Just a Touch

Just a Touch won his career debut as a 3-year-old on Jan. 27, 2024, in a six-furlong race on a sloppy track at Fair Grounds. He followed that up with a stakes try in his second lifetime start in the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes going one mile on a sloppy track on March 2 at Aqueduct, where he finished second by two lengths.

After the Gotham, Just a Touch was on his way to Keeneland for his third career start in the $1 million Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on April 6. Just a Touch attracted attention at 3-1 odds on the tote board in a 10-horse field in the Blue Grass and ran well in defeat to finish second behind runaway winner Sierra Leone. The Blue Grass Stakes was a maximum points race on the road to the Kentucky Derby, and with his runner-up finish, Just a Touch earned 50 qualifying Derby points, giving him a total of 75 points and assuring him a spot in the starting gate for the run for the roses.

Just a Touch, by Justify, is trained by Brad Cox. He was bred in Kentucky out of graded stakes winner Touching Beauty, by Tapit.