Make Music for Me
Sire: Bernstein
Dam: Miss Cheers (Carson City)
Trainer: Alexis Barba
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Career Record: 8-1-2-1
Running Style: Mid-pack / Presser
How he got to the Derby: Make Music for Me only ran twice as a three year old, and only once against graded competition (6th in the Grade 1 Blue Grass). He made it to the Derby based entirely on his performance as a two year old in 2009. He finished second in the Grade 2 Best Pal and the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, followed up by a fourth place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, and the Grade 1 Cash Call Futurity at Hollywood Park. He's never won a graded stakes race, but his second and third place finishes as a juvenile game him enough earnings to make the 2010 Kentucky Derby field.
What has to happen for him to win: It's pretty simple for Make Music for Me, he has to run the race of his life to win Saturday's Kentucky Derby and a lot of other horses will have to have an off day.
Odds: 50/1
I've got Make Music for Me at 50/1 on my odds line, and that might even be a little on the low side. If you were to run this year's Kentucky Derby 100 times, you could argue that this colt wouldn't win it once. This colt has only won one race of his career, and that was a turf race at Santa Anita in early March. It's difficult to envision a scenario where he wins.
Key Race: Cash Call Futurity (3rd)
Make Music for Me's third place finish to fellow Derby contenders Lookin At Lucky and Noble's Promise at Hollywood Park in December was clearly the top race of his career and the most relevant to his Derby chances (his other best races were in sprints).