Good Magic

STRENGTHS: He is the reigning 2-year-old male champion, and a deserving one at that on the basis of his smashing victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Del Mar. He scored by a decisive 4 1/4 lengths in what also was his maiden victory. He comes into the Derby off a determined win in the Blue Grass and now seems primed for a peak performance in what will be his third start this year. He took a major step forward in the Breeders’ Cup, and that came in the third start of his career. He also is backed by the 2017 Eclipse Award-winning trainer and jockey in Chad Brown and Jose Ortiz, a formidable duo to have in one’s corner.

WEAKNESSES: He was alarmingly empty when a disappointing third in the Fountain of Youth in his first start this year. He ran better in the Blue Grass, but that still was not a fast race with a moderate winning Beyer Speed Figure of 95, and he was hard pressed through the stretch to put away Flameaway, a game and consistent colt but one who is a decidedly second-tier Derby hopeful. Neither of Good Magic’s starts this year had the same flash of brilliance he showed in the Breeders’ Cup.

BETTING VALUE: If you’re a fan and have remained loyal, there is good news. His bandwagon is much lighter now than it was when this season began, meaning you’ll get a better price on him in the Derby than you could have hoped for three months ago. Even some non-fans might be attracted because he might well be an overlay. – Mike Watchmaker

SIRE: Curlin, by fellow classic sire Smart Strike, has produced a classic winner or classic-placed runner from each of his first five crops, beginning with 2013 Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice. Curlin was then represented by 2014 Preakness runner-up Ride On Curlin, and Keen Ice, third to American Pharoah in the 2015 Belmont Stakes before defeating the Triple Crown winner in the Travers. Exaggerator finished second in the 2016 Kentucky Derby before winning the Preakness, and Irish War Cry was second in last year’s Belmont.

DAM: Glinda the Good, a daughter of Curlin’s classic-placed rival Hard Spun, scored all her wins at a mile or longer, including the Instant Racing Stakes at Oaklawn and the Island Fashion Stakes at Sunland. The mare is a half-sister to several stakes winners and producers, including Grade 3 Distaff Turf Mile winner Take the Ribbon. This female family has been a successful cross with Curlin, with the stallion siring close relatives in Grade 2-placed route stakes winner Flash Forward and Group 3 winner Handsome Franco.

OUTLOOK: Champion Good Magic is well equipped for the distance challenge of the Kentucky Derby and the rigors of the Triple Crown on both sides of his page. – Nicole Russo