Illinois Derby 2013 Results: Departing Picture Perfect At Hawthorne

Departing, sent to the post as the 9/5 betting favorite, rallied from the middle of the pack to win the 2013 Illinois Derby with ease at Hawthorne Racecourse in Cicero, Illinois. Fordubai finished second, while Siete de Oros and Abraham rounded out the superfecta.

Breaking from post position 13, Departing and jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr., attempted to save ground in mid-pack as the field passed the grandstand for the first time. Not caring for some of the dirt hitting him in the face, Departing was moved four or five wide into the first turn and began to make up ground on the leaders on the backstretch. Ground Transport set the early fractions but didn't get any kind of a breather as Taken By The Storm pushed him through opening splits of 23.10 and 47.71. Departing continued to travel smoothly in the clear about five to six lengths back of the lead and fanned four or five wide on the far turn as he took command of the race. From there, it was only a question of how many lengths Departing would put on his rivals at the wire.

Any concern about horses being compromised by wide post positions proved unnecessary as the top three finisher broke from posts 13, 10 and 12, respectively. Brian Hernandez rode a great race on Departing, keeping him out of trouble even though they traveled wide much of the race. Hernandez was obviously very confident in the ability of his horse on this day.

Departing is a three-year-old colt gelding (sorry, old boy) by War Front out of a Pulpit mare (Leave), trained by Al Stall, ridden by Brian Hernandez, and bred/owned by Claiborne Farm & Adele B Dilschneider.

Below are the payouts, fractions and internal splits for the Illinois Derby:

Result Chart (via Brisnet)