Following an impressive frontrunning score in the March 8 Tampa Bay Derby (G3), Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing's Owen Almighty will continue on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail rather than take an eight-week layoff and start in the Pat Day Mile (G2), held on Kentucky Derby Day May 3 at Churchill Downs.
"We're going to take a shot with the Derby trail still," Flying Dutchmen's president Hunter Rankin said on the March 17 episode of the BloodHorse Monday podcast. "We're going to keep going on that track and see how far he can take us."
"BloodHorse Monday" is a new, hour-long podcast hosted by BloodHorse in partnership with Louisville, Ky.-based radio host Louie Rabaut. The show can be accessed on BloodHorse's YouTube channel, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, ESPN Louisville+ and espnlouisville.com. The show also airs in Louisville on ESPN 680/105.7, as well as other stations throughout the country.
Refocusing on the Derby means one more final prep for the Brian Lynch-trained Owen Almighty, who clinched enough Derby qualifying points in the Tampa Bay Derby to make the field. Rankin said a decision on which prep hasn't been made yet, but the April 5 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland is among the top candidates.
Questions have been raised about whether the son of champion sprinter Speightstown out of the grade 2-placed Bayern mare Tempers Rising can be successful at the Derby's 1 1/4-mile distance, but Rankin says the team feels confident given how Owen Almighty finished the Tampa Bay Derby.
"I think eventually—long-term—his best days are probably going to be around one turn. But horses change and horses surprise you," Rankin said. "He ran so well the other day. I know he got away with fairly easy fractions, but he finished in 29 and change going the last 5/16ths. Most sprinters can't do that after running close to 7/8ths of a mile. I think he has the ability to do it. The owners really want to go and that means a lot. We're just going to do our best."
Flying Dutchmen is owned by Travis Boersma, CEO of Dutch Bros. Coffee. Boersma has been a long-time participant in the sport, especially in Oregon where Dutch Bros. is headquartered. Flying Dutchmen recently purchased a farm near Lexington and Boersma's son, Payton, is the COO. The colt himself is named after another of Boersma's sons, Owen.
"They're amazing people, and they deserve to have good things happen to them," Rankin said. "They're incredibly reasonable, they know the challenge. But they also know the opportunity. For them, as much as anything, this is about the experience of having a horse with a chance, enjoying the day, bringing their whole family. ... You never know on that day what can happen. Strange things happen in that race."
During the full podcast interview, Rankin also discussed what he liked about the colt at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, the evolution of Flying Dutchmen, and more.
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