Grand Mo the First trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2024 Kentucky Derby horse
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Grand Mo the First is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2024 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September.
The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 27. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.
Grand Mo the First will enter the Kentucky Derby off a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 30. He currently ranks 19th on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 40.
Grand Mo the First
Color: Dark bay/brown
Bred in: Kentucky
Sire: Uncle Mo
Dam: Lilies So Fair, by Giant’s Causeway
Price tag: $135,000 at 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale
Owner: Granpollo Stable, first Derby
Trainer: Victor Barboza Jr., first Derby
Jockey: Emisael Jaramillo, 0 for 1 in Derby. Finished 18th on Majesto in 2016.
Record: 2-0-4 in six starts
Career earnings: $214,650
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 40 (No. 19)
Last race: Third in Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 30 at Gulfstream Park
Running style: Stalker
Notes: After opening his career with back-to-back victories at Gulfstream Park last summer, Grand Mo the First has finished third in four straight races, including the Grade 3 Zuma Beach last October at Santa Anita and the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby on March 9. … Jaramillo rode Grand Mo the First in his first three races and also in the Florida Derby. … Sire Uncle Mo was the 2-year-old champion in 2010 but missed the 2011 Kentucky Derby because of a liver disease. He returned to racing later in 2011 and won the Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont.
What they’re saying: “It’s been a dream since I was a child in Venezuela,” Barboza said of running in the Kentucky Derby. “Every year, I watched the Kentucky Derby.”
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
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