I’ll Have Another created history at Churchill Downs on Saturday when he became the first horse to complete the Santa Anita Derby – Kentucky Derby double since Sunday Silence in 1989.
I’ll Have Another (3c Flower Alley – Arch’s Gal Edith by Arch) ran down front-runner Bodemeister (Empire Maker) to win the Run for the Roses by over a length. Dullahan (Even the Score) also closed quickly for third.
The colt’s earnings sky-rocketed to more than $2.09 million for owner J. Paul Reddam. “We knew we had a good horse and only gave him two prep runs,” Reddam revealed. “We wanted to make sure he was fresh for the Triple Crown and looks like it paid off.”
The 2012 Derby capped career highs for trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez. “He broke sharp and was really calm,” Gutierrez said. “I knew he was going to help me 100 percent. He gives everything and didn’t disappoint today.”
I’ll Have Another had won his maiden on debut at Hollywood Park last year prior to a runner-up effort in the G2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar. Returning from a winter break this term, he won the LR Robert B. Lewis Stakes and proved that was no fluke when a game winner of the Santa Anita Derby in March.
Doug O’Neill enjoyed a remarkable winning run with Eclipse Champion Lava Man in recent years but nothing compares to winning a Kentucky Derby. “When I first started, Charlie Whittingham was the man,” O’Neill recalled. “I remember being in awe of him. He trained Sunday Silence so to be the next guy to win the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derbies is just an unbelievable honour.”
Sold at auction for $11,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, I’ll Have Another was then purchased by Doug O’Neill’s brother Dennis for $35,000 at the 2011 Ocala April 2YO Sale.
His sire Flower Alley (Distorted Humor) won the G1 Travers Stakes in 2005 and also finished second to eventual Horse of the Year Saint Liam in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. He stands at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky for a $7,500 fee.
I’LL HAVE ANOTHER
Kentucky Derby winner emulates Sunday Silence