Fast forward to the first Saturday in May 2025, and Mystik Dan came out on the wrong side of a photo finish at Oaklawn Park.

Dragoon Guard wired the West Virginia Derby (G3) to continue his ascent in the sophomore division, while Hit Show rallied up the rail to take the West Virginia Governor’s (G3).

Timberlake was the class going into Saturday's $1.25 million Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn Park and, despite not having run since the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) in November, proved as much in the 1 1/16-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby prep.

An eye-catching rally carried Sierra Leone to victory in Saturday’s Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds and to favoritism in Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4.