The latest contender for the 2014 Kentucky Derby emerged over the weekend, with Noble Moon capturing the first graded-stakes race of his career with a win in the $200,000 Grade II Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday. The Jerome, for three-year-olds run at 1 mile 70 yards on the dirt, was the first official stakes event of 2014 to award points toward earning a starting spot in the Derby. With the win, Noble Moon picked up 10 points, with the Derby field limited to the top-20 point getters between now and the first week of May.
Winner gets easier run than in last
A Virginia-bred trained by Leah Gyarmati and ridden Saturday by Irad Ortiz Jr., Noble Moon came into the Jerome following a third-place finish in the Grade II Nashua Stakes in early November, after breaking his maiden first-asking at Belmont in September. In the Nashua the Malibu Moon colt had been bumped in the stretch and forced to go six wide but there were no such problems on Saturday. Breaking from the inside post, the 4-5 favorite pushed the pace early and took the lead by the half-mile, digging in to the wire to win by two lengths.
Finishing second and picking up four Derby Points was the 4-1 second choice at the betting windows, Classic Giacnroll, who is still chasing his first lifetime stakes win in after six tries. Scotland (7-1) and Matuszak (17-1) finished third and forth and earned two and one points, respectively. After the race, the connections indicated Noble Moon will likely race next in the Withers Stakes, another race in the Kentucky Derby points series, where he will again likely face Classic Giacnroll. With 10 of 34 races in the books, Havana and Honor Code lead the points standing with 14 each.
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