A half dozen of the jockeys participating in the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) have experienced the thrill of winning it. Brian Hernandez Jr., Flavien Prat, Joel Rosario, and Javier Castellano all have one such win apiece in the American classic, while Mike Smith and John Velazquez have two and three official Derby victories, respectively.
Jockey Jareth Loveberry has not scored in the Derby, but he knows almost what it feels like to win it. Two years ago, aboard Two Phil's , horse and rider came into the stretch of the Kentucky Derby after having surged to the lead, a quarter-mile away from Derby glory, only to be caught in the final strides by the Castellano-ridden Mage . Two Phil's finished second, beaten a length.
"I'm looking down the stretch, I hear all the noise, and I'm like, 'I'm gonna win this race,'" he said immediately after the 2023 Derby.
But Mage's rally was too much to contain.
"He gave me everything," Loveberry added at the time of his mount.
Elation, pride, and disappointment at the near miss left Loveberry to post on X, "OMG I ran 2nd in the F'ing #KentuckyDerby #TwoPhils." The tweet remains pinned to his X profile.
Loveberry now has a second chance in the Run for the Roses, riding longshot Chunk of Gold, or "Chunk" as he calls him. He has twice been aboard the Ethan West trainee, riding the Preservationist colt to a runner-up finish in the Feb. 15 Risen Star Stakes (G2) and the March 22 Louisiana Derby (G2), both at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
"He's just developing. He kept getting better and better and (I'm) just really excited about Saturday," Loveberry said April 30 from outside Chunk of Gold's barn on the Churchill Downs backstretch.
Watch: Loveberry on Chunk of Gold, The Rider's Near-Miss Second in 2023 Kentucky Derby
He said he has known West and West's brother, Aaron, for years, having met Ethan perhaps a decade ago at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort. Both the trainer and rider cut their teeth in the sport at smaller tracks. They are now more accomplished in their careers, in addition to being family men, both husbands and fathers.
West, raised in Cambridge City, Ind., won his first race as a trainer in 2018 at Belterra Park in Ohio. Loveberry grew up in rural Michigan and notched his first win at Great Lakes Downs in 2005.
Saturday, they'll team up on a far bigger stage, an opportunity Loveberry is relishing to experience with West.
"So being here with them and their family—we're good friends off the track—so it's like it's even better being with him," he said.
Loveberry breezed Chunk of Gold at Turfway Park leading up the Derby, but the horse's jogs and gallops at Churchill Downs this week have been handled by the 32-year-old West, who exercises many of his trainees. Most Derby trainers do not. Exercise riders are typically aboard their horses while they observe along the outer rail of the track or aboard a stable pony.
A direct understanding of how a horse is traveling from atop one gives West a unique perspective.
"So any input that I might have if I get on (one), he knows the same thing," Loveberry said.
Though Terry Stephens' Chunk of Gold has yet to win a stakes race—the colt also ran second in the Leonatus Stakes at Turfway Park after a debut maiden win there Dec. 19—a stakes win has not been a prerequisite for Derby success in some recent years. Mage and Rich Strike , the 2022 Derby winner, had won only maiden races before earning sufficient qualifying points with secondary finishes in stakes races to make their way into the Derby.
Reminiscing on the 2023 Run for the Roses, in which Loveberry's wife Stacie watched trackside, the rider said the experience left him desiring to return.
"Being able to ride at that level and compete and be that close, it's like makes you hungry," he said. "It makes you want to come back from more, and we're here with 'Chunk.'"
