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  • 2 days ago
Ocelli (Connect), the gutsy colt who defied 70-1 odds to finish third in the GI Kentucky Derby after drawing into the big event just two days beforehand, is one of three Derby contenders preparing to take on the second leg of the Triple Crown. Should he find the winner's circle, he would become the first maiden to win the GI Preakness Stakes since 1888.
Transcript
00:02Ocelli made history as the first maiden to come in the money in the Kentucky Derby in almost 100
00:07years. Now trainer Whit Beckman and his Legion Racing led ownership group are saying why not
00:12Ocelli as he's to take on the Preakness. I think we're rolling with the hashtag why not Ocelli. I
00:19think that's that seems to be the one everybody's gravitated towards so I think we're making some
00:24hats. Why not Ocelli because we want this horse to be in the winner's circle more than anything
00:28because he deserves it. We kind of have a term we use with the back ring specials and and that's
00:34what Ocelli was for what uh what he was going to cost he was worth taking a shot. When he
00:39came in he was
00:40just $12,000 horse they picked up out of the back ring so you know anything at that point was
00:45going
00:45to be a you know just have fun with him see where he's at and he started to kind of
00:49you know separate
00:49himself early as a pretty fast horse. Works leading up to it were solid he had just you know getting
00:55over that track really well attitude behaviors everything was just lining up you know like he
01:00was going to run a big race. We had told the ownership group like look if we get in we
01:03get
01:04in uh but be ready and because we really thought you know from the rumor mill that he was going
01:09to be
01:09right there and um sure enough he got in and we uh we got on the phone and said you
01:15guys find a plane
01:16and get in because uh it's going to be an experience. One experience I've had the last couple years with
01:21horses that break is like just such a melee of just so many horses going in and out so it's
01:26like just kind of break quietly kind of pull them out of there. A clear run to the first turn
01:31was
01:31what we really wanted and Tyler executed that perfectly. You know while kind of going into
01:35the first turn that are opening quarter 22 and change all right we're in a good spot turning for
01:40home you had to go a little bit wide to kind of clear at the quarter pull when he made
01:45the lead
01:45everything just kind of went blank for a minute you know like I was watching in the paddock so I
01:49couldn't see the outside horses till the last minute so you know for that brief minute there
01:54was that feeling of holy smokes this guy could you know jump up and do the the impossible. I don't
02:01know how we ended up jumping on the wall and I'm embarrassed to say I think I initiated it but
02:06I
02:06don't remember when we jumped up I don't remember that part of it and then the video came out and
02:11I
02:12was like oh my gosh Churchill's never gonna invite us back. Got a really fast number for it we're just
02:16you
02:16know I think starting to see just the tip of the iceberg with how good he could possibly be.
02:21Put him back on the track and I thought there's no way I can keep this horse from going to
02:24another
02:24start I mean it's back quick but at the same time it's a triple crown you know it's the Freakness
02:28it's
02:29one of those things they go together the Derby the Freakness and the Belmont. I've always said if I
02:33had the horse I would you know try to do as much of it as I could. I think this
02:37is a cool story with
02:38Ocelli coming into this race too I mean he's the you know he's the the maiden you know that I
02:44think that was a
02:44cool stat that I saw after the race that you know no horse had ever hit the board as a
02:49maiden in the
02:49Derby since like 1937 and no maidens ever won the Freakness since like 1888 or something so I'm like
02:56man what a what a cool story this would be plus I think like he's kind of got this little
03:00cult following
03:01just on our socials the amount of people that have reached out to us I think he's kind of like
03:05you know like America's little like uh underdog.
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