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A bay homebred son of Malibu Moon, Orb ran his winning streak to five races by circling the field and passing 13 horses in the final half-mile to capture the 139th Kentucky Derby by 2 ½ lengths on May 4.
The Derby was the third consecutive graded stakes win for Orb, who at 5-to-1 became the third favorite to win the Run for the Roses in the past seven years, and the first since Big Brown in 2008.
Breaking from post 16, Orb led only three horses through three-quarters of a mile at Churchill Downs but steadily progressed on the outside before sweeping past tiring leader Normandy Invasion at the sixteenth pole and drawing away, earning the top prize of $1,414,800.
Prior to the Derby, Orb had won both the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, the latter on March 30 in his previous start. He is now 4-for-4 in 2013, including an optional claiming allowance victory at Gulfsteam on January 26 in his 3-year-old bow.
As a juvenile, Orb didn’t break his maiden until his fourth and final start, a two-length victory at Aqueduct on Nov. 24, where he beat next-out winner Revolutionary by more than four lengths. Revolutionary rallied to finish third in the Derby.
