NINE hours after Mendelssohn rocked the world, Audible rocked Florida. Yes, a world away in distance and style, Audible waved the American flag with a consummate win in the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

Sent off favourite, Audible and John Velazquez made sure there wasn’t an anxious moment, rating off the pace and moving when called to score by an easy three lengths over Hofburg, fresh out of a maiden win for Juddmonte and Bill Mott.

The former continued his march toward Louisville while the latter promised big things on his horizon (Travers!).

Owned by China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm, Audible won for the fourth consecutive time and stayed undefeated at a mile or farther.

A $500,000 two-year-old in training purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Florida March Sale, Audible bolstered Todd Pletcher’s arsenal, joining Noble Indy and Magnum Moon as top contenders for the Kentucky Derby.

With Javier Castellano in Dubai, Velazquez hopped back on Audible, a horse he had ridden to a maiden win at Aqueduct in November. For a moment in the Florida Derby, Pletcher was worried about his horse, then he saw his go-to jockey.

“Just watching the race I was a little concerned at the five-eighths pole because he started to drop back a little bit, but I could tell Johnny wasn’t panicked,” Pletcher.

Panic? Velazquez doesn’t panic.

“The only thing that concerned me was when he got to the backstretch he started backing up a little bit,” Velazquez said. “I thought I was overdoing it so I had to give him a little chance on the backstretch to regroup again and once he got his stride back together and when he started moving again, I was very happy with the way he was doing it. I didn’t ride him last time but he way he ran today he was definitely impressive. The farther he goes the better he gets.”

That premise will be tested in a month.

Gulfstream

IRISH-bred Legend Emma broke her maiden over the Gulfstream turf on the Florida Derby undercard. Owned by Zayat Stable and trained by Pletcher, the daughter of Lope De Vega led every step to score by a nose.

Bred by Knockainey Stud, Legend Emma was purchased by Zayat at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2016.