Last year, trainer Bill Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado joined forces to win the Kentucky Derby (and Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes) with Sovereignty. This year, Mott and Alvarado have a big shot to go back-to-back in the Run for the Roses with Chief Wallabee, who compares favorably with his Derby-winning stablemate. Bet Chief Wallabee and the entire Kentucky Derby at TwinSpires, where new users who click through our links get a supersized $400 sign-up bonus:

12 Chief Wallabee (8-1)

• Trainer: Bill Mott
• Jockey: Junior Alvarado
• Last race: Third in the Florida Derby by a ½ length
• Career record: 3 starts: 1 win, 1 second, 1 third
• Career earnings: $216,600
• Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 100 (Fountain of Youth)
• Sire: Constitution

Below, we’ll dig further into Chief Wallabee as part of our series profiling all the horses competing in the 152nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 2. We’ll look back into his past performances, what questions need to be answered Saturday and analyze how the post draw affects his chances. Now that you know who’s in the field, you’ll want to know how to bet the Kentucky Derby on the top horse racing betting apps. FanDuel Racing offers a $25 bonus with a $5 bet. Claim it here:

What to know about Chief Wallabee

In the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby every year, one horse emerges as the “wiseguy” choice. It’s often a horse that’s not one of the favorites but becomes the popular pick among the sport’s talking heads, driving the odds down.

This year that horse is Chief Wallabee. 

He is deserving of the hype. He has run three bang-up races to start his career, going hoof-to-hoof with two of the best 3-year-olds in the country: Commandment and The Puma. Chief Wallabee also has earned fast speed figures (100 and 99) that are right there with the favorites in the race. (For comparison, Sovereignty’s best figure entering last year’s Derby was 95.) And obviously Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott knows how to get a horse to peak for a big race.

But Chief Wallabee’s last two starts, while fast, were a bit disappointing. After showing speed in his debut win, the colt settled more off the pace in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby and stalled at the end of those races, finishing second (by a neck) and third (½ length). 

For the Kentucky Derby, Mott has decided to put blinkers on Chief Wallabee for the first time. Such a move usually is a sign of desperation, and never does well in the Run for the Roses. Since 2000, 11 horses have added blinkers for the first time in the Derby, and the best finish was fourth. Nine of the 11 were ninth or worse. But Mott sensed that the horse was running in spots and not entirely focused, something not unusual for a lightly raced horse. 

If the mornings are any indication, the blinkers have worked. Chief Wallabee has turned in two fantastic workouts at Churchill Downs in preparation for the big race, impressing trackside observers across the board. One South Florida-based clocker, Mike Welsch of the Daily Racing Form, said Chief Wallabee’s April 20 workout was “the best work I’ve seen from him by far.”

If the blinkers make even a little bit of difference, then Chief Wallabee is a major player, considering there’s not much difference between him and, say, Commandment anyway. (He actually galloped out past Commandment and The Puma after the Florida Derby.)

Chief Wallabee’s morning workouts have created such a buzz that there’s a possibility that you won’t get his 8-1 morning-line price at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET. Claim our jumbo-sized 1/ST BET offer here to get a $500 sign-up bonus:

Post draw analysis

Chief Wallabee has raced outside in all three of his starts so an inside post could’ve been an adventure. But he drew perfectly in post No. 12, which should allow jockey Junior Alvarado to secure an outside stalking spot again. The addition of blinkers could have him more forward than he was in either the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby.