Indiana Derby: Cox’s Dragoon Guard is morning-line favorite

Stronghold, starter in this year’s Kentucky Derby, will make his return to racing Saturday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Ridden by Antonio Fresu, Stronghold will begin from post no. 2 in the eight-horse lineup, which headlines a total of eight races for Indiana’s biggest day of horse racing.

Winner of the Santa Anita Derby (G1), Stronghold has not started since the Kentucky Derby in early May. The son of Ghostzapper is 2-for-3 this season and has finished worse than second only once in his career, which was his seventh place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Overall, the Philip D’Amato-trained colt has three career wins and more than $682,000 in earnings. He has been tagged at morning-line odds of 7-2.

Joining Stronghold as a major contender for the Indiana Derby title is E J Won the Cup, who comes to Indiana off a win in the $300,000 Texas Derby at Lone Star. The Omaha Beach colt, owned and trained by Doug O’Neill, has won three of his last four races and finished third to Stronghold in the Santa Anita Derby. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who has more than 5,700 career wins, is headed to Horseshoe Indianapolis to ride at odds of 5-1 from post 7.

The early morning-line favorite in the race is Dragoon Guard, who would be Brad Cox’s third Indiana Derby winner since 2020. The grey son of Arrogate steps into stakes action for the first time in his career off two impressive wins in Kentucky, making him undefeated in 2024. Florent Geroux, who was aboard Cox’s 2020 winner Shared Sense, will ride from post 8 at odds of 8-5. Cox is the defending Indiana Derby-winning trainer, saddling Verifying to victory last season.

Joining the Indiana Derby is the $200,000 Indiana Oaks (G3). Impel from the Cox barn is the early morning-line favorite at odds of 7-5 from post 7. Unraced at 2, Impel comes into the race off a second-place finish in the Eight Belles Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs. She has not been off the board in four career starts and will be ridden by Geroux.

Cox has had two Indiana Oaks wins in the last four years, scoring in 2022 with Interstatedaydream in 2022 and in 2020 with Shedaresthedevil, who went on to win the Kentucky Oaks (G1) during the Covid-19 delayed event at Churchill Downs.