Minaret Station (Instilled Regard) had not been seen since Oct. 6, where he was a 38-1 upset winner of the GII Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland. Prior to that, he broke his maiden Sep. 6 at Horseshoe Indianapolis and finished third on debut at Ellis Park Aug. 5.
Breaking a bit inward in his 3-year-old debut, the colt settled in third, riding the rail into the first turn and up the backstretch. As the field went in :25.71 and :50.74, the colt was guided to the three path for the stretch drive, moving in tandem with Native Runner (Laoban), as Freedom's Not Free (Omaha Beach) continued to battle on the front end. With four in a line at the sixteenth pole, the 5-2 third choice lunged late and was up in time. 7-5 favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Tiztastic (Tiz the Law) was last throughout.
“He has such a big turn of foot and that's been his key to success,” Walden said when asked about his winning runner. “I'm very thankful the owner allowed us to take our time with getting him back to the races. He definitely rewarded us today.”
Pedigree Notes:
Beau Recall (Ire) was also quite successful over the lawn at Churchill Downs, winning the GII Distaff Turf Mile Stakes twice in her career. She is a half-sister of English stakes placed Coolminx (Ire) (One Cool Cat), who produced MGSP Fearby (Ire) (Havana Gold {Ire}). The winning dam is responsible for a juvenile colt by Instagrand, while the 2025 full-brother to Minaret Station was stillborn
Saturday, Churchill Downs
AMERICAN DERBY, $249,000, Churchill Downs, 6-28, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:44.29, fm.
1–MINARET STATION, 123, c, 3, by Instilled Regard
1st Dam: Beau Recall (Ire) (MGSW & MGISP, $1,481,412),
by Sir Prancealot (Ire)
2nd Dam: Greta d'Argent (Ire), by Great Commotion
3rd Dam: Petite-D-Argent (GB), by Noalto (GB)
O/B-OXO Equine LLC (KY); T-William Walden; J-Cristian A. Torres. $154,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1, $377,968.
2–Native Runner, 118, c, 3, Laoban–Intermittent, by Bernardini. ($105,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Calumet Farm; B-Siena Farms LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $50,000.
3–Freedom's Not Free, 118, c, 3, Omaha Beach–Wonderfuladventure, by Tiz Wonderful. ($75,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $300,000 2yo '24 EASMAY). O-Blinkers On Racing Stable, Janlois Racing, LLC, Valinor Racing Stable, LLC, Tom Corbett, Andy Kwan, and Jay Lester Wagner; B-Cove Springs, LLC (KY); T-Mark Glatt. $25,000.
Margins: HF, HF, HD. Odds: 2.72, 7.74, 2.30.
Also Ran: Siesta Key, Tiztastic. Scratched: Anegada, Flying Mohawk, Giocoso, Reagan's Wit, Soleil Volant.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Minaret Station and @cristiantorr64 win the American Derby for @wwaldenracing! pic.twitter.com/EMheZruspk
— Churchill Downs (@ChurchillDowns) June 28, 2025
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