Orb captures Florida Derby

Orb catapulted to the top of the Ky Derby leaderboard with his win in the Florida Derby (Leslie Martin/Adam Coglianese Photography)

Stuart S. Janney III and Phipps Stable’s homebred Orb bided his time in
midpack before moving up on the outside of the dueling Merit Man and
Itsmyluckyday in the lane of Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million
Florida
Derby to take command and draw off for a 2 3/4-length win.

The Shug McGaughey trainee continued jockey John Velazquez’s stellar
afternoon at Gulfstream Park, handing his rider a fifth win on the day as he
paid $7.80, $3.80 and $3.40 as the near 3-1 third choice.

Merit Man broke sharply and shot across the field to take up the lead on the
rail from his 8 post. Narvaez, the 103-1 longshot who drew the far outside post
10, followed and managed to get his head in front through the opening quarter of
:24 3/5 before Merit Man nudged his way back to the lead for the half-mile in
:48 2/5 and three-quarter mark in 1:12 4/5.

Itsmyluckyday and juvenile champion Shanghai Bobby, who were the respective
one-two in the Grade 3 Holy Bull, took up their rivalry once again just in
behind while Orb settled a bit farther out to track the early pace.

As the field entered the turn, Orb ranged up to the outside of Itsmyluckyday,
Narvaez and Merit Man while Shanghai Bobby found himself facing a wall of horses
racing on the rail. Narvaez began backing up but Merit Man and Itsmyluckyday
continued to battle it out, in the end to no avail as Orb slid on past to finish
1 1/8 miles on the fast dirt in 1:50 4/5.

Orb is now ready for his close-up under the Twin Spires (Adam Coglianese Photography)

Orb has now captured his last four races, beginning by breaking his maiden on
November 24 at Aqueduct by two lengths. That was the Malibu Moon colt’s final
start as a two-year-old, and he returned in late January at Gulfstream to take
an optional claimer by a length. The bay made his stakes bow a winning one last
out in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, the local prep for the Florida Derby, and
boosted his career earnings to $921,050 with the winner’s share from Saturday’s
score.

Now owning a 4-0-1 mark from seven starts, Orb also earned 100 points on the
new Road to the Kentucky Derby points system to shoot on top of the current
leaderboard for the May 4 classic at Churchill Downs with 150 total points.

The Kentucky-bred colt is out of the winning Unbridled mare Lady Liberty, who
is herself a daughter of 1996 Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan queen Mesabi Maiden.
Orb’s third dam, Steel Maiden, ran second in the 1986 edition of that same race
and is also the third dam of multiple Group 1 hero Suggestive Boy, who thus far
this season has won the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile and Grade 2 Arcadia.