Kentucky Derby Maiden Watch: Gallivant graduates in a stakes

It’s uncommon for horses to score their first career win at the stakes level. One of the most notable to do so is Sovereignty, who broke his maiden in the Street Sense (G3) before going on to win the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1).

Now Gallivant has joined the list. Like Sovereignty, he’s a son of perennial leading sire Into Mischief, who has sired a record-equaling three winners of the Kentucky Derby.

Thanks to his maiden-breaking stakes score, Gallivant leads an impressive roster of juveniles in this week’s Kentucky Derby Maiden Watch.

Gallivant

An LNJ Foxwoods homebred trained by Ben Colebrook, Gallivant debuted in a six-furlong maiden special weight on Oct. 4 at Keeneland, in which he led for five furlongs before tiring to finish third.

Undeterred by this defeat, Colebrook ran Gallivant back only three weeks later in Saturday’s six-furlong Bowman Mill S. at Keeneland. Despite stepping up in class and squaring off against three proven winners, Gallivant launched a last-to-first rally from behind quick splits of :21.92 and :45.83 to dominate a strung-out field by six lengths in 1:11.17.

The Keeneland dirt yielded slow times on Saturday, so Gallivant’s winning time was respectable. Given the improvement he showed from his first start to his second, Gallivant could well be any sort of talent, making him an exciting prospect for the 2026 Kentucky Derby.

Time for Music

Another notable winner at Keeneland was Time for Music, from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. After tiring to finish fourth and ninth in his first two starts, the son of hot sire Not This Time improved substantially in his third appearance, graduating in a maiden special weight sprinting about seven furlongs last Thursday.

Time for Music was content to rate in third place for much of the race, trailing the pacesetter by as many as four lengths through fractions of :22.34 and :45.55. But he rallied tenaciously through the final furlong to get up and score by a neck in 1:28.91.

Stradale

On Sunday, racing in Kentucky shifted from Keeneland to Churchill Downs, and Asmussen struck again with Stradale.

Dropping in class off a fifth-place finish in the Champagne (G1) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, Stradale had no difficulty trouncing 11 rivals in a six-furlong maiden special weight. He rated in sixth through an opening quarter-mile in :22.88, advanced to second through half a mile in :46.56, and then blazed his final quarter-mile in :23.60 to dominate by 5 1/2 lengths in 1:10.22.

Stradale’s fast finish is a sign of talent. After four starts, the bay colt appears to be putting everything together, and he may yet live up to his $1.3 million purchase price.

White Tiger

Another notable winner on Churchill’s opening-day card was White Tiger, from the barn of Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Brad Cox.

White Tiger debuted on Sept. 19 in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. On that occasion, he finished a distant second behind Englishman, one of the most exciting juveniles in training.

White Tiger flattered Englishman by winning his second start in fine fashion. Favored at 7-20 to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight, the gray son of Constitution set splits of :23.62, :48.23, and 1:13.74 before turning back a stiff challenge to prevail by half a length in 1:45.56.

Valiant

Not to be outdone, Cox’s $1 million yearling Valiant graduated with authority in a one-mile maiden special weight on Thursday at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Favored at 7-10 despite finishing seventh and fourth in his first two starts, Valiant delivered on expectations in a big way. The son of Into Mischief dashed to the front, posted fractions of :24.41, :47.91, and 1:12.71, and then clocked his final quarter-mile in a solid :24.69 to romp by 5 1/4 lengths in 1:37.40.

Acknowledgemeplz

Most of the focus in California right now is on the upcoming Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. But at Santa Anita on Saturday, second-time starter Acknowledgemeplz cut through the noise with a sharp maiden win, suggesting he’s a serious talent for two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O’Neill.

Acknowledgemeplz started his career back in June, finishing second in a five-furlong maiden special weight to future Del Mar Futurity (G1) and American Pharoah (G1) runner-up Desert Gate.

Acknowledgmeplz didn’t run again for over four months, but he shrugged off the layoff when returning to action in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight. He broke on top, set fractions of :22.43 and :44.82, and held off a bid from favored Blacksmith (a first-time starter trained by Bob Baffert) to score by three-quarters of a length.

The winning time was a quick 1:15.72. As a son of Bucchero out of a mare by Yes It’s True, Acknowledgmeplz is bred to excel as a sprinter. But if he proves capable of carrying his speed around two turns, Road to the Kentucky Derby contenders will have plenty to fear.

Pantherian

At Aqueduct last week, two different juveniles by talented sprinter/miler Vekoma posted debut wins.

The first was Pantherian, a $750,000 auction acquisition conditioned by two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher. Favored at 7-10 to win a six-furlong maiden special weight for New York-breds on Friday, the chestnut colt dueled from start to finish with Wamo, posting fractions of :21.84 and :44.85 en route to a final time of 1:16.77.

Technically, Wamo crossed the finish line first by a head. But Pantherian was carried wide by Wamo in the late stages of the race, and the stewards awarded Pantherian the win via disqualification.

Epic Summer

The second Vekoma to strike was Epic Summer in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on Sunday.

The George Weaver trainee survived dueling through fractions of :22.59 and :45.76 to draw off down the lane and prevail by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:16.30.

Top maiden winner of the week: Gallivant

Honorable mention: Stradale