LOUISVILLE, Ky. — I Want Revenge is the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, a distinction that the colt’s trainer, Jeff Mullins, usually regards as the “kiss of death.” But on Wednesday Mullins welcomed the challenge.
“I wanted to come back here with a horse everyone respects,” said Mullins, who has had four previous runners in the Derby and whose best finish is fifth with Buzzard’s Bay in 2005. “I Want Revenge has proved himself in the preps and is doing about as well as can be expected here. We’re ready.”
I Want Revenge, a son of Stephen Got Even, showed his poise and athleticism in the Wood Memorial when he was left at the gate but patiently found his stride and unleashed a powerful stretch run to win by a length and a half. I Want Revenge will break from the No. 13 post with 19-year-old Joe Talamo aboard.
The Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia said that making I Want Revenge the favorite was inevitable after the Florida Derby winner, Quality Road, withdrew after missing training with a quarter crack, or a split in the hoof wall, in his right front and hind hoofs.
“I was going to flip a coin between those two because I thought they were the best 3-year-olds in training,” Battaglia said. “Now, I Want Revenge is.”
Battaglia made Pioneerof the Nile, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, and Dunkirk, the Florida Derby runner-up, the co-second favorites at 4-1. Friesan Fire, the Louisiana Derby winner, was the fourth choice at 5-1.
