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 distributes qualifying points for the 1 ¼-mile classic race May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs.

This week, we take a closer look at Disco Time, the winner by a neck of the $250,000 Lecomte Stakes Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds. The Not This Time colt earned his first 20 points toward qualifying for the 2025 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. He ranks third on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

Racing Résumé: A homebred of powerful international horse racing juggernaut Juddmonte trained by two-time Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox, Disco Time improved to 3-for-3 by passing nine horses on a sloppy track to win the Lecomte Stakes.

Disco Time made his stakes debut on a dark, dank afternoon on a surface that looked more like burgoo than dirt. None of the horses seemed to be finishing especially well, but Disco Time proved best from the middle of the stretch with a sustained late rally under Florent Geroux, completing the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:47.07. He completed his final five-sixteenths of a mile in approximately :32.65, so while running fastest of the 13 starters in the stretch it was by no means a blazing finish on the sloppy surface.

Disco Time entered the Lecomte off a debut win at seven-eighths of a mile and an allowance victory at one mile, both last fall at Churchill Downs.

Speed Figures: Disco Time’s 84 Equibase Speed Figure for the Lecomte win was the lowest of his career, 12 points off the 96 he earned in his previous start. Likewise, the 77 Beyer Speed Figure for the Lecomte was the same as the figure Disco Time earned in his debut and a four-point dip from his one-mile win at Churchill on Nov. 30. That leads me to believe he won in spite of the sloppy surface at Fair Grounds and the speed figures might not be indicative of his true talent.

Running Style: In his two previous wins, Disco Time pressed the pace. But after bumping with a couple of opponents early in the Lecomte and starting from post-position 11, he dropped more than 10 lengths back. Disco Time showed his versatility by closing determinedly to catch runner-up Built and pacesetter Innovator in deep stretch, but I would expect him to be closer to the pace in future races with a better start and/or post position.

Pedigree Notes: Disco Time is by promising young sire Not This Time, the leading second-crop sire of 2021 and third-crop sire of 2022 who progeny include 2022 champion 3-year-old male Epicenter and 2023 champion turf male Up to the Mark. Disco Time’s dam (mother) is Disco Chick, by Jump Start. Disco Chick was a four-time stakes winner exclusively in sprints.

Derby Potential: Disco Time is one of the more difficult 3-year-olds to evaluate for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. He showed the ability to overcome adversity (sloppy track, closing from off the pace) in the Lecomte and is unbeaten for terrific connections, but he has yet to run a “fast” race. I can’t say that I would be a buyer or seller of Disco Time stock, so he’s a “hold” for me until more information is available after his next start.