Taiba will bid to defy nearly 140 years of Kentucky Derby (G1) history. Not since Leonatus, all the way back in 1883, has a colt won the Churchill Downs classic in just his third career start. 

Yet if any sophomore can blithely shred that stat, it’s Taiba. His meteoric rise on the racetrack is no revelation to those who’ve known him all along, beginning with breeder Bruce Ryan and his wife, Mary.

Taiba is the incarnation of the best qualities of his sire, Horse of the Year Gun Runner, and his fiercely competitive dam, Needmore Flattery, who was twice honored as Ohio’s state-bred Horse of the Year. From his outstanding physique and athleticism to his fine temperament and mental toughness, he has inherited much more than his parents’ chestnut coat.

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