There is certainly no lack of stress during Kentucky Derby (G1) week for the trainers preparing the nation's top 3-year-olds for the classic 1 1/4-mile test. The entire week, and all the ones prior, often find those trainers looking over every little detail to make sure everything is perfect.
Everything was perfect for John Ennis as his 3-year-old gelding Great White left the Churchill Downs paddock May 2, only minutes away from the start of the Derby. Once that moment happens, the trainer's job is complete, and whatever happens next is out of their hands.
That excitement was building as the field loaded into the starting gate, with Ennis ready to see the massive son of Volatile take his shot at history. But then, he watched as the gelding he trains and co-owns with Three Chimneys Farm lifted up onto his feet, and then fell backward onto his back.
"I don't know if one of the ponies got close to him and scared him or what happened," Ennis said May 3. "Then, I think one of the other pony riders might have just pulled against him when he reared up, so that caused him to fall over."
Luckily, both Great White and jockey Alex Achard popped straight back up onto their feet and emerged unscathed, an outrider standing nearby quickly snatching the reins before he could even think about running off. Even so, he was a precautionary scratch.
Ennis' concern for the horse's well-being was quickly eased as he watched Great White's immediate reaction of bouncing back up and his gallop, led by an outrider and his pony, in front of the grandstand to remain in the paddock while the race ran without him.
"I see him spring back up; he was so athletic to get back on his feet," Ennis said. "It was relatively a soft fall; he kind of fell to the side. I used to be a jump rider, and National Hunt horses can take falls like that every week. He'll be fine. I still think he's kind of an immature horse for acting that way, but he has plenty of talent."
Despite some immaturity in the May 14 foal, Saturday's events were very out of character. Ennis said it's very seldom that Great White rears.
"Only when he's feeling good and ready to go," Ennis said. "It's nothing out of badness that he wants to do it. He never does it at home like that.
"He did rear up at Turfway (when he won) the Battaglia, and I told everybody during the week that I have him now this week like he was in the Battaglia, feeling really good and ready to run big," Ennis said. "I don't mind the horse rearing up; he'd never fall off. He'd never want to do that and hurt anyone, but I think the combination of the pony rider pulling against him while he reared up caused him to fall over."
Great White was scratched from the Derby following the incident, a typical protocol when a horse falls on its side or hind area after flipping. A pair of veterinarians checked on him back at the barn and found nothing of concern. Ennis said the horse seemed mad that he couldn't run and returned to the barn, ready to head back to the gate.
"After he came off the track yesterday, we gave him a bath and took him out for grass, and he was fresh," Ennis said. "We couldn't even leave him out in the grass too long because he wanted to run, and he was ready to run. He could have run yesterday. That's how good he was feeling. I know it's protocol, and you can't do it, but he could have."
Likewise, upon returning to The Thoroughbred Center in the morning, Great White was a happy and sound horse, his trainer said.
"Came home this morning and he pulled me out for grass again and went down for rolls—big roll—and got up and shook himself, so he's not feeling sore anywhere," Ennis said. "Obviously, we'll get the chiropractor to come and adjust him midweek and make him feel good."
.@KentuckyDerby scratch Great White doing well this morning and heading home. pic.twitter.com/kl7QYCFWSB
— Sean Collins (@BH_SCollins) May 3, 2026
As a vet's scratch behind the gate, Great White will be placed on the vet's list—a listing of horses ineligible to race for a designated period, usually for health-related reasons—for seven days before he can get off with a breeze by a regulatory veterinarian, which Ennis said he will do at The Thoroughbred Center near Lexington May 9. He will return to training May 4 and, if all goes well, Great White might take a second chance at the Triple Crown races in the May 16 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park. Preakness entries will be taken Monday, May 11.
"If he breezes well, we'll tentatively think about the Preakness," Ennis said. "We'll move forward with him and see what the Preakness comes up like. (The Derby) was very unfortunate. The horse was coming into the race in such good form.
"I think the race would have set up nicely for him the way we were going to ride him cold out the back behind horses. We weren't going to get involved with the speed early, and we just going to ride him to the finish. The way the race set up, he could have run well yesterday."
As far as what the moment was like for Ennis, it felt mostly a bit embarrassing.
"I just wanted the ground to swallow me up," Ennis said. "I was kind of embarrassed because it was such a big stage. You think it's your fault. At the time, you get very disappointed and disheartened.
"I'm good today (Sunday), everyone's good, the horse is fine. Yes, it's the Derby, but in the grand scheme of things, it is what it is. We'll just come back bigger and stronger and better. God wouldn't have thrown it at me if he thought I couldn't handle it."
