Senor Buscador Sibling The Hell We Did Tries Lexington

Having made all three of his starts at lower-profile tracks in Oklahoma and New Mexico, The Hell We Did could be overlooked when he faces 10 fellow 3-year-olds in the $400,000 Lexington Stakes (G3) April 11 at Keeneland. Students of pedigree, however, are unlikely to let him entirely slip through the wagering cracks. A Kentucky-bred by 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic, The Hell We Did is out of the standout New Mexico-bred, the Desert God mare Rose's Desert, who is responsible for five black-type stakes winners from her seven runners—plus two stakes-placed winners—including 2024 Saudi Cup (G1) hero Senor Buscador, who now stands at stud at nearby Lane's End near Versailles, Ky. "I mean, she's just been phenomenal," owner Joey Peacock said of Rose's Desert; Peacock campaigns The Hell We Did as Peacock Family Holdings. The Hell We Did now gets his stakes opportunity to add to her produce record, though to do so in the Lexington, he'll have to outrun a pair of Brad Cox trainees in Ezum, a 19 1/2-length maiden winner at Colonial Downs March 14, and Confessional, third in the Virginia Derby on that same card. Corona de Oro, Exhibition Only, Decisive Win, Enforced Agenda, and I Did I Did are other contenders in the 1 1/16-mile race. The Lexington assignment for The Hell We Did presents hurdles. The Todd Fincher trainee not only jumps in class but stretches out to a route for the first time, having made his three starts all at 6 furlongs. His most recent effort—a 13-length, geared-down allowance romp March 15 from off the pace at Sunland Park—was accomplished in a sharp 1:08.17. "Todd has always said he thinks the horse wants to go farther. So it's time to find out," Peacock said. Before the Sunland Park blowout, The Hell We Did showed grit in narrowly winning on debut Oct. 16 at Remington Park, then finished second in the Zia Park Juvenile Stakes Nov. 25 in New Mexico. Minor training setbacks delayed his return until mid-March, Peacock noted. Luis Saez picks up the mount. The Hell We Did takes its name from Peacock's father, Joe Sr., who uttered those words upon hearing Senor Buscador's name chosen by other family members when he would have desired a more traditional blending of the sire and dam's name. The humorous utterance has endured since the elder Peacock's death in 2020. Senor Buscador means Mr. Prospector in Spanish. The horse is inbred to the breed-shaping stallion. The Lexington offers limited qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, distributed on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to its top five finishers. Confessional, the current points leader in the race with 15, would reach only 35 with a win. A points total of 35 is below the current threshold necessary to qualify, though defections from the prospective lineup can change the tally necessary to gain a starting berth. Last year, the Lexington produced a key starter in the Preakness Stakes (G1), the second leg of the Triple Crown, when Gosger ran second to Journalism after winning the Lexington five weeks earlier. Cox, a four-time winner of the Lexington, gives a return mount on Shadwell Stable's Ezum to Flavien Prat, who won the March 28 Florida Derby (G1) for the trainer aboard Commandment. Irad Ortiz Jr., who piloted Further Ado to an 11-length romp in the April 4 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) for Cox, secures the ride on Confessional. Ezum is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the Lexington, while Confessional and The Hell We Did are 7-2 and 8-1, respectively.