Winner of Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes big favorite at Ellis Park this weekend

A lot has gone right to put Louisville-based Art Collector in position to compete for a Kentucky Derby crown.

And now comes one final step before trainer Tommy Drury and owner Bruce Lunsford get their dream shot in the Run for the Roses.

“I was joking with someone the other day; this horse was a ‘half-mile fit’ the first Saturday in May,” Drury said. “There was zero chance. You couldn’t even consider the Derby if it had been on its normal schedule. Even with the Derby being pushed back, we were still in a situation where we absolutely needed everything to go just our way.”

Of course, this year has been unlike any other.

When the Kentucky Derby was originally scheduled to run on May 2, Art Collector was a horse who had won only one of his five career races. In his most recent three, he had finished no better than sixth and he had not been raced since Nov. 30, 2019. That resume does not scream Kentucky Derby contender.

The coronavirus pandemic forced Churchill Downs to postpone the Derby until Sept. 5 and Art Collector, maybe more than any horse in America, has taken full advantage of the extra time allotted.

On May 17, he won an allowance race at Churchill in his return to racing after a 5 1/2-month layoff. On June 13, he won another allowance race in Louisville, which proved to be his on-ramp to the Kentucky Derby trail.

Less than a month later, in the $600,000, Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on July 11, Art Collector and jockey Brian Hernandez unleashed a stunning 3 1/2-length win over super filly Swiss Skydiver.

“In horse racing, more often than not, that doesn’t happen,” Drury said. “It’s kind of been, ‘Gosh, this horse could maybe get us there’ but in the back of your mind, you’re always thinking ‘how often does everything go perfect?’”

On Thursday, Art Collector was installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite for Sunday’s $200,000 Ellis Park Derby in Henderson, the 3-year-old’s final stop on his way to the Run for the Roses. Art Collector drew post position No. 4 in a full field of 12 on Thursday.

Sunday’s race is the first Kentucky Derby prep in the track’s history.

Art Collector stands fifth on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with the 100 points he earned for winning the Blue Grass. The Ellis Park Derby provides 50 points to the winner, 20 for second place, 10 for third and five for fourth.

With only one remaining Derby points race after Sunday — the Pegasus at Monmouth on Aug. 15 — there’s no shortage of contenders lined up to take a shot at Art Collector.

Top challengers in the 1 1/8-mile race figure to include Shared Sense (9-2), Anneau d’Or (12-1), Dean Martini (10-1) and Necker Island (15-1).

“It’s Art Collector and all the rest,” Tom Amoss, trainer of Dean Martini, said. “You’ve got a really strong favorite in this race, and I think everyone will measure the quality of their horse with how they perform against him.”

Dean Martini won the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown in his most recent outing on June 27 and has finished out of the money only once in his 10 career races.

Shared Sense, a son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, won the Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand on July 8 in his graded stakes debut. He collected 20 Derby qualifying points for that win but wasn’t nominated to the Triple Crown series earlier this year. Godolphin Stable would have to pay $45,000 plus entry fees to put him in the Derby as a supplemental nominee, but he’ll probably need to pick up additional points Sunday before crossing that bridge.

Major Fed, who ran second to Shared Sense in Indiana and was considered a possibility for the Ellis Park Derby, will instead go straight to the Kentucky Derby.

“We’re happy with where we are with him and comfortable with the points situation,” Travis Foley, assistant to his father, trainer Greg Foley, told the Daily Racing Form on Wednesday. “Everything’s good and we didn’t feel like we needed the race in between.”

Major Fed stands 16th in points with 38.

Anneau d’Or comes in off a pair of fourth-place finishes in Grade 1 events — the Arkansas Derby on May 2 and the Santa Anita Derby on June 6.

Necker Island was third in the Indiana Derby.

Little Menace (20-1) could also prove dangerous, having won the Grand Prairie Derby at Lone Star on June 28, one of three victories in six career starts.

For Drury and Art Collector, Sunday is one last steppingstone.

“Hopefully we can just ride this out a little longer and keep things falling into place the way they have,” the trainer said. “It’s almost like the stars aligned for us.”

Ellis Park Derby

What: Kentucky Derby prep points race (50-20-10-5)

Where: Ellis Park in Henderson

Post time: 6:10 p.m. EDT Sunday

TV: TVG

Distance: 1 1/8 miles

Purse: $200,000

Favorite: Art Collector (4-5)

Ellis Park Derby field

1. Trident Hit (30-1)

2. Anneau d’Or (12-1)

3. Sprawl (15-1)

4. Art Collector (4-5)

5. Necker Island (15-1)

6. Little Menace (20-1)

7. Truculent (30-1)

8. Rowdy Yates (20-1)

9. Dean Martini (10-1)

10. Attachment Rate (20-1)

11. Winning Impression (20-1)

12. Shared Sense (9-2)

13. Rogue Element (30-1)-x

x-Also eligible (runs only if another horse scratches)