The unknown beauty stole the Derby show just in the last minutes and stunned everyone!

Yes, it’s the correct way to put it, as Rich Strike who was not even in the race, gets its entry and what it did was truly unbelievable for everyone and a huge upset as no one is expecting him to be the star of the show.

The Kentucky Derby of the Triple Crown which is held each year on the first Saturday of May has always been a prestigious horse racing sport in the United State of all time, which attracts over 155,000 crowds to watch.

So this year also everyone was excited about the Derby but the surprisingly never known Strike stunned everyone with a massive 80-1 shot and became an overnight star.

Rich Strike Wiki: Who is Rich Strike?

Strike, the horse is the stunning winner of the Kentucky Derby 2022 with a huge 80- 1 shot in just 2 minutes & 2.61 seconds that shocked everyone at the Churchill Downs. What is shocking is that he wasn’t part of the race but luckily he entered when Ethereal Road scratched.

He qualified for the race only on Friday before the big win on Saturday, May 7. Now he is also the second-largest thoroughbred racehorse to win the Derby after the legendary Donerail with a record of 91-1 odds in 1913.

The 3-year-old is foaled on 25 April 2019, on a calumet farm in Kentucky, and is the son of Keen Ice (sire) and dam Gold Strike with the damsire being Smart Strike. He was born and lived on the calumet farm with his trainer being Joe Sharp until 2021 when he was bought by his present owner Richard Dawson for $30,000.

Rich Strike’S Racing Career

He began his racing career at the age of 2 in 2021 when his trainer was Joe Sharp in a one-mile Maiden Special Weight Race. Then his next start was in the Maiden Claiming Race at Churchill Downs, where he won by 171/4 length and this is when he was bought.

As a three-year-old colt in 2022, he became famous as the winner of the 148th Kentucky Derby but before this big match, under his trainer, Eric Reed competed in the Leonatus Stakes at Turfway Park in Kentucky in January 2022 where he came third.

After this he competed in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes in March, coming fourth, and then he competed in Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway in April finishing third before his big victory at the Kentucky Derby on the 7th May 2022. Strike, the three-year-old colt’s total starts till now is seven.

Rich Strike in Kentucky Derby

So what happened in the Kentucky Derby, is one of the big turning points in the racing career of  Strike along with his owner, trainer, and everyone involved with him. Rich was never in the line as the main racehorse in the Derby and was there just in case there were any scratches, but Reed was informed there weren’t any. So Reed was about to enter Strike in another race but at the last moment, Ethereal Road scratched, and Strike entered the Derby on Friday 6.

Nobody had imagined him to take the winning trophy as everyone’s eyes were on the top horses’ Epicenter, Zandon, and Taiba but Strike’s stunning victory with an 80-1 odds in 2 minutes 2.61 seconds was a surprisingly huge upset in the show.

Everything about the Derby was first for everyone. Rich Strike Jockey Sonny Leon, who rode him, it was the first big stakes win for Leon as a Jockey and on the other hand Strike trainer, Eric Reed never trained a Derby winner and never had any of his horses competing in the Kentucky Derby.

Even though it was a striking win for the Strike team it was a stunning upset for the others, So How much did Rich strike win To cause a great shock in the show?

The total purse of the Derby was $3 million and out of it, the Strike team received $ 1.86 million as the winner of the horse race.

Rich Strike got Punched

Strike, the legendary winner of the Derby has already stunned all of us but he received more recognition for trying to eat another horse and got punched on the head. Oh, dear!

Just after he won the race, while he and his Jockey were escorted to the winner’s stage, Strike started nipping the escorting pony’s neck and string.

Both Leon and the other horse handler were trying to put him under control but he was not ready to let go then he got punched in the face by the pony handler. This Strike biting and punching clip started cracking jokes on the social media like one saying,

“Rich Strike wins the Derby and immediately starts trying to eat the other horses.”

And another, “Not just any horse. The winner of the Kentucky Derby! Couldn’t believe it! On camera no less!”