As a rule, winning from post 13 in a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint is a very difficult task, but Cogburn did just that on Derby Day at Churchill Downs in the $600,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint S. (G2).

The 5-year-old son of Not This Time has flourished since moving from the main track to the turf a year ago. In that span, he has four wins in five starts, with all the victories coming in stakes races.

Saturday’s outing was Cogburn’s first start since September. He broke like a shot from the gate and made his way closer to the inside to be head-to-head with Coppola and Mo Stash for the lead. The trio sped through a quarter-mile in :22.61. Around the turn, Cogburn was three-wide on the turn and still was just behind Coppola turning for home. He surged to the lead with a furlong to run and drew off to win by 2 ¼-lengths in 1:03.16 on a “good” turf course.

“He has (found a home on turf),” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen. “Obviously, his turf races are beyond excellent and we’re very fortunate to have him. That is typical of him (to break that well). I was so concerned about the outside draw and he took care of that in one jump. We thought he was doing extremely well coming into the race, this was a very big race coming off the layoff. That’s what he’s capable of and that’s what we’ll be getting to campaign the rest of the year.”

Cogburn races for Clark Brewster and Bill & Corinne Heiligbrodt. He is now 7-2-0 in 13 lifetime starts, with earning of $962,730. The winner was bred by Bellary Bloodstock and sold to Brewster for $150,000 at the 2021 OBS Spring 2-year-old sale.

Not This Time has accounted for seven stakes winners this year, including Tuesday at Churchill Downs when Next set a track record in the $200,000 Isaac Murphy S.