Candy Ride has his card for the Kentucky Derby with Emerging Market

The Chad Brown colt was brave and maintained his undefeated record in the Louisiana Derby (G2), adding valuable points toward Churchill Downs

Emerging Market (outside), showed class once again to secure the victory / FAIR GROUNDS

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (Special for Turf Diario).— It does not matter which 3-year-old Chad Brown sends from Florida to Fair Grounds: when the trainer appears here, one must pay attention. After winning the Risen Star Stakes(G2) on February 14 with Paladin (Gun Runner), he struck hard again this Saturday, now taking the track's richest race, the Louisiana Derby (G2-1,900 m, dirt, US$ 1,000,000 purse), with the promising Emerging Market.

Defending the colors of Klaravich Stables, the son of the Argentine crack Candy Ride responded in a razor-tight finish, defeating Pavlovian (Pavel) by just a head after a long and demanding pursuit in the stretch. With Flavien Pratin the irons, the chestnut sat fifth, gradually making up ground, and only in the final meters was he able to break the resistance of a rival who had made himself strong on the lead. The time of 1m55s18/100 for the 1,900 meters was excellent: the third fastest since the race has been run over 1 3/16 miles in 2020. Only Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) (1m55s6/100 in 2021) and Epicenter (Not This Time) (1m54s38/100 in 2022) had run faster.

“He had shown a lot of professionalism in his debut,” Prat said after the race. “I was a bit concerned about post 9, but we were able to settle in well. He fought very bravely. In the stretch, I thought he was going to go right past, but Pavlovian gave us a tough battle.” The impression left by the winner was that of a serious colt with seasoning, capable of responding even when the trip is no longer comfortable. And that, at this point in the calendar, is worth gold.

The test was also key on the road to the Kentucky Derby (G1), as it awarded points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale to the top five. With this victory, Emerging Market reached 100 units and virtually secured his place in the Churchill Downs starting gates for this coming May 2. Pavlovian, for his huge second-place finish, raised his total to 70 points; Golden Tempo (Curlin), third, now has 60; Universe (Global Campaign), fourth, reached 38; and Chip Honcho(Connect), fifth, was left with 49. In 2025, 39 points were needed to enter the main body of the Derby, although eventually Baeza (McKinzie) was able to get in as an alternate with 37 1/2.

There were, additionally, several details of great interest surrounding the winner. Bred in Kentucky, he is a son of the Argentine crack Candy Ride and Wild Empress, by Empire Maker, and had been purchased for US$ 185,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September sales. Thanks to this success, he increased his earnings to US$ 618,880, of which US$ 600,000 came from this victory. All that with just 2 career starts and maintaining his undefeated record, having debuted winning over a distance at Tampa Bay Downs on February 7.

The question, naturally, now turns to deciding whether or not he will go directly to the Kentucky Derby without one more previous start. Brown mentioned that he would meet this March 22 with Seth Klarman to define the plan, though he left a strong quote: “Taking the Derby off the table would be being too conservative at this moment.” The data point is significant: no horse has won the Derby with fewer than 3 starts, though several great names like Big Brown(Boundary), Justify (Scat Daddy), and Mage (Good Magic) arrived in Louisville after just three presentations. If he moves forward, Emerging Market will seek to break an important statistical barrier.

For Brown, the story also carries special weight. The trainer already has 3 horses qualified for the Derby in 2026: Paladin, Iron Honor (Nyquist), and now Emerging Market. He has never won the first gem, though he has come close with Good Magic (Curlin) (2nd in 2018), Zandon (Upstart) (3rd in 2022), and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) (2nd by a nose in 2024). Where he has known how to capitalize on measured campaigns with lightly raced runners was in the Preakness Stakes (G1), which he conquered with Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) in 2017 and with Early Voting (Gun Runner) in 2022.

Ultimately, the Louisiana Derby confirmed two things once again: that the road to Churchill Downs can pass through Fair Grounds, and that when a son of Candy Ride appears with class, lung capacity, and seasoning, it is best to follow him very closely. Following the winter success of Hit Show in the Mineshaft Stakes (G3), Emerging Market also became the second graded stakes winner of 2026 for the Argentine stallion, who is standing this season at Lane’s Endfor US$ 60,000.

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