With the 2025 Jamaica Derby just a day away (Wednesday, August 6, 2025), Quickgallopja.com has dug deep into the list of starters, the jockeys, the trainers and connections to ferret the special facts and insights.
1 – Champion trainer Jason DaCosta leads the way among the trainers with three starters: Prince Roy, I Dream Again, and Alchemy of Souls.
2 – Of the ten trainers with horses in the 2025 Derby, three have already tasted success in the Blue Riband event:
- Enos Brown (Monday Morning)
- Patrick Lynch (The Bomber, Drone Strike, and Ability)
- Gary Subratie (Calculus and Atomica)
3 – Trainer Carl Anderson, who has two starters (Burning Hedge and Secret Sensation), has previously won the Derby—not as a trainer, but as an owner. Anderson was part of the owners’ syndicate Mercedes Gold, which campaigned Awesome Power to Derby victory.
4 – Of the 15 jockeys nominated to ride in the 2025 Jamaica Derby, six have previously won this prestigious event:
- Dick Cardenas (Technomoto, Mark My Word)
- Paul Francis (He’s Really Ok)
- Phillip Parchment (King Arthur)
- Dane Dawkins (Atomica)
- Omar Walker (She’s A Maneater, Seeking My Dream)
- Shane Ellis (Awesome Power, Relampago, Orpheus, Supreme Soul, Typewriter, Calculus)
5 – There are two fillies entered for the 2025 Jamaica Derby: Burning Hedge and Pretty Perfect. Notably, Pretty Perfect becomes the first filly to contest both the Oaks and the Derby since the adjustment to the Classic race schedule (placing the Oaks just 3–4 days earlier). Pretty Perfect finished third in the 2025 Oaks behind Linguist and Woman In Love on August 2.
6 – Of the 15 starters in the 2025 Jamaica Derby, only one horse—Secret Sensation—is still a maiden.
7 – Two sires have three starters each in this year’s Derby:
- Bern Identity (Paradise At Spring Village) with:
- Uncle Harry (dam Long Running Train)
- Nuclear Jet (dam Nuclear Force)
- Mark My Identity (dam Sweet Like Sugar)
- Sensational Slam (HAM Stables) with:
- Secret Sensation (dam Secret Cat)
- Beneison (dam Benediction)
- Pretty Perfect (dam Black Bombshell)
8 – Burning Hedge and Sensational Soul lead all Derby starters with three wins each heading into the event.
9 – Of the 15 Derby starters, Burning Hedge and Strong Mind have the most race experience, each having competed in 11 starts so far.
