Ocelli has by no means stepped foot within the winner’s circle, but his {photograph} has appeared on-line greater than all however two horses since Might 2 due to ending third within the Kentucky Derby (G1) by solely a size.
Ocelli has by no means taken dwelling the winner’s share of the purse, but he’ll enter the Laurel Park beginning gate Might 16 richer than any of his 13 Preakness Stakes (G1) rivals.
Historical past doesn’t assist him. A maiden has not gained the Preakness since Refund in 1888, the final of six horses to interrupt their maidens in Maryland’s characteristic race since its inception in 1873.
Even with the improbability of profitable your first race within the Triple Crown, it is protected to say that win or lose, Ocelli has already been a winner for his connections regardless of his empty win column.
That may very well be a stunning assertion to make while you take a look at the floor stage: a $12,000 horse who has by no means gained a race in seven begins. Nevertheless, diving deeper, Ocelli’s story is one in all completed success and the potential of future success for all of the events concerned.
Coach Whit Beckman actually has the pedigree of a prime coach, having labored as an assistant for Corridor of Famer Todd Pletcher and five-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown. Going off on his personal in 2021, he has saved one objective in thoughts which he’s reminded of by his cellphone’s background photograph each time he receives a message or checks the time: the Kentucky Derby trophy.
For a second, Beckman felt the world round him fall silent when Ocelli took the lead within the Derby on the sixteenth pole. Though that second was brief lived because the son of Join was handed on the finish by Golden Tempo and Renegade to complete third by a size, that style of victory will drive the Louisville, Ky., native to push much more at attaining that lifelong dream.
Picture: Sean CollinsWhit Beckman with Ocelli at Laurel Park
Many questioned the choice to run a maiden within the Derby, however Ocelli proved the doubters flawed with a career-best efficiency, turning into the primary maiden to hit the board since at the very least 1937 (the period which Churchill Downs has full previous performances for all of the Derby runners) and presumably since Brokers Tip gained the Derby as a maiden in 1933.
“It is one factor if you happen to’re working the horse in over his head, however at no level did we get the indication that he was in too deep of water,” Beckman mentioned on the Might 11 episode of BloodHorse Monday. “It isn’t a matter of buy value and pedigree or any of this stuff, it is simply in regards to the particular person and having the ability to acknowledge at a sure level that you’ve got one thing succesful.
“One factor I realized from Todd and Chad is managing these horses accurately. Generally, possibly on the skin, it would not seem like every part goes proper, however the primary focus for me is improvement and making an attempt to get them to reply on that day. Generally it goes completely and generally it blows up in your face.”
The consequence was close to excellent, however even in defeat Ocelli gave Beckman a win. His Derby run marked three consecutive years that Beckman had a Derby starter (Honor Marie in 2024 and Flying Mohawk in 2025). That consistency at reaching the height of the game, and almost profitable it with a 70-1 longshot who price simply $12,000, will assist entice extra enterprise from his present and potential shoppers.
“Public relations and advertising and marketing, you may’t actually do higher than that,” Beckman mentioned. “You’ll be able to exit and inform all people we’re this steady, we are able to do that and try this. However while you present individuals, particularly house owners seeking to place their horses, that we are able to constantly do that, it is positively helped with our current house owners and getting them extra motivation to purchase into these 3-year-olds.”
Ocelli a Winner for Legion Bloodstock, Companions
A key half to that success is with the staff of Travis Durr, Kristian Villante, and Kyle Zorn that make up Legion Bloodstock. All three of Beckman’s Derby runners and his 2025 Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Drexel Hill have been bought by Legion for a mixed complete of $174,000.
Ocelli took the lead proper in entrance of the field that held his connections, resulting in “pandemonium” as all of them cheered and screamed whereas leaping round.
“We form of misplaced it,” Zorn mentioned. “Somebody has mentioned if the horse is in entrance on the sixteenth pole, it is an out-of-body expertise. I can let you know that is a for-sure reality.”
With three skilled horsemen scouring the gross sales floor, it is not straightforward for a horse to slide via the cracks. Though Ocelli appeared to do this for a lot of, he did not get previous Legion. Though Legion had no shoppers lined up for the horse, they did not wish to let him get away and determined to bid first and discover shoppers later.
“The very best half in regards to the shoppers we’ve is these guys belief us,” Zorn mentioned. “We have got guys that wait and see what we come away with on the sale and so they’ll soar in afterward. If we imagine in a horse, particularly a horse like Ocelli, it is only a couple cellphone calls often.”
Picture: Skip Dickstein(From left): Travis Durr, Kristian Villante, and Kyle Zorn at Saratoga Race Course
A type of cellphone calls was positioned to Kevin Web page of Entrance Web page Equestrian a number of months after the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale as soon as Ocelli started coaching at Durr’s coaching heart in St. Matthews, S.C.
“(Durr) known as me and mentioned, ‘Hey, I’ve bought one which I would like you to be part of,'” Web page recalled. “(Ocelli) was an enormous sturdy colt that had the chance to do some issues, so we pulled the set off.”
Web page mentioned that there was no concern over the low public sale value of $12,000, saying that after he checked out and had the horse vetted himself, he checked all of the containers he seems to be for.
“Individuals quit on horses they should not quit on,” Web page mentioned. “I assumed the horse was extremely stout and doubtless quick. Whenever you’re an enormous horse like that and you may transfer like that, that is what we’re in search of.”
