Isn’t He Clever has no money issues going into the Arkansas Derby
Game second finish in the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby has got Isn’t He Clever less worried about the graded earnings to get into the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, and according to trainer Henry Dominguez if his colt turns in a third place finish in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby than it’ll enough as far as the graded stakes earning are concerned.
Nonetheless, there is so much to get out from the Arkansas Derby than just graded stakes earnings, sure there will be contenders who will be worrying about it, and would desperately want that on the board finish to be eligible for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on 5 May.
Isn’t He Clever’s sire, Smarty Jones who was also owned by J. Kirk Robison and Judy Robison, went on to win the Arkansas Derby back in 2004.
“He’s not a very big horse but he’s very agile and kind,” Dominguez said. “He’s everything you want him to be, he’s got everything you want in a horse.”
The Kentucky bred 3-year-old gelding is out of mare Sharp Minister by Deputy Minister, and he is yet to win a graded stakes race.
He broke his maiden at first asking at Zia Park last year, and then at the same venue won an allowance race going over a distance of five and a half furlongs. In the Clever Trevor Stakes, Isn’t He Clever again came from nowhere to post a second place finish to Officer Prado in the seven furlong test.
At Sunland Park, he won the Riley Allison Futurity Stakes at about six and a half furlongs to cap off his juvenile season.
This year though, with the big boys, Isn’t He Clever was fourth to start proceedings in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, winning the Borderland Derby at Sunland Park and then posting a game second finish in the Sunland Derby.
“He’s got enough earnings that if we’re at least third here, we’ll get in to the Derby field,” Dominguez said. “This is the first time we’re really going to test him and find out what calibre he is. He’s going to tell us a lot about where we need to run him going forward.”
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