Kentucky Derby (G1) third-place finisher and Preakness Stakes (G1) fourth-place finisher Ocelli will skip the final jewel of the Triple Crown as trainer Whit Beckman will target him at the $500,000 Ohio Derby (G3). The news was first reported by Daily Racing Form's David Grening.
"He's had a tough campaign. He's run in extremely salty races all the way through," Beckman told BloodHorse May 31. "He's performed well, he's done everything he needs to do for us to know he's in the right spots."
The classic-placed son of Connect is still a maiden in eight starts, but has competed in stakes company throughout the season. He preceded the Triple Crown with sixth-place finishes in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs, then was third in the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
A closer, Beckman said he was pleased with Ocelli's Preakness run, but felt the Laurel Park track was playing better toward horses on the lead.
"I thought he ran a very complete race," Beckman said. "I was very happy with the trip, happy with everything. But if you weren't in the first three spots at the quarter pole, you weren't going anywhere. They made up a ton of ground and I was thrilled with how he finished."
The 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby at Thistledown June 20 provides Beckman with preferred spacing between starts while also being relatively close to Churchill Downs, where Beckman is based and believes Ocelli trains the best.
Ocelli returned to the worktab at Churchill Downs for the first time since the Preakness Sunday, recording a half-mile in :48 3/5.
"He looked very good. He worked fantastic," Beckman said.
This year's Triple Crown will be the first since 2023 to not feature at least one horse competing in all three Triple Crown races.
Perhaps more historically, unless one of Ocelli's 13 Preakness rivals has a change of heart, the June 6 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course will be the first since 1917 to not include a Preakness starter. To put in perspective how long it has been, War Cloud was the first horse to compete in all three Triple Crown jewels the next year in 1918. Sir Barton would then win the first Triple Crown in 1919.
Hourless won the 1917 Belmont Stakes against two competitors in a year in which the Kentucky Derby and Preakness were held on the same day. The runner-up, Skeptic, finished seventh in the Derby.