Entrance Web page has the minority possession among the many three companions—Durr’s spouse, Ashley, being majority proprietor and Anthony Tate subsequent. Nevertheless, Web page nonetheless obtained the respect of getting Ocelli full the enduring 1 1/4-mile Derby in his silks.
Web page solely entered racing about 1 1/2 years in the past after assembly his fianceé, Lisa Shirley, who’s a showjumper. Inside that brief time, he has now owned a third-place finisher of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) with Regaled and Kentucky Derby with Ocelli.
Spending about three a long time as a medical distributor and an avid golfer, Web page is now all in on racing. Along with its 5 showjumping horses, Entrance Web page Equestrian additionally now has a dozen Thoroughbred racehorses.
“I simply parlayed it,” Web page mentioned of his early success. “You win a bit bit and also you begin placing again in. We’ve 12 racehorses, and I will put my barn up towards anyone.
“Whenever you win, it let’s you do extra. We have focused on not settling, we’re shopping for premier bloodlines. It is all due to Legion Bloodstock. (Villante) is among the greatest horse scouts there’s.”
That scouting led Legion to Ocelli. Regardless of the dearth of curiosity in different consumers, he match precisely what Legion seems to be for.
“At the start, he had an athletic stroll to him,” Zorn mentioned. “That is the most important factor we search for after we purchase horses. It isn’t at all times primarily based on pedigree.
“(Travis Durr) has 150-200 horses coming via yearly (at his coaching heart). Not solely does he see each form and measurement, however he sees each sire line and every part you may consider in between. I feel we realized what we are able to reside with. I feel lots of people are scared off if a horse toes in or has a clumsy gait to him. To us, if the horse seems to be athletic and passes every part that we search for, we’ll take that shot.”
That shot led to the $12,000 horse getting into the Preakness with earnings of $609,800—an almost 5,000% return on funding from the sale value.
Ocelli a Winner for Breeder Weiss
There weren’t many keen to take that shot when Ocelli was a yearling, one thing that breeder Rafael Weiss was informed all through the lead-up to the Fasig-Tipton sale.
The sale got here at a troublesome time in Weiss’ life as his father, Jeff, had died in January 2024. The pair bought into the sport as Rosedown Racing Stables, profitable the 2013 With Anticipation Stakes (G2T) and reaching that 12 months’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) with their first horse Bashart .
Picture: Louise E. ReinagelJeff Weiss (blue lengthy sleeve shirt, sun shades) holding Hip 1197 on the 2018 OBS Spring Sale
Jeff Weiss, an actual property CEO primarily based in Boca Raton, Fla., was the one working the day after day of Rosedown, so when he died, Rafael debated getting out of the game. He was anticipating the bidding to go increased than $12,000, as did Legion, however was keen to half with Ocelli given his father’s dying.
“I form of appreciated (Ocelli) on the time, I bear in mind telling them I just like the Join colt,” Weiss mentioned. “Everybody informed me the horse is turned out, do not hold him, do not do something with him. I assumed he regarded fairly good however, at the moment, I used to be simply able to dump every part.
“It was me and my dad’s factor. I did not know the way I used to be feeling about it. Finally, I simply determined to maintain it going as a breeder and never race a lot in any respect.”
With Ocelli now turning into a classic-placed runner, there in fact are needs that he had introduced extra within the ring, however Weiss has celebrated the joys of being concerned with a horse of such high quality, particularly given the connection to his dad. When Ocelli took the lead, Weiss misplaced his voice screaming him dwelling at Churchill Downs.
That thrill has Weiss contemplating as soon as once more getting extra concerned on the racing aspect of issues. Together with his determination to stay with breeding—at the moment with 12 broodmares—the replace on Ocelli’s web page will show big for Weiss as he nonetheless has the mare Zalia .
“It is unimaginable, it is a complete recreation changer for the household,” Weiss mentioned. “I am getting presents from all forms of individuals and it is modified every part for Zalia and the household.”
Weiss and his father bought the daughter of Scat Daddy privately after she was a $490,000 RNA on the 2018 Ocala Breeders’ Gross sales Spring Sale of 2-12 months-Olds in Coaching. She gained one in her 4 begins earlier than sustaining an harm when flipping over in her stall.
Her first foal, a Violence colt named Pink Thorn , made 4 begins final 12 months earlier than having an operation to right a throat drawback. He’s again in coaching now with Jose D’Angelo getting ready for his 4-year-old debut.
“He was a monster horse,” Weiss mentioned. “Now he can lastly breathe, and I feel he’ll be a world beater.”
After Ocelli, the subsequent foal fared a lot better at public sale. The Early Voting colt now named Outcomes Based mostly was bought for $475,000 out of the Taylor Made Gross sales Company consignment by Belladonna Racing, West Level Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing on the 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is in coaching with Cherie DeVaux, who satirically beat Ocelli within the Derby with Golden Tempo.
Weiss additionally owns Zalia’s yearling son of Mitole . Ought to Ocelli win the Preakness, it’ll create an excellent larger debate for Weiss on whether or not or to not race the colt himself or take a look at his new added worth at public sale.
Weiss will probably be watching to see if he turns into a Triple Crown race-winning breeder from an airplane taking him from his dwelling in Florida to a convention in Las Vegas, however he has seen sufficient from Ocelli to really feel assured about his possibilities.
“The craziest half about him is he is sturdy,” Weiss mentioned. “He has probably not taken a lot break day and he is advantageous. I can not imagine how stout he’s, that is the true surprising half to me.
“From 70-1 within the Derby to 6-1 (morning line) within the Preakness is loopy. He is horse, little question about it. He got here out of nowhere, the true underdog story.”
