. The Doug O’Neill trainee debuted in a deep 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Del Mar and finished second, beaten only by next-out Del Mar Futurity (G1) winner Brant while finishing ahead of future Remsen (G2) third-place finisher Balboa and eventual American Pharoah (G1) winner Intrepido.

Off this promising debut, Civil Liberty stepped up in class for a pair of Grade 1 races. In the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G1), he finished third behind Brant and Best Pal (G3) winner Desert Gate while coming home ahead of Balboa and future Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) winner Litmus Test.

Then, in the American Pharoah (G1)—a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier at Santa Anita—Civil Liberty finished fourth behind Intrepido, Desert Gate, and future Robert B. Lewis (G3) winner Plutarch while again defeating Balboa. This performance earned Civil Liberty 2 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Civil Liberty missed a scheduled start in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) with a tendon issue and went five months between races. He returned to action as a three-year-old on March 7, finishing second by a neck in a deep 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita. The winner, Crude Velocity, returned to dominate his next start in a $50,000 allowance optional claimer.

By this time, Civil Liberty was a bit unlucky to still be a maiden. He remedied the situation at Keeneland in his second run of 2026. He started as the 1-2 favorite in a seven-furlong maiden special weight and left no doubt about his superiority. After setting and pressing fractions of :22.86 and :45.70, he took over and drew clear to score by three lengths in 1:22.41.

Civil Liberty’s record to date suggests he might be best racing around one turn, so the Pat Day Mile (G2) on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs might be a more likely target than the Derby itself. But Civil Liberty is a Triple Crown nominee, and you never know what his future might hold.

Resolute Will

Another Triple Crown nominee who posted a notable maiden win last week was Resolute Will.

Trained by Chad Brown, Resolute Will finished a distant fourth when debuting in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Tampa Bay Downs last month. He improved sharply when making his second start in a one-mile maiden special weight at Aqueduct on Friday, staying within two lengths of quick :22.79 and :45.50 pace fractions before outkicking runner-up Fightforallegiance in a long stretch drive to prevail by a head.

Resolute Will hit the wire in 1:36.27. The son of Constitution is progressing well and could have a bright future.

Fourth Dimension

Fourth Dimension has been on the rise since switching from turf to dirt. Stretching out around two turns has helped him, too. His first two-turn dirt run produced a second-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight on Feb. 7 at Gulfstream Park, and his second try—over the same distance and class level at Keeneland last Thursday—yielded a dominant win.

Fourth Dimension trailed a seven-horse field through splits of :23.41 and :46.94 before launching a sustained rally into a decelerating pace to triumph by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:45.84. Bill Mott trains the son of hot sire Not This Time.

Vintage Cowboy

Vintage Cowboy showed potential when rallying to finish third in his debut sprinting six furlongs at Oaklawn Park. His second start came in a one-mile maiden special weight at Oaklawn last Friday, and the Steve Asmussen-trained son of Essential Quality stepped forward with a winning performance.

Vintage Cowboy tracked and pressed fractions of :22.72, :46.60, and 1:11.98 in second place before edging past pacesetter Silver Syndicate to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:40.35.

Munnings Challenge

Another notable winner at Oaklawn was Munnings Challenge. Runner-up in his March 1 debut sprinting six furlongs at Oaklawn, the son of Munnings improved by leaps and bounds when tackling the same conditions in his second start, which came on Saturday.

The Brad Cox trainee rated in third through an opening quarter-mile in :22.03, advanced to lead through half a mile in :45.59, and then blazed his final two furlongs in :11.96 and :11.93 to dominate by five lengths in the fast time of 1:09.48.

Munnings Challenge’s pedigree suggests sprinting will be his forte, but his fast finish down the Oaklawn homestretch suggests at least somewhat longer distances may be within reach.

Print

We’ll close out our series with a mention of Print, a Robert Ribaudo trainee who graduated when making his fifth career start in a one-mile maiden special weight on Sunday at Aqueduct.

Coming off a nose defeat over the same track, distance, and class level on Feb. 21, Print broke through decisively on Sunday. Facing only four rivals, he settled in third place by as many as five lengths through swift fractions of :23.49 and :45.96, then unleashed a big finish to draw off and score by five lengths in 1:36.72.

Top maiden winner of the week: Civil Liberty

Honorable mention: Resolute Will