Always Dreaming won the 143rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, pulling away in the final straight on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs in Louisville to claim the first jewel in US flat racing’s Triple Crown.
The triumph gave both jockey John Velazquez and trainer Todd Pletcher a second Kentucky Derby victory, but their first together.
Pletcher saddled 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, while Velazquez was aboard 2011 winner Animal Kingdom.
It was another Kentucky Derby disappointment for the Godolphin stables of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum as their UAE Derby winner, Thunder Snow, broke awkwardly from the gate and was pulled up by Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon.
An initial examination indicated no serious injury to the horse.
Lookin at Lee finished second from the first post with Battle of Midway third.
Based on a stellar showing in the Florida Derby on April 1 and strong workouts since, Always Dreaming was sent off at 9-2 and became the fifth straight betting favorite to win the Kentucky Derby.
Always Dreaming hit the front going into the final turn. He withstood a challenge from Irish War Cry before pulling away in the straight to leave the late charging Lookin At Lee, a 33-1 shot trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Corey Lanerie, to finish second 2 3/4 lengths behind.
The US racing world’s attention now turns to the Preakness at Pimlico in Baltimore on May 20. The Triple Crown concludes with the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 10.
American Pharoah became just the 12th horse to complete the treble in 2015 — and the first since Affirmed in 1978.
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