LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Champion Good Magic, who came up just shy in his appearance in the Kentucky Derby, is making a magical Derby debut as a sire. Good Magic, who stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Paris, Ky., has a pair of runners in the Derby from his first crop in Florida Derby runner-up Mage and graded stakes winner Reincarnate. Good Magic stands alongside his sire, Curlin, a prominent classic sire who will himself have two runners in Lord Miles and Skinner. Curlin’s son Keen Ice sired last year’s upset Derby winner, Rich Strike. “It’s early yet in his career,” Hill ‘n’ Dale’s John Sikura said of Curlin. “So he doesn’t have a ton of sons that are out there yet. Good Magic is off to a very good start. Palace Malice is off to a very good start. So I think all indicators are that his sons can be important sires.” Two other stallions are represented by first-crop colts in the Derby, and both have international appeal. Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Verifying is by Triple Crown winner Justify, who beat runner-up Good Magic by 2 1/2 lengths in the 2018 Kentucky Derby. Justify is represented by first-crop graded/group stakes winners in both the U.S. and in Australia, where he shuttles for the international Coolmore group, which campaigns Verifying. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. “It’s really exciting, a son of our own stallion,” Robyn Murray of Coolmore’s Ashford Stud said. “If he could be somewhere up there, we’d be absolutely delighted.” U.A.E. Derby winner Derma Sotogake is from the first crop of Mind Your Biscuits, a Grade/Group 1-winning sprinter in the U.S. and Dubai who now stands in Japan. Pa., Japan represented While the majority of this year’s Derby runners were bred in Kentucky – which as the center of North American breeding activity has produced the most winners of the race – a handful hail from elsewhere. Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire was bred in Pennsylvania by Forgotten Land Investment and Black Diamond Equine. The son of Kentucky stallion Classic Empire now races for Albaugh Family Stables. Angel of Empire is attempting to join Lil E. Tee in 1992 and Smarty Jones in 2004 as the only Pennsylvania-breds to win the Kentucky Derby. Since 1966, Pennsylvania-breds are 14-2-1-1 in the race, according to Churchill Downs records. Japanese-born colts Continuar and Derma Sotogake are guaranteed places in the starting gate, while Mandarin Hero still needs help to make the field. The last horse not bred in North America to win the Derby was British-born Tomy Lee in 1959. Family rivalry Champion Forte surged by Mage late to win the Florida Derby. In an interesting twist, the order was reversed the first time their dams met on the racetrack. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more In the Steve Pini Memorial Stakes on Sept. 2, 2017, on the Suffolk Downs turf, Puca, the dam of Mage, passed Queen Caroline, the dam of Forte, in the stretch and kicked clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths. The two shared a starting gate one more time in the Grade 3 Athenia Stakes that Oct. 28 at Belmont Park. Both were well beaten behind Off Limits, with Puca sixth and Queen Caroline ninth. That was the final start for Puca, a Big Brown mare who was Grade 2-placed on the dirt in New York. The mare’s first foal, Gunning, was stakes-placed both last year and this year. Then along came Mage, who earned his way into the Kentucky Derby with his runner-up effort to a divisional champion. Queen Caroline, a five-time stakes winner on turf in Maryland and Indiana, had a limited campaign in 2018 before retiring to broodmare duty. Four-time Grade 1 winner Forte is her first foal. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.