Derby Also-rans Just a Touch, Flying Mohawk shine in Keeneland turf wins

Keeneland’s expanded turf allowance card offered a clear reminder that a Kentucky Derby flop does not have to define a horse’s next chapter. Just a Touch, who finished 20th in the 2024 Derby, and Flying Mohawk, who was 18th in the 2025 Derby, each surfaced Thursday with 1 1/16-mile turf victories that suggested their best work may still be ahead.

Keeneland’s racing office split the originally scheduled turf allowance into two divisions because of the size of the entry list, and each race carried a $140,000 purse. The result was a spring showcase for horses trying to find the right surface and the right trip, with Just a Touch taking race 5 and Flying Mohawk delivering in race 9.

Just a Touch made the sharper impression. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., the 5-year-old son of Justify settled near the back of the field before launching a late run to get up by a length on the firm turf. He covered the mile and a sixteenth in 1:41.62, paid $4.78 to win and earned $88,200. The race was an important follow-up to his dirt effort a month earlier, when he went favored in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and finished fourth. Cox has suggested turf could be the immediate home for the Qatar Racing LLC and Detampel, Marc-owned colt, though a return to dirt remains possible if the right spot opens later. After the Keeneland win, Just a Touch improved to four victories and five seconds from 13 starts, with earnings of $778,408.

Flying Mohawk reinforced the same theme from the next division. The Whit Beckman trainee sat third along the rail, shifted outside in the stretch and ran down the leaders before holding off Anglophile. Keeneland’s official result listed Tyler Gaffalione as the winning rider, and Flying Mohawk completed the same trip in 1:41.60 to collect a winning share of $83,545. The 4-year-old son of Karakontie, a Keeneland sales graduate, now has four wins and two seconds from 12 starts, with all four career victories coming on turf. BloodHorse listed the ownership group as Two Eight Racing, Berry Family Racing LLC and Kaleta Racing.

With three former Derby runners entered and two making the winner’s circle, Keeneland’s Thursday card showed how quickly a horse’s value can change when the surface changes, the distance fits and the placement is patient. For Just a Touch and Flying Mohawk, the grass did not just soften the blow of Triple Crown disappointment. It gave both horses a second career path worth chasing.