Centennial May Have a Kentucky Derby Prospect in Nearly

Centennial Farms' racing and bloodstock manager Dr. Stephen Carr remembered the Not This Time colt he and the racing partnership's farm manager, Paula Parsons, set their sights on at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. "He was an exceptionally good-looking and well-balanced horse," Carr said this week of Nearly. "I was reminded of that recently when they showed a picture on social media of him in the auction ring when we bought him. It reminded me how good-looking a yearling he really was. "Obviously, being by Not This Time, that would attract us to him also. I think we were helped a little bit by the fact he's a Florida-bred and might not have attracted as much attention as the Kentucky-bred Not This Time's do. So, we were able to afford him." Nearly will be in Florida Jan. 31, when he'll break from post position 7 for the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. He'll be attempting two turns for the first time as the 9-5 morning-line favorite against eight rivals. A $350,000 purchase at Keeneland, Nearly was within the partnership's general price range of between $250,000 and $550,000. "We like to average somewhere around 350 (thousand) per individual for the partnership horses. That's sort of been our sweet spot. He was right on that number and we were fortunate to get him," said co-owner and president Don Little Jr., whose father started Centennial in 1982. "Not This Time has, since two years ago when we bought Nearly, has proven to be one of the top stallions in the country, if not the world. I mean his demand is huge and his stud fee ($250,000 for 2026) demand shows it." Besides the prominent sire, Nearly is out of the Mineshaft mare Ib Prospecting. "I actually treated Mineshaft in my private practice for (trainer) Neil Howard when he was in New York," Carr said. "Neil and I are good friends. And what attracted me about the Mineshaft is that even though the filly herself was a sprinter, Mineshaft was a good mile-and-a-quarter horse. "So, I was hoping that added a little stamina to the pedigree or to the horse." Early indications have been promising for the colt trained and ridden by Hall of Famers Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez, respectively. After finishing sixth in his debut at the Belmont at The Big A meet in October, the dark bay or brown colt won his last two starts at Gulfstream Park by a combined 14 1/4 lengths. Being among the Holy Bull starters puts Nearly on the early road to the Kentucky Derby (G1), in which Centennial has had one runner, Wicked Strong. The Hard Spun-sired colt ran fourth in the 2014 Run for the Roses after winning the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct Racetrack. "Well, it's everybody's dream," Little said. "It just sort of reinforces what is needed most in this business, which is patience and consistency. "You know, it's hard to get on the road, let alone get to the race. We've been on the road numerous times and just fell a little short here and there. We have had horses that have been on the trail that didn't make the race, but then went on and were successful in their careers after the Triple Crown, i.e. Corinthian." Corinthian, a son of Pulpit, won the 2007 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont Park and the 2007 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Monmouth Park. What makes Nearly's emergence even more special for Little and the colt's 18 ownership partners is that it comes on the heels of Antiquarian's 2025 campaign, which included winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course in August. "The thing that makes it really special is the back-to-back. We had great success with Antiquarian last year, and he'll be back—he's back with Todd now. We look forward to him as a 5-year-old and expect a lot," Little said of the son of Preservationist. "To have a nice young horse following him up is very special and again kudos to Steve and Paula because we don't buy a lot of horses. We buy six to eight every year and to continuously be in the hunt... first with horses at the top level and then having top farms making a few calls to Centennial every few years... it's been a great thing, a great legacy."