Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, where we’ll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the racehorses earn points toward qualifying. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs.

This week, we’ll take a closer look at First Resort, the 2 ¼-length winner of the $381,250 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs. The Uncle Mo colt earned his first 10 points toward qualifying for the 2025 Kentucky Derby with the win and currently ranks seventh on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

Racing Résumé: First Resort dominated his career debut July 5 at Ellis Park, posting a front-running 3 ½-length victory on a muddy track. He then set the pace and faded to second, 3 ½ lengths behind winner Showcase, in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special Stakes Aug. 10.

Trainer Eoin Harty tested him on turf next and he rallied to finish fourth in the Grade 1 bet365 Summer Stakes at Woodbine. Harty returned First Resort to dirt for his fourth start and the bay colt delivered a breakout performance in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.

He pressed the early pace set by Dapper Moon from second, settling nicely under Luis Saez behind leisurely fractions before challenging for the lead early on the final turn. First Resort took command entering the stretch and put the race away by running a final quarter-mile in :23.45 and a final eighth of a mile in :11.95, according to Equibase GPS data.

The pace was very slow in the 1 1/16-mile race, but there is no denying First Resort’s finishing fractions were very strong for a two-turn dirt race.

“He displayed his versatility today trying two turns for the first time,” Harty said. “Initially, I thought he’d be a little farther back but after I saw the opening quarter I realized why he was there. He’s a very talented colt and his mother wasn’t as mentally sound as he seems to be. He was bred to be a good one and he really is.”

Speed Figures: First Resort earned the best dirt Equibase Speed Figure (92) of his career in the Kentucky Jockey Club – six ticks off the 98 he earned for his Summer Stakes fourth-place finish. Daily Racing Form’s Beyer Speed Figures show a more linear progression through four races: 73-81-86-88.

First Resort surged clear in Kentucky Jockey Club stretch. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Running Style: First Resort has the natural speed to set the pace in sprint races, which is a nice asset to have in a racehorse’s bag, and in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes he rated about a length off the pace through the backstretch before making his move. While Harty said he expected him to be a bit farther back, given the result I would expect his connections won’t mess with success and will try to position him just in behind the early speed in future races.

Connections: Thoroughbred racing powerhouse Godolphin bred and races First Resort. Godolphin is the operation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, who has been involved in Thoroughbred racing since 1977. Godolphin has swept the last four Eclipse Awards as outstanding owner (2020-2023) and the last three as outstanding breeder (2021-2023). Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stable operation won the Preakness in 2006 with Bernardini and Godolphin netted a classic win in the 2021 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets with Essential Quality. Sheikh Mohammed has not won the Kentucky Derby.

Eoin Harty is a fifth-generation horseman whose father, Eddie, won the Grand National Steeplechase and was an Olympian. Harty went out on his own in 2000 and has won more than 650 races, including the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with Tempera. The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes was his first graded stakes win since taking the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes in 2020 with First Resort’s dam (mother), Fair Maiden.

Luis Saez is the fourth rider in as many starts for First Resort. Saez has ranked in the top 10 by both wins and purse earnings every year since 2017 and the top five in both categories since 2020. He won the 2021 Belmont Stakes aboard Essential Quality and won the Belmont again in 2024 on Dornoch.

Pedigree Notes: Champion Uncle Mo is the sire (father) of First Resort as well as 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, 2022 Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal, and multiple Grade 1-winning router Adare Manor among many high-quality runners at varying distances and on different surfaces. Uncle Mo was the leading freshman sire of 2015 and has been a top 10 sire every year since 2020.

Fair Maiden was Grade 1-placed at a mile on turf as a 2-year-old in 2019, beaten by a neck in the Natalma Stakes, and won the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes by 2 ¼ lengths at seven-eighths of a mile on dirt in 2020.

Derby Potential: The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes was only the seventh U.S. Road to the Kentucky Derby points race, so it’s very early to make snap judgements. However, there are some promising signs with First Resort. He’s a well-bred homebred from Godolphin with tactical speed and a win on the main track going around two turns at Churchill Downs. He also finished exceptionally fast in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and appears to be improving with experience and maturity. The runner-up in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, Jonathan's Way, won the Iroquois Stakes Sept. 14 and finished well despite some traffic trouble in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, so First Resort beat a quality 2-year-old in the race and looks like a legitimate Kentucky Derby prospect.