Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Resilience

Apr 10, 2024 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

Ric Waldman and Emily Bushnell’s Resilience earned 100 points on the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge series leaderboard following his 2 1/4-length triumph in the $750,000 Wood Memorial S. (G2) at Aqueduct on April 6. The Bill Mott trainee endured 1 1/8 miles on the fast main oval 1:50.28 in posting his initial stakes victory beneath John Velazquez.

Society Man, Protective, Lonesome Boy, and Uncle Heavy rounded out the top five and earned points on a 50-25-15-10 basis, respectively.

'Very nice horse,' Velazquez said. 'The second time I rode him, he kind of got shy away from the horses coming out and didn't want to pass, then all of a sudden everybody passed him at the sixteenth pole. Then I said, 'maybe blinkers will keep him smart and focused and running' and it did today, so this is where to do it.'

A pace-tracking trip carried Resilience to a 2 1/4-length win in the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct, stamping the bay colt as a viable Kentucky Derby (G1) contender.#KyDerby150 #PedigreeProfile ⬇️ https://t.co/EkFzVPpMFg

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Resilience debuted at Saratoga on Sept. 1 and went unplaced in a one-mile maiden special weight. After a pair of subsequent placings, the bay graduated in his fourth effort on Jan. 1 at Gulfstream Park. He preceded his Wood triumph with a solid fourth-place run in the Risen Star S. (G2) at Fair Grounds. His lifetime line reads 6-2-1-1, $494,630.

The winner was bred in the Bluegrass State by Pam and Marty Wygod and is the first black-type runner produced from the Smart Strike mare Meadowsweet, who counts herself as a half-sister to Grade 1 winners After Market and Courageous Cat, as well as Grade 3 victor Jalil. By Into Mischief, the colt hails from the same female line as 1983 Belmont S. (G1) star Caveat, multiple Grade 1 heroine Tranquility Lake, and others.

Resilience has registered Brisnet Speed numbers of 93-89-104 from his three performances in 2024, and it’s encouraging that he earned his lifetime best figure in a first attempt with blinkers on. The sophomore boasts a fantastic catalog page, he is in great hands with Mott, and the colt is also cut out to run classic distances. I consider the improving Resilience to be a surefire contender in the Run for the Roses on May 4.