LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Justify did it in 2018. So, too, did Big Brown a decade before him. They’re among just three horses who have worn Kentucky Derby roses following only three prior starts, with the legendary filly Regret being the first to do it way back in 1915. It’s a recurring question as the 147th Kentucky Derby nears – are three previous starts enough? Four horses in this year’s race will be making just the fourth start of their careers – Rock Your World, Sainthood, and the Mark Casse pair of Helium and Soup and Sandwich. It’s easily the largest such group in race history, according to Churchill Downs records. All else being equal, many believe a horse with just three previous races is at somewhat of a disadvantage when facing more experienced rivals in the Derby. However, the statistics don’t necessarily bear that out – only 19 horses have entered the Derby with three starts under their belts, and three have won. “I don’t know that there’s any major advantage to having just three races,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who has Sainthood, a one-time winner from three races, among his four 2021 Derby starters. “Typically, you do have a fresh horse, but ideally you’d probably like to have more experience, so the concern is whether you have enough seasoning.” For the record, there has never been a first-time starter in the Derby. According to the Churchill media guide, just one horse (Bert G., 14th in 1945) was making his second start, while four more horses had raced just twice, with none of them finishing better than sixth. Among 48 horses with four prior starts, three won the Derby – Alan-a-Dale (1902), Exterminator (1918), and Animal Kingdom (2011). This year, Rock Your World is widely regarded as a major player and one of the top wagering choices. Trained by John Sadler, the Candy Ride colt won the Santa Anita Derby after winning twice over turf. He’s one of three unbeaten colts in this field, along with Essential Quality (5 for 5) and Helium, whose 3-for-3 record also includes only one start over dirt, that being the Tampa Bay Derby. Helium won twice over synthetic as a 2-year-old. Sadler said after Rock Your World was sent through his final pre-race workout Saturday at Santa Anita that he is satisfied not only with how the colt has trained into the Derby, but also with his overall body of work. Rock Your World began his career with a Jan. 1 maiden win, followed by another turf win in the Feb. 27 Pasadena. For well more than a century, until Justify three years ago, every Kentucky Derby winner since Apollo in 1882 had raced at least once as a 2-year-old. “I’ve had to resist the temptation to do too much, because he’s already there,” Sadler said. Soup and Sandwich also would have been subjected to the so-called Apollo jinx if it still existed. The gray Florida-bred debuted in late January, winning easily, before winning a February allowance and finishing second in the Florida Derby. :: Get Kentucky Derby Betting Strategies for exclusive wager recommendations, contender profiles, pedigree analysis, and more “I’ve got a couple of really fresh horses,” Casse said. “To me, it really doesn’t matter if you’ve started 15 times or three times – you’ve still got to have some luck.” Casse said Soup and Sandwich “has learned a whole lot in a relatively short amount of time” and figures as a legitimate threat on or near the early pace, while Helium is an “extremely smart horse” whose innate ability and willingness to train help to offset his lack of racing experience. “I feel very much like both colts are going to improve off their last starts,” Casse said. “Both of them have a good shot if that happens.” As for Sainthood, Pletcher is happy with how the Mshawish colt is coming into the race. “I think he’s a fresh horse who’s training the best he’s ever trained, so that’s encouraging,” said Pletcher, whose record 55 Derby starters include four who had just three starts – Dunkirk (2009), Materiality (2015), Patch (2017), and Money Moves (2020). In Sainthood’s two breezes at Churchill in company with stablemate Known Agenda, one of the race favorites, “He’s been able to hold his own,” Pletcher said. “They’ve given me some encouragement that the colt is improving and that he likes the surface,” he said. “So he looks like he’s in as good a form as he can possibly be in and will run as well as he possibly can. The question is if that’s good enough and if he has enough seasoning to deal with the big field and all that.” Two horses who wound up winning subsequent Triple Crown events after making just their fourth start in the Derby were Curlin, who won the Preakness after finishing third in the 2007 Derby, and Summer Bird, winner of the Belmont Stakes off a sixth-place finish in the 2009 Derby.