nobles-promiseNoble’s Promise is a classic pace presser/stalker; the furthest behind the leaders that this colt has been in any of his career wins is just three lengths. His race in the Arkansas Derby saw him eight lengths back after a half but that was primarily due to a little bit of a rough trip leaving the gate.

Despite the fact that his running lines always show him up near the lead early on, Noble’s Promise doesn’t display a tremendously quick burst from the gate and has generally found himself near the lead due to a slow early pace. Given the prospects of several speed horses in the Derby field, this colt looks like a horse that is going to find himself in the middle of the pack instead of a length or two off of the lead.

How he got to the Derby: Noble’s Promise put together an excellent juvenile campaign that saw him win a listed stake at Presque Isle Downs, the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, followed up by a third place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita and a second place finish to Lookin At Lucky in the Grade 1 Cash Call Futurity at Hollywood Park.

Date Finish Jockey Race 1st 2nd 3rd Time
04/10/10 5th R Albarado Arkansas Derby-G1 Line Of David Super Saver Dublin 1:49.37
03/13/10 2nd R Albarado Rebel-G2 Lookin At Lucky Noble’s Promise Dublin 1:43.06
12/19/09 2nd R Bejarano CashCall Futurity-G1 Lookin At Lucky Noble’s Promise Make Music For Me 1:43.30
11/07/09 3rd W Martinez Breeders’ Cup Juvenile-G1 Vale Of York Lookin At Lucky Noble’s Promise 1:43.48
10/10/09 1st W Martinez Breeders’ Futurity-G1 Noble’s Promise Aikenite Roman Invasion 1:43.12
09/26/09 1st W Martinez Fitz Dixon Jr Memorial Juvenile Noble’s Promise Grand Slam Andre Peppi Knows 1:15.87
09/05/09 1st M Mena MSW Noble’s Promise Gentleman John Pronto Caballo 1:02.33
04/23/09 2nd K Desormeaux MSW China Noble’s Promise Doc Thunderbolt 0:50.36