Delightful Kiss, the 24-1 upset winner of the June 2 Ohio Derby (gr. II), will be striving for his second big win in the June 29 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows.
The son of Kissin Kris drew post 13 in a field of 14 when entries for the 1 1/16-mile race were drawn. With morning line odds of 7-2, he will be ridden by Jeffrey Sanchez. The Iowa Derby, worth $250,000, is the richest of three stakes on the June 29 card.
Campaigned as a homebred by Jack Dreyfus' Hobeau Farm and trained by Pete Anderson, Delightful Kiss broke his maiden in February and posted a third-place effort in the March 17 Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III).
Dreyfus, who is in his 90s, has teamed with trainer Allen Jerkens to campaign numerous other stakes winners, including millionaire homebred and 1998 champion sprinter Kelly Kip, plus 2007 graded stakes victors Swap Fliparoo and Miss Shop.
The Iowa Derby field also includes a handful of horses looking to maintain win streaks. Greeley's Conquest has won his last four starts, including the June 9 Prairie Mile, also at the Iowa track. Trained by Gary Thomas, the $100,000-plus earner has never finished worse than second in five starts.
Sahara Heat will attempt his fourth straight win, with his latest score coming in his stakes debut, the May 19 Marine Stakes (Can-III) at Woodbine. Trained by Eoin Harty, the son of A.P. Indy has earned nearly $150,000.
Winstrella will make his stakes debut in the Iowa Derby off back-to-back wins, one of which was by an impressive seven lengths, for trainer Todd Pletcher.
All three of the aforementioned horses drew inside of Delightful Kiss, who will have to overcome the wide post June 29.
Another one to watch for is Going Ballistic, a three-time stakes winner who will come into the Iowa Derby off a victory in the May 28 Pin Oak Stud USA Stakes at Lone Star Park. Trained by Donnie Von Hemel, he is the second highest earner in the field behind Delightful Kiss and boasts a lifetime record of 4-1-1 from 12 starts.
Rounding out the field are additional stakes winners Try to Fly and Speedway, plus other runners Candid Image, Codio, Flashstorm, Who Let the Cat In, Visions in Color, Loose Leaf, and Sumac.
Iowa Derby, $250,000, Prairie Meadows, June 29, 3-year-olds, 1 1/16 miles, approx. post 10 p.m. ET
PP. Horse, Weight, Jockey, Odds
1. Winstrella, John Velazquez, 116, 6-1
2. Try to Fly, Joseph Talamo, 119, 3-1
3. Sahara Heat, Rafael Bejarano, 122, 15-1
4. Candid Image, Mary Elizabeth Dose, 113, 30-1
5. Going Ballistic, M. Clifton Berry, 122, 12-1
6. Speedway, David Romero Flores, 116, 15-1
7. Greeley's Conquest, Larry Sterling, Jr., 116, 15-1
8. Codio, Luis Quinonez, 116, 30-1
9. Flashstorm, Terry Thompson, 116, 20-1
10. Who Let the Cat In, Jose Ferrer, 113, 20-1
11. Visions in Color, Alex Jimenez, 113, 50-1
12. Loose Leaf, Robby Albarado, 116, 8-1
13. Delightful Kiss, Jeffrey Sanchez, 122, 7-2
14. Sumac, Belen Quinonez, 113, 30-1