The Deputy was the winner of only a maiden race from 5 starts at 2 in England, but Team Valor bought him, reckoning he had the right style for racing in America. The medium-sized colt proved the notion correct, as he accomplished more on the Triple Crown trail than any British colt ever imported at 2 to contest the American Classics. Versatile, classy and dead game, The Deputy opened his account in January at Santa Anita by taking the Hill Rise Stakes going a mile on grass. The Irish-bred came back to defeat subsequent Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes hero High Yield and multiple Grade 1 winner Captain Steve in the Santa Catalina Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. He met with his only pre-Classics defeat in the Grade 1 San Felipe Handicap, in which he went down by three-quarters of a length to Fusaichi Pegasus, who would win the Kentucky Derby. Veteran horsemen noted that the 5 pounds of actual weight conceded to the winner by The Deputy was worth more than the margin by which he met defeat. The Deputy made amends by beating subsequent Breeders’ Cup Mile hero War Chant and Eclipse Award winners Anees and Surfside to win the $1-million Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The brilliant colt was sent off as second-choice for the Kentucky Derby, but the sweltering heat undid him in the days leading up to the race. The Deputy never fired and did not race again. He hit the board in all of his 10 career outings, except for the Kentucky Derby. After many years at stud, first in Kentucky, then Michigan and Iowa, he is now a pensioner and happily romping in his paddock at Remember Me Rescue in Burleson, Texas.
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