ARCADIA, Calif. - Taiba, the brilliant inexperienced colt, will attempt to make Kentucky Derby history at Churchill Downs on May 7. Taiba won his second start and stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and could be the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby in his third start since Leonatus in 1883. No horse has started in the Kentucky Derby with so little experience since China Visit finished sixth in 2000. Since 1937, four horses have had their third starts in the Kentucky Derby and one had a second start in the famous race, according to Churchill Downs statistics. China Visit, who won the United Arab Emirates Derby in Dubai in his final prep before the Kentucky Derby, had the best finish of those five runners. Mike Smith, the 56-year-old Hall of Famer, rode Taiba in the Santa Anita Derby. Should Smith win the Kentucky Derby on Taiba, he would become the oldest jockey to accomplish the milestone, surpassing Bill Shoemaker who won the race aboard Ferdinand in 1986 at 54. Smith was 52 when he rode Justify to a win in 2018. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2022: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Taiba, owned by Zedan Racing and trained by Tim Yakteen, won a maiden special weight race at six furlongs by 7 1/2 lengths on March 5, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 103. In the Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles, Taiba closed from third in a field of six to win by 2 1/4 lengths over Messier, earning a 102 Beyer. “Every now and then, you’ll come across one that is special,” Smith said. “He’s one of those. Can you imagine if that race moves him up? That race shows that he belongs.” John Velazquez rode Taiba in his debut, but was aboard Messier in the Santa Anita Derby, leaving the mount on Taiba to Smith. Smith has a good perspective of what lightly raced runners can do in the Kentucky Derby. Justify had his fourth start in the Kentucky Derby in 2018, winning the Santa Anita Derby in his stakes debut four weeks earlier. Justify swept the Triple Crown. Taiba, purchased for $1.7 million at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, will be part of an expected full field of 20, including runners who have been in action since last summer. “He lacks seasoning and foundation, things that other colts have over him,” Smith said. “When you have the mental and talent mixed together, if they’re intelligent, they can overcome it.” In the Santa Anita Derby, Smith had Taiba in third while racing wide behind pacesetter, and even-money favorite, Forbidden Kingdom, and Messier. Smith chose to stalk those two through the first six furlongs. “I could have moved over and pressed,” Smith said. “I let the other horse go up there, Messier.” Forbidden Kingdom was passed by Messier with a quarter-mile remaining. Taiba rallied three-wide on the turn to challenge Messier in the stretch. Taiba took the lead in the final furlong. Messier finished 10 lengths clear of 26-1 Happy Jack in the field of six. Forbidden Kingdom, the winner of two Grade 2 races earlier this year, faded to finish last. Trainer Richard Mandella said Sunday that Forbidden Kingdom emerged from the race with an inflamed throat and would undergo further evaluation on Monday. Forbidden Kingdom is no longer rated a Kentucky Derby candidate. “We’ll take him on Monday and scope it and look under the epiglottis,” Mandella said. “He certainly has a sore throat. “He didn’t have a temperature and he looked tired.” Forbidden Kingdom is expected to have a quiet exercise schedule later this month, pending the medical tests. “It will be a couple of easy weeks, and we’ll start back, but that’s a guess,” Mandella said. Taiba was trained by Bob Baffert for his debut, and transferred to Yakteen earlier this month. Baffert is serving a 90-day suspension for a medication violation found in Medina Spirit, the first-place finisher of the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Medina Spirit, also owned by Zedan Racing, was disqualified from the Kentucky Derby. Medina Spirit collapsed and died at the end of a workout at Santa Anita in December. Yakteen, 57, is a former assistant to Baffert who has had his own stable for 17 years. When Baffert’s suspension began, Yakteen began training a small number of notable candidates for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks that were previously in Baffert’s stable. Messier and Taiba will be Yakteen’s first runners in the Kentucky Derby. They will remain at Santa Anita for their final workouts on the weekend of April 30-May 1, Yakteen said. Messier won his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles by 15 lengths on Feb. 6. The loss by Messier in the Santa Anita Derby did not discourage Yakteen. “That race should set him up,” Yakteen said. Sunday, Yakteen said he thought of Justify when Taiba won the Santa Anita Derby with such little experience. “We haven’t seen many horses be able to do that,” he said. “He’s a very gifted horse and he’s handled everything very well.” A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the Taiba would be attempting to become the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby in its third start. Leonatus won the 1883 Kentucky Derby in his third start.