Kentucky Derby Alumni Update: Hit Show Ships West for Big 'Cap

Feb 28, 2025 Sara Dacus/TwinSpires.com

Hit Show, a 2023 Kentucky Derby alumnus, has five graded stakes victories on his resume, but he hasn’t clinched a Grade 1. That could change Saturday: the Brad Cox-trainee ships west for the Santa Anita H. (G1). He is an experienced traveler, with wins at six different tracks and over $1.4 million in earnings. Reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavian Prat has the call.

The gray son of Candy Ride opened his 5-year-old campaign with a late rally to win the Louisiana S. (G3) at Fair Grounds on Jan. 18. This performance signaled he is continuing the crescendo that started his four-year-old season with four wins from six starts, including consecutive victories in the West Virginia Governor’s S. (G3), Lukas Classic S. (G2), and Hagyard Fayette S. (G2). Wathnan Racing, owned by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, acquired him from breeders Mary and Gary West following the first of these three wins.

#6 Hit Show takes the G2 Lukas Classic for trainer @bradcoxracing with @flothejock aboard! 💪

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/Ezepc74Twr

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) September 29, 2024

Cox, a Louisville native, has stated that he has a goal for Hit Show to get a Grade 1 win this year, saying he is a horse with top talent.

In the historic “Big ‘Cap,” Hit Show is second choice on the morning line behind Locked, who finished second in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. (G1) Jan. 25. Locked invades from Florida for trainer Todd Pletcher. The nine-horse field also includes emerging Mirahmadhi, who is named after the Santa Anita track announcer Frank Mirahmadi and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, and 2022 Santa Anita H. victor Express Train.

Hit Show finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby, won by Mage at 15-1 odds. He earned his place in the starting gate with a win in the Withers S. (G3) and a second-place finish by a nose in the Wood Memorial S. (G2). After the Derby, he ran fourth in the Belmont S. (G1) and then was unplaced in the Jim Dandy S. (G2) and Oklahoma Derby (G3). The Oklahoma Derby is his only prior start with Prat in the irons.

Three other graded stakes are on the blockbuster Santa Anita card, including the Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. (G1) on the turf and San Felipe S. (G2), a points race on The Road to the Kentucky Derby. Baffert’s Barnes, the 5 1/2 length victor of the San Vicente S. (G2), leads the field.