Kentucky Derby Odds 2012: Daddy Nose Best and Late Breakers to Watch

Although you never know what might happen in the Kentucky Derby, a new trend over the past few years has been horses coming from behind late to win. In 2009 it was Mine That Bird, in 2010 it was Super Saver and last year Animal Kingdom turned the trick.

With that in mind, it seems as though making a late charge is suddenly en vogue.

That isn't to say that a horse can't lead from wire to wire, but horse racing tends to be a copycat sport. Since this particular strategy has been working so well, especially in the run for the roses, there is no doubt that several jockeys will look to replicate that success by laying back for much of the race before making a big move late.

Here are three horses that aren't among the top couple betting favorites, but have a tendency to break late and will be in the mix on the home stretch.

Daddy Nose Best (15/1)

The bettors have been hitting Daddy Nose Best hard over the past couple weeks, and it's for good reason, as he is one of the horses who reside outside the top few who has a real shot to win.

At 15/1, Daddy Nose Best is a solid dark-horse selection, especially since he'll be mounted by a strong jockey in Garrett Gomez.

Daddy Nose Best has long been a horse who prefers to come from behind, and it has served him well as of late. He has won his last two races in the form of the El Camino Real Derby and the Sunland Derby, so he possesses a ton of momentum right now as well.

Of all the late-breaking horses in the field, Daddy Nose Best has run best as of late and has all the tools to do what the past several Kentucky Derby winners have.

Dullahan (8/1)

Dullahan is currently the No. 4 favorite at 8/1 behind the likes of Bodemeister, Union Rags and Gemologist, but he differentiates himself as he likes to make his move late in the game. The big issue for Dullahan is that he is inexperienced on dirt as he has only raced on that surface three times while never finishing better than third, but everything else looks good.

He'll be saddled by the great Kent Desormeaux, who knows a thing or two about coming from behind in big races.

Along with Calvin Borel, it would be fair to call Desormeaux the premier jockey in the sport, as well as the premier strategist. He has been quite bullish on Dullahan in interviews leading up to the Kentucky Derby, and there is reason to believe that he can make a late charge and win.

Sabercat (30/1)

If you're looking for a longer shot with a real chance to come from out of nowhere a la Mine That Bird a couple years ago, then 30/1 shot Sabercat may be your horse. There hasn't been much talk at all about the Steve Asmussen-trained horse leading up to the Kentucky Derby, but I have to believe that Sabercat's camp prefers it that way, since his game is to reel in the leaders down the stretch. 

Last year, jockey Corey Nakatani came extremely close to winning his first career Kentucky Derby aboard Nehro, but he was passed by a hard-charging Animal Kingdom. Nakatani has a true chance to to play spoiler this year, though, as Sabercat is a good-looking underdog.

His last five races have been on dirt with three of them being victories, so Sabercat's name could very well be exclaimed near the end of the Kentucky Derby.