Chip Honcho turned his Triple Crown form into a first graded-stakes victory when he rallied past Ocelli to win the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
The Steve Asmussen-trained colt, third behind Napoleon Solo in last month’s 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park, found the right spot on Saturday night and gave Jose Ortiz another major three-year-old result in a season already rich with big-race momentum.
According to the Paulick Report race account, Chip Honcho completed the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:51.18 and returned $7.60 as the 5-2 second choice. The America’s Best Racing result details also had Ocelli second, Trendsetter third and Desert Gate fourth.
Ortiz Times Chip Honcho Run To Perfection
Robusta and Desert Gate helped make the race honestly run, with opening fractions of :22.72 and :47.30. Ortiz kept Chip Honcho tucked into a stalking position, then had to wait as Ocelli swept into contention around the far turn.
Ocelli briefly looked set to make his own breakthrough, but Chip Honcho angled out, gathered himself and wore him down inside the final sixteenth. Ortiz summed it up neatly afterwards, saying: “Luckily I had the best horse today.”
It was an important answer from a colt who had been around the best of his generation without landing a headline prize this year. Chip Honcho had already featured in ReadHorseRacing’s Ohio Derby field preview, where the return of several Preakness runners made the Thistledown race more than a routine Grade 3.
For Ocelli, the frustration continues. He ran another strong race, finishing a clear second, but remains winless after nine starts despite placing in the Kentucky Derby and again running well in this company.
Chip Honcho, by Connect out of Miss My Rose, is now 3-2-1 from eight starts and has pushed his earnings past $800,000. In a division shaped by Golden Tempo’s rise through the spring, Asmussen’s colt has put himself firmly back into the conversation for the second half of the season.
