Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Major Fed
By Ed McNamara
Major Fed – Courtesy of Churchill Downs/Coady Photography.
Closer is 1-for-6 lifetime, 0-for-4 in stakes, with his career highlight a close second to Modernist (division of G2 Risen Star), who wasn’t good enough to make the Derby.
Runner-up finish behind the so-so Shared Sense in a weak Indiana Derby earned Major Fed enough points to qualify for the big race.
Pedigree says he’ll handle 1 1/4 miles better than most, but his speed figures say it will take him too long. Toss him out unless you’re seeking horses who might plod up for fourth in the superfecta.
Worked 5 furlongs in 59.00 seconds at Churchill Downs on Aug. 28, the fastest of 36 at the distance.
Profiles will be updated with morning-line odds and post position after the field is drawn on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Odds: TBD
Post position: TBD
Jockey: James Graham
Trainer: Greg Foley
Owner: Lloyd Madison Farms, IV LLC
Career record: 6-1-2-1
Career earnings: $215,600
Top Equibase speed figure: 96
Kentucky Derby points: 38 (13th)
Pedigree: Ghostzapper-Bobby’s Babe, by Smart Strike
Color: Dark bay
Running style: Closer
Notes: This will be James Graham’s second Derby; he finished eighth aboard Lone Sailor in 2018 …Irishman rides mainly in Kentucky and Louisiana, with a career total of more than 2,600 victories … Louisville-based Greg Foley decided to skip Ellis Park Derby with his horse, so Major Fed comes in off a two-month layoff … Set to saddle his first Derby starter, Foley sounds confident about his chances, especially after the colt’s most recent workout.
(US Racing’s Kentucky Derby coverage will include profiles of the horses listed as probable for the race on Saturday, Sept. 5. Each day until the post-position draw on Tuesday, Sept. 1, US Racing will publish selected profiles of the contenders.)
Ed McNamara is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about thoroughbred racing for 35 years. He has handicapped races for ESPN.com, Newsday and The Record of New Jersey. He is the author of “Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown” and co-author of “The Most Glorious Crown,” a chronicle of the first 12 Triple Crown champions.
