Final Gambit wasn’t necessarily nominated to Turfway Park’s marquee card last Saturday with the intention of earning a Kentucky Derby berth.
Juddmonte general manager Garrett O’Rourke said trainer Brad Cox felt the homebred colt, who had made his three prior starts at a mile, would appreciate the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby, a Kentucky Derby prep. If he did not get into what was expected to be a full field, they would reroute to the Rushaway Stakes – a race that does not offer Derby points – at 1 1/16 miles.
But Final Gambit made it into the Ruby and indeed relished the added ground, making a wide last-to-first run to win by 3 1/2 lengths with a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 90. The 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points he earned for the victory assures him a berth in the Derby starting gate if his connections want to take it. He would be running on dirt for the first time after four career starts on turf and synthetic.
Immediately after the Ruby, O’Rourke stopped short of fully committing to the Derby, saying the son of versatile sire Not This Time will train on dirt and that Cox’s opinion will play the biggest role.
“The horse ultimately always answers the questions [with] how he trains,” O’Rourke said. “Trainers like Brad, they get a feel for what the horses can and can’t do, and we’ll leave the professionals to make those decisions and obviously talk to the owners and see what they want to do as well. But [the Ruby] is a huge step up for where we might want to go in the future.”
On Monday, O'Rourke said that Final Gambit emerged from his Ruby effort in good order, and reiterated that the team will listen to Cox's opinions as to how the colt adapts to training on dirt. If Final Gambit does not run in the Kentucky Derby, he could run in the American Turf for 3-year-olds on the undercard, a race elevated to Grade 1 status and with its purse raised to $1 million this year.
After finishing third in his first outing on the Churchill Downs turf in November, Final Gambit was second by a half-length in a January maiden race at Turfway. He then rallied to win a maiden race there on Feb. 15.
Assistant trainer Tessa Walden has overseen the colt’s development at Turfway and thinks he could handle a surface change at this point in his career.
“I don’t think it’ll be an issue for him now,” she said. “He’s got the maturity in him now to handle something different.”
Ruby runner-up Flying Mohawk earned 50 points for his effort and is virtually guaranteed a Derby berth if his connections want to go.
“When you’re from Louisville, there’s only one race you’re aiming for, and that’s the Derby,” trainer Whit Beckman, a native of the city, said post-race.
Flying Mohawk would also be making his first start on dirt in the Kentucky Derby.
The Ruby has made an impact on the Kentucky Derby in recent years. Rich Strike ran third in the 2022 edition before upsetting the Derby, and Two Phil’s won the 2023 Ruby and was second in the Derby. However, both had won on dirt at Churchill as 2-year-olds.
Maximum Promise, third in both the John Battaglia Memorial and Ruby at Turfway, has a total of 33 points toward the Derby, and Grade 2-winning juvenile Poster has 31 after running an even fourth as the favorite on Saturday. That puts them 16th and 18th, respectively, on the points leaderboard with a number of major preps remaining.
Last year, Epic Ride was the final horse to get into the Derby field on points – excluding the Japanese-based berth – drawing in as an also-eligible with 35 points.
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