Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Drum Roll Please

Jan 08, 2024 John Mucciolo

Drum Roll Please at Belmont Big A (Photo by Coglianese Photography)

Gold Square, LLC’s Drum Roll Please picked up 10 points on the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge series after bagging the $145,500 Jerome S. at Aqueduct on Jan. 6. The Brad Cox trainee endured one mile on the fast main oval in 1:41.91 under the guidance of jockey Javier Castellano.

'I think he'll handle two turns. It's highly likely he'll stay in New York and return in the Withers,' Cox said. 'He's a really good-looking horse. There's plenty of him, which is encouraging when you start thinking about mile-and-an-eighth, mile-and-a-quarter races. He's improved a lot mentally since the fall with the way he handles everything.”

The Pennsylvania-bred #1 Drum Roll Please earns 10 @kentuckyderby points in the Jerome S. at Aqueduct! 🥁🌹@jjcjockey was aboard for trainer @bradcoxracing.

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/31GlZKum84

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) January 6, 2024

Drum Roll Please upped his career mark to 5-2-1-1, $183,630. The son of Hard Spun commenced his career on July 29 at Saratoga and went unplaced in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash over a sloppy, sealed surface. He improved with a runner-up performance traveling one mile at the Spa at second asking, prior to graduating in his third assignment at Aqueduct on Oct. 6. He preceded his initial stakes triumph with a solid third-place result in the Remsen S. (G2).

The winner was bred in the Keystone State by Barlar, LLC and went through the auction ring on a pair of occasions. He was a $295,000 RNA at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Sale, prior to being sold for $250,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale.

Drum Roll Please is the first black-type winner produced from the seven-time stakes-winning E Dubai mare Imply, who counts herself as a half-sister to a trio of stakes winners. This is the same female line as 1994 Horse of the Year Holy Bull.

The colt has earned Brisnet Speed numbers of 96-87-93-83 from a quartet of route races to this stage of his development. He will need to considerably move forward to compete with the top horses in his class, but the long-striding chestnut does give the impression of a prospect who will thrive with more ground as the season progresses.

Drum Roll Please will likely appear in the $250,000 Withers S. (G3) on the Aqueduct oval on Feb. 3.