Torres lands first Kentucky Derby mount on Incredibolt after Preakness upset

Jaime Torres had already crossed one Triple Crown finish line in style. Now the 27-year-old was set for the next jump in his rise, landing his first Kentucky Derby mount aboard Incredibolt in Kentucky Derby 152 after his breakthrough 2024 Preakness Stakes win on Seize the Grey.

The assignment carried the kind of arc Derby week often rewards. Torres first broke through in graded stakes company on Seize the Grey in the 2024 Pat Day Mile, then stunned the Preakness field two weeks later. That victory was a turning point for a rider who had been little known on the Churchill backstretch and had built his reputation the hard way, start by start.

Incredibolt gave Torres a fresh shot at turning one upset into a second major-stage story. Churchill Downs media notes said the colt arrived at 6:15 on April 20 from Palm Meadows Training Center, and Torres was scheduled to work him in the Saturday morning training window before the Derby. The ride put Torres back at the center of the biggest week on the calendar, with the challenge now shifting from the barn area to the starting gate.

Elsewhere in the Derby picture, Intrepido kept forcing his way into the conversation. Ranked No. 22 on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, he needed two defections to make the field, then sharpened his case with a 4-furlong move in :47 2/5 at Santa Anita Park on April 19, the second-fastest of 97 works at the distance. Trainer Jeff Mullins said, “That’s the plan,” when asked about the Derby, and the work backed up the intent.

Potente also stood out in the week’s workout reports, and Churchill Downs identified him as the highest-priced colt in the Derby field at $2.4 million. On the filly side, Bottle of Rouge was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks after coughing following an April 26 workout, which opened a berth for Lovely Grey. The Oaks field carried a $1.5 million purse, a reminder that Derby week is as much about shifting value as shifting form. For Torres, though, the biggest move was personal: from Preakness winner to first-time Derby rider, with Incredibolt carrying the weight of that next step.