Kentucky Derby Maiden Watch: Iron Honor impresses for Brown

For the second week in a row, the Kentucky Derby Maiden Watch rankings are topped by an exciting Chad Brown trainee.

Last week, it was Schoolyardsuperman who joined Brown’s roster of potential 2026 Kentucky Derby (G1) contenders, a group featuring Remsen (G2) winner Paladin and flashy maiden winners Rebel Instinct and Hedge Ratio.

The latest to join the Brown brigade is Iron Honor. The $475,000 yearling acquisition debuted on Saturday at Aqueduct with a resounding performance, suggesting he has a bright future.

Iron Honor

Facing half a dozen rivals in a six-furlong maiden special weight, Iron Honor started as the 5-1 fourth choice off a seemingly unremarkable series of workouts. Bettors who overlooked the bay colt soon regretted their decision.

With Manny Franco in the saddle, Iron Honor tracked favored Crossingthechannel in second place through fractions of :22.79 and :46.50. Leaving the rest of the field far behind, Iron Honor set off in pursuit of Crossingthechannel and gradually wore down the pacesetter to prevail by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:11.23. Crossingthechannel, in turn, pulled 7 1/2 lengths clear of the third-place finisher.

Iron Honor’s winning time stacked up well against other races on the card. Only half an hour earlier, the stakes-placed three-year-old Floodlites required 1:11.29 to win a six-furlong allowance.

As a son of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist out of a mare by Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Blame, Iron Honor has the pedigree to thrive over classic distances. There’s a strong chance he’ll improve significantly with distance and maturity, so look for Iron Honor to make some serious noise on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

D’code

Iron Honor’s impressive debut was rivaled by D’code, an H. Ray Ashford Jr. trainee who obliterated 10 rivals in a six-furlong maiden special weight on Sunday at Oaklawn Park.

Purchased for $775,000 as a two-year-old in training, D’code debuted off fast workouts at Oaklawn and started as the 19-10 favorite. The son of champion sprinter Speightstown ran to expectations, breaking on top and setting splits of :22.00 and :45.33 before powering away to dominate by 8 1/4 lengths.

D’code reached the finish line in the snappy time of 1:09.57, far and away the fastest six-furlong sprint on the card. For comparison, four-year-old filly Liuzza won an allowance in 1:11.24, and two-year-old filly Counting Stars needed 1:11.13 to take the Astra Spa S.

Only time will tell how far D’code wants to run, but it’s worth noting Speightstown—despite his own sprinting prowess—has sired a bevy of Grade 1 winners over 1 1/4 miles, so there’s a chance D’code will stretch out successfully around two turns.

Jackson Hole

Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher unveiled a highly regarded prospect on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Jackson Hole, a son of Nyquist out of a mare by Preakness (G1) winner Bernardini, sold for $1.3 million as a yearling. He debuted as the 4-5 favorite in a seven-furlong maiden special weight, and while he had to work harder than expected to take top honors, he successfully closed from four lengths behind fractions of :22.63 and :45.52 to win by one length in 1:25.10.

Jackson Hole is bred to shine in the spring classics, so expect the bay colt to improve with distance and maturity.

Forever Man

At Tampa Bay Downs, Forever Man broke through in a Wednesday maiden special weight racing one mile and 40 yards.

Forever Man made his first three starts on the New York circuit, finishing behind future Road to the Kentucky Derby points earners like Further Ado, Renegade, Soldier N Diplomat, It’s Our Time, and Courting.

Forever Man found the competition more manageable at Tampa. Making his two-turn debut for trainer Tom Proctor, the gelded son of Bolt d’Oro settled in the middle of a small field through fractions of :24.24, :48.55, and 1:14.11, then wore down the pacesetter with a prolonged rally to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:41.62.

Our Magical Moon

It took Our Magical Moon four starts to break his maiden, but he finally got the job done with a dominant win in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight on Saturday at Oaklawn.

Coming off a runner-up finish to Chad Brown’s Hedge Ratio in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Aqueduct, Our Magical Moon improved nicely while tackling a dirt route race for the first time. After dropping back to fifth place early on—as many as 14 1/2 lengths behind a runaway leader—Our Magical Moon unleashed a sustained move to pass the leaders and surge clear by five lengths in 1:46.24.

It’s unsurprising to see Our Magical Moon improve while stretching out in distance. His sire (Good Magic) and dam sire (Malibu Moon) have respectively sired Kentucky Derby winners Mage and Orb, so classic distances should be right within Our Magical Moon’s wheelhouse.

Fifty Four Yarder

In contrast to Our Magical Moon, Fifty Four Yarder found success first-time out in a six-furlong maiden special weight on Oaklawn’s Saturday card.

The $400,000 yearling acquisition started as a 15-1 longshot for trainer Kelly Von Hemel and outran the expectations of bettors. The son of Violence dropped back to eighth place through the opening quarter-mile in :22.03 and was still fifth through half a mile in :45.86.

But down the homestretch, Fifty Four Yarder charged relentlessly to get up and beat pacesetter Baby Vino by a neck in 1:11.77, a promising first start he can build upon this winter.

Top maiden winner of the week: Iron Honor

Honorable mention: D’code