Call Me Midnight on My Boy Jack Path for Desormeaux

That annual spring ailment known as Derby Fever is going around Kentucky once again. Eleven horses have been entered in the April 16 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland—a pair racing on two weeks or shorter rest and another three or four entries trying to rebound after subpar recent stakes performances. Beyond its $400,000 purse, up for grabs in the Lexington are a limited number of qualifying points toward the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/16-mile Lexington is the final points race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, distributed on a 20-8-4-2 basis to its first four finishers, perhaps enough for a horse with existing Derby points to be among the 20 horses that will fill the Kentucky Derby starting gate. However, a horse that wins the Lexington without current Derby points would likely need pre-race defections from the Derby in the next few weeks to gain entry. The Lexington has played a limited role as a Derby prep since Churchill Downs introduced the Derby points system before the 2013 Derby. The 2018 Lexington winner, My Boy Jack, is the race's lone Derby representative in the points era. After rallying to win the Lexington by a head, the Keith Desormeaux trainee returned weeks later to finish fifth in the Derby, beaten seven lengths. He could have been closer in the Derby without a troubled trip in rallying from last. Desormeaux, who runs Peter Cantrell and Benjamin Gase's Call Me Midnight in Saturday's race, notes the points system can impact pre-Derby preparation. With 32 existing Derby points before the 2018 race, My Boy Jack seemed in danger of missing the cut a few weeks before the Derby. "I knew he was a Derby horse. We panicked. I panicked. I thought he needed the Lexington in order to accumulate enough points," he recalled. "I think we would have gotten in if I looked back. That's where these points kind of challenge your horsemanship. "If I had the choice back in 2018, knew I was getting in the Derby before running in the Lexington, I would not have run in the Lexington. So anyway, it's still fun. It's still cool. It makes it challenging in more ways than just training a horse to be at its best." Desormeaux sees positive elements in the points system, though he believes modifications would enhance it. "I do think they need to tweak that thing," he said. "A Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner should never have to worry about accumulating points. Period. Or maybe if you don't win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and you're named champion 2-year-old, don't tell me that horse has to adhere to some point schedule. You're talking about the champion. Let the trainers manage them like they want in getting into the Derby. I think that would help." Desormeaux won the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) in 2014 with Texas Red as both his trainer and co-owner with Erich Brehm, Wayne Detmar, Lee Michaels, and Gene Voss. The colt narrowly lost the 2014 2-year-old championship in voting that year to eventual 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, who was withdrawn from the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile due to a physical setback. After a runner-up finish in the San Vicente Stakes (G2) in February of his 3-year-old year, Texas Red went to the sidelines with a foot abscess. His connections later passed on the Derby, with one social media post saying they did not have adequate time to prep him and accumulate sufficient points to make the race. He resumed racing in July, running second in the Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park. Later that summer, he won the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course before his final career start, a fifth in the Travers Stakes (G1). The only horse to take both the Lexington and Kentucky Derby was the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Charismatic in 1999. Swale took the 1984 Derby after a runner-up finish in the Lexington. Three horses have won both the Lexington and Preakness Stakes (G1), the second jewel of the Triple Crown: Risen Star (1988), Hansel (1991), and Charismatic (1999). A few years ago, Owendale returned from his triumph in the Lexington to finish third in the Preakness for trainer Brad Cox. The Lexington was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, and the 2021 Lexington victor, King Fury, didn't race again until late last June after missing the Derby with a fever. At least several entries in Saturday's Lexington appear to hold promise, led by In Due Time, Call Me Midnight, and Tawny Port.