Kentucky Derby Alumni: Disarm Returns to Stakes Company in the Oaklawn H.

Apr 18, 2025 Sara Dacus/TwinSpires.com

Disarm wins at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)

Disarm, a  Kentucky Derby alumnus, returns to stakes company in the $1.25 million Oaklawn H. (G2). The eight-horse field is packed with talent, and Disarm is 10-1 on the morning line.

Among his top rivals is defending champion Skippylongstocking (5-2), while three other horses enter off local stakes wins: Oaklawn Mile S. (G3) winner Banishing (7-2), Razorback H. (G3) champion Alexander Helios (4-1), and Essex H. (G3) victor Red Route One (15-1), Disarm’s stablemate in the Steve Asmussen barn. Brad Cox-trained First Mission is the favorite (2-1). The multiple graded stakes winner hasn’t been to the winner’s circle in over a year, but his recent works indicate that he is ready to return.

Disarm returns to the races and gets back in the winner's circle as a 5YO in R9 at Oaklawn Park! 🤩@keithasm7 was up for trainer Steve Asmussen.

🎥 TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/WF6LJ1sQLn

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 14, 2025

Disarm kicked off his five-year-old campaign with a narrow victory in an Oaklawn allowance, winning by a neck.

“Loved his race back, and love how he’s trained since,” Hall of Fame trainer Asmussen told The Daily Racing Form.

Keith Asmussen retains the mount on Disarm for his father.

A son of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, Disarm carries the same Winchell Thoroughbreds silks as his sire. Gun Runner finished third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby before winning six Grade 1s, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., and has since become one of the top sires in North America.

Disarm earned his way into the 2023 Kentucky Derby with a runner-up finish in the Louisiana Derby (G2) and a third in the Lexington S. (G3). He ran a credible fourth behind Mage in the Derby.

Following the Kentucky Derby, Disarm won the Matt Winn S. (G3). In another standout moment of his sophomore season, he finished second in the Travers S. (G1), one length behind Belmont S. (G1) winner Arcangelo.

His four-year-old campaign was quieter, yielding just one win from five starts, an allowance score. The Oaklawn H. will help reveal if his five-year-old season will bring a resurgence.

The Oaklawn H. is race 11 on Saturday’s card. The undercard includes the Valley of the Vapors S. and the Bathhouse Row S., a “win and you’re in” race for the Preakness S. (G1), the second jewel of the Triple Crown.