Grand Mo the First trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2024 Kentucky Derby horse
Jason Frakes
Grand Mo the First is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2024 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September.
The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 27. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.
Grand Mo the First will enter the Kentucky Derby off a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 30. He currently ranks 19th on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 40.
Grand Mo the First
Color: Dark bay/brown
Bred in: Kentucky
Sire: Uncle Mo
Dam: Lilies So Fair, by Giant’s Causeway
Price tag: $135,000 at 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale
Owner: Granpollo Stable, first Derby
Trainer: Victor Barboza Jr., first Derby
Jockey: Emisael Jaramillo, 0 for 1 in Derby. Finished 18th on Majesto in 2016.
Record: 2-0-4 in six starts
Career earnings: $214,650
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 40 (No. 19)
Last race: Third in Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 30 at Gulfstream Park
Running style: Stalker
Notes: After opening his career with back-to-back victories at Gulfstream Park last summer, Grand Mo the First has finished third in four straight races, including the Grade 3 Zuma Beach last October at Santa Anita and the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby on March 9. … Jaramillo rode Grand Mo the First in his first three races and also in the Florida Derby. … Sire Uncle Mo was the 2-year-old champion in 2010 but missed the 2011 Kentucky Derby because of a liver disease. He returned to racing later in 2011 and won the Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont.
What they’re saying: “It’s been a dream since I was a child in Venezuela,” Barboza said of running in the Kentucky Derby. “Every year, I watched the Kentucky Derby.”
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
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