Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, where we take a look each week at a recent winner on the Road to the Derby schedule that offers qualifying points for the 1 ¼-mile classic race May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs.

This week, we take a closer look at Getaway Car, the winner by a nose of the $400,000 Sunland Park Derby Feb. 16 at Sunland Park. The Curlin colt earned 20 points toward qualifying for the 2025 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. He ranks third on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 36 points in total.

Racing Résumé: Getaway Car has proved capable of competing at the stakes level with a win in the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes in his second career race and, most recently, a hard-fought nose victory in the Sunland Park Derby Feb. 16. In between his two stakes wins, the Curlin colt ran second in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes Presented by DK Horse and finished fourth by five lengths in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA, beaten both times by stablemate Citizen Bull.

My initial takeaway after the Sunland Derby was that Getaway Car had perhaps plateaued and that might be the case – maybe he’s a very good 3-year-old but just a cut below the best of the best. But I must admit on a rewatch that he showed tenacity in battling back to defeat runner-up Caldera after he was passed in the stretch and did so with a final sixteenth of a mile in roughly 6 2/5 seconds after setting the pace. In hindsight, this probably was a better 3-year-old debut than I originally thought.

Speed Figures: Three times as a 2-year-old, Getaway Car earned a 99 Equibase Speed Figure and that’s the number he earned for the Sunland Park Derby in his first start in two months. Likewise, he topped out at an 89 Beyer Speed Figure as a 2-year-old and made a small jump to a career-top 92 for the Sunland Derby. I also was encouraged by the 8 ½ Ragozin Speed Figure (lower is better) for his 3-year-old bow. Getaway Car needs to improve, but even a small step forward would make him a viable Derby contender for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Getaway Car (right) edges Caldera by a nose. (Coady Media)

Running Style: Getaway Car seems to prefer setting the pace, although he has rated behind horses in races and performed well doing so, with the American Pharoah runner-up finish serving as an example. He uses his tactical speed effectively early in races and it’s a potent weapon for a 3-year-old on the Kentucky Derby trail.

Pedigree Notes: Getaway Car is by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, one of the great stamina dirt racehorses of this century. Curlin has passed that trait down to his offspring with standouts like long-winded champions Vino Rosso, Idiomatic, Malathaat, Nest, Good Magic, and Stellar Wind to his credit along with 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish, who was best at a mile.

The bottom half of Getaway Car’s pedigree raises some questions about his chances to excel at 1 ¼ miles as his dam (mother), Surrender Now, was a stakes-winning sprinter who never won a race longer than 5 ½ furlongs.

Derby Potential: My initial instinct regarding Getaway Car’s Sunland Park Derby win – essentially what you see is what you get, he’s a good but not great member of his age group – probably sold short his chances to be a serious factor on the Kentucky Derby trail. He fits in the second tier of contenders as a 3-year-old who could be a viable win contender with a step forward.