by Ron Parker

Cowtown Cat made another giant step forward in his now inexorable march towards the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) when he soundly defeated eight challengers in a 2 ¼-length victory in the $500,000 Illinois Derby (G2) on Saturday at Hawthorne Race Course.

A race that was billed as a two-horse match race between Cowtown Cat and Cobalt Blue turned into a tour de force for Cowtown Cat, who under jockey Fernando Jara took the lead out of the gate in the 1 1/8-mile race and never relinquished it, drawing away nearing the finish and crossing the line in 1:51.21 on a fast track.

Late-running Reporting for Duty closed to outgame third-place finisher Bold Start by three-quarters of a length.

Cobalt Blue raced in fourth, not far off the lead early, but never menaced, fading to seventh in the lane while racing wide.

The win was the second consecutive graded stakes victory for Cowtown Cat, who entered the Kentucky Derby picture on March 10 with a rousing victory from off the pace in the Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct. The three-year-old Distorted Humor colt previously won an allowance race at Gulfstream Park and a two-year-old maiden race at Belmont Park.

The win was yet another success story for trainer Todd Pletcher, who approaches the Kentucky Derby with a seemingly endless array of contenders.

Cowtown Cat’s graded earnings assure him of a position on the top 20 graded earnings list for Kentucky Derby hopefuls.

He is out of the Storm Cat mare Tom’s Cat.

Ron Parker is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer

For an Equibase chart, click here.