Here's a Triple Crown question for you.
Who is the only undefeated, grade 1-winning on dirt 3-year-old still in training for the Kentucky Derby (G1)?
No cheating with Google or artificial intelligence.
If you are looking for help from the Top 5 of most lists, such as BloodHorse's Derby Dozen, or the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll, you won't find him there, which has his trainer understandably miffed.
The 3-year-old in question is Gold Square's Napoleon Solo, who was last seen in the starting gate Oct. 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack when he registered what was in some eyes the most dazzling performance of the year by a 2-year-old.
In just his second career start, he reeled off electrifying, front-running fractions of 1:07.88 and 1:20.90 and romped by 6 1/2 lengths in the prestigious Champagne Stakes (G1), covering the one-turn mile in 1:34.57.
Yet now, as he prepares at Palm Beach Downs for his 3-year-old debut Feb. 28 in either the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park or the mile Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, Napoleon Solo has become an afterthought in most Triple Crown conversations. He is 10th in this week's NTRA Top 3-Year-Old poll and priced at 25-1 in this weekend's Kentucky Derby Future Wager after going off at 30-1 in the previous round.
"A lot of people have given up on us and forgotten about us," trainer Chad Summers said about owner Al Gold's son of Liam's Map named for 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' character. "I look at polls and rankings. Some people don't even have us in the top 10. For some reason, even though he ran the fastest 2-year-old race of the year, people are ignoring him."
There are a few reasons for that.
One involves Summers. In a chase dominated by Hall of Fame and future Hall of Fame trainers, Napoleon Solo would be his first Kentucky Derby starter as a trainer. Though he owned and trained multiple group 1 winner Mind Your Biscuits and has been around numerous top horses, he has just 98 career wins and four graded stakes triumphs since 2017.
"It's interesting that the speed he shows is similar to a Bob Baffert kind of horse that would be number one on everyone's radar. He won by 6 1/2 lengths. No one was getting to him after he was a fifth of a second off the track record for 6 and 7 furlongs. But because of the connections, or whatever it might be, we have to keep proving ourselves. You're always the underdog," Summers said. "I am so thankful to Al for giving me the opportunity to work for Gold Square and train this horse."
Napoleon Solo, a son of the Scat Daddy mare Atomic Blonde, also skipped the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar, a decision none of the connections regret due to the cross-country travel after a demanding race.
"Shipping to California, it's difficult for a young horse. They are so lightly raced," Summers said.
He was bought for just $40,000 from the Glennwood Farm consignment at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is vying for Triple Crown glory against million-dollar rivals. Of course, 1977 Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew was bought for just $17,500.
"He was bred by John Gunther (and Eurowest Bloodstock), who bred Justify and Vino Rosso. He was a $40,000 purchase and stud farms have come out to look at him and they thought he must have had five legs or two legs to sell for that price. It was just the way we work the sales and we were lucky to be in the right place at the right time and have someone like Al trust us in buying this horse," Summers said. "The Gunthers have raised some great horses and we were lucky it was at the end of the day and a lot of people left for the day and we were able to benefit from it."
In a few weeks, Napoleon Solo will get the chance to prove the critics wrong. His return will be in either the Fountain of Youth or Gotham with the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) on March 7 as a backup if needed. The Fountain of Youth and Gotham both offer 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, so a win in either would assure the colt of a spot in the Run for the Roses field. With 10 points in the bank from the Champagne, even a second would put him in excellent position to reach the magic number of 50 points.
Though traveling to New York would be complicated, Summers said he does not feel pressure to have Napoleon Solo make his two-turn debut with the first Saturday in May more than two months away.
"We'll weigh the pros and cons of each race and where we are from a fitness standpoint," Summers said. "You look at the weather and the competition. We know his best effort has to come in the Kentucky Derby. You do not want to peak too early. Obviously, the two-turn question has to be answered at some point. But do we need the answer on the 28th? No. Whatever race we choose, he will have a target on his back. They will see that gray horse and know where he is going to be."
In the meantime, Napoleon Solo will put in two more works before his return to the races. In his last breeze Feb. 5 at Palm Meadows, jockey Kendrick Carmouche (who will ride him in that next start) was aboard for a work timed in :48.
"He started behind a horse and came home in 22 and three or four and galloped out in 1:14. He's just a special horse," Summers said.
It was surely a promising move as Summers and a colt named for a television spy try to upend the cynics.
"It's a good time of year and exciting to be in these positions, and hopefully, we make the right decision for our horse. The horse comes first in all our decisions," Summers said. "To get this horse to the Kentucky Derby for Al would be an incredible thrill."
