Magnum Moon remained undefeated in 4 starts, all at three-years old, by taking the Arkansas Derby yesterday. Magnum Moon went right to the front under Luis Saez and turned away Quip who tried to stay with him. Quip looked finished at the top of the stretch but managed to come again on the inside and get second.
He will likely head to the Kentucky Derby as well. Magnum Moon again was bearing out in the stretch pretty significantly. That could be from being green, being tired, or some other underlying issue. He probably won’t be able to bear out that much and take the run for the roses. In his defense he is lightly raced, fast and still learning and improving. He also has Todd Pletcher educating him and that won’t hurt.
Magnum Moon makes two horses heading to Louisville looking to take down the curse of Apollo. Both he and Justify will head to the gate undefeated, with chances on paper to become the first Kentucky Derby winner to not have raced at two since Apollo in 1882. It adds some intrigue to the first Saturday in May not that it needed any. Magnum Moon ran the mile and an eighth Arkansas Derby in 1:49.86.
