Rock Your World (foaled February 28, 2018) is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who won the 2021

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...

Background

Rock Your World is a dark bay stallion who was bred in Kentucky by Ron and Deborah McAnally. He was sired by

Candy Ride Candy Ride (foaled September 27, 1999 in Argentina) is a retired Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse who went undefeated in six starts on both turf and dirt racing surfaces in Argentina and the United States. In Argentina, he won the Gran Premio ...

, an Argentinian-bred stallion who was undefeated in six starts on turf and dirt in Argentina and the United States. Candy Ride has since become one of the top ten sires in North America whose progeny includes American Horse of the Year

Gun Runner Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trad ...

and champion

Shared Belief Shared Belief (February 15, 2011 – December 3, 2015) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, he was undefeated in three races, including the Hollywood Prevue Stakes and Los Alamitos Futurity, and was named the American Cham ...

. Rock Your World's dam is Charm the Maker, a stakes-winning daughter of the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

winner

Empire Maker Empire Maker (April 27, 2000 - January 18, 2020) Rock Your World was sold at the Keeneland 2019 Yearling Sale for $650,000. He is owned by Hronis Racing (Kosta and Pete Hronis) and Talla Racing (Michael Talla) and is trained by

John W. Sadler John W. Sadler (born July 30, 1956) is an American horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. He currently has over 2,600 race wins, including the 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic with Accelerate, who was subsequently named American Hors ...

Racing career

Rock Your World did not race at age two as Sadler needed to give the colt time to grow into his frame. He made his debut on January 1, 2021 in a six-furlong maiden special weight race on the turf at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

, going off as the 5-2 favorite in a field of 12. He was just behind the early leaders while racing three-wide. He took the lead with a quarter-mile remaining and pulled away in the stretch to win by lengths. He made his next start on February 27 in the Pasadena Stakes at a distance of one mile on the Santa Anita turf course. He was the second betting choice in a field of five to Cathkin Peak. Rock Your World stalked the early lead but had trouble changing leads at the top of the stretch, opening a gap for Cathkin Peak to get an early jump. Rock Your World then found his stride and closed ground three wide to win by lengths. "This horse is still really green", said Sadler. "It's funny, we schooled him yesterday morning at 9:30 in the paddock, no problem. Today, when we put the saddle on him, tight as hell! He's got lessons to learn, but he's got a lot of talent." Rock Your World made his first start on the dirt in the Grade One

on April 3. Having drawn an inside post position, he was ridden hard to take the early lead, running a fast opening quarter of 22.42 seconds to avoid getting trapped in traffic. He was then able to slow down the pace and was never seriously challenged. He drew away in the stretch to win by lengths. The win qualified Rock Your World for the

2021 Kentucky Derby The 2021 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2021 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby. It took place on May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, who qualified for th ...

, in which he was expected to be one of the leading contenders. However, he was bumped at the start and never factored after that, finishing 17th in the field of 19. He looked to rebound in the 2021 Belmont Stakes, where he faded to sixth after running second for most of the race.

Statistics

An asterisk after the odds means Rock Your World was the post-time favorite

Pedigree

Rock Your World is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

4S x 4D to the stallion

Fappiano Fappiano (May 19, 1977 – September 3, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose most important win was the 1981 Metropolitan Handicap. When retired to stud, he became a major sire whose offspring included Kentucky Derby winner Unbrid ...

, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

{{reflist Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Thoroughbred family 9-f 2018 racehorse births