After training racehorses for over 50 years, Robert Young will be a long way from his Bandera, Texas home when he makes his career graded stakes debut. This Saturday at Thistledown, Young will saddle Gentry Farms' Chad Allan (Union Rags) in the GIII Ohio Derby.Second in a trio of most recent starts, Chad Allan has proven to be a bit of a puzzle for his trainer. Young, who got his start working with Quarter Horses before transitioning to Thoroughbreds three decades ago, believes the sophomore is finally ready to put the pieces together for a breakout performance.“He's just been a late-developing colt,” Young explained. “Seems like every time we turn around, something would go wrong with a race. He'd get himself in trouble or not break well, but he's a talented colt. It's just been a deal to find out what he is. Physically, he's like a rock. It's just mental things, like a kid messing up.”A 7 1/4-length winner in his second career start last November at Remington Park, Chad Allan endured a frustrating winter at Oaklawn Park, where frequent traffic trouble compromised his late run. The colt began to turn a corner when he finished second against allowance company on March 27, a performance he backed up with another runner-up finish in the Bathhouse Row Stakes behind Crupper (Candy Ride {Arg}).He returned to Lone Star to unleash a powerful stretch run in the Texas Derby, but a lingering habit of jumping over shadows kept him from threatening runaway winner Desert Gate (Omaha Beach).Chad Allan will face the same Bob Baffert-trained rival in Saturday's race. Desert Gate is the 5-2 morning-line favorite while Chad Allan, who breaks from post position one with Alexander Chavez aboard, is listed as 6-1 in the field of 10.Young said he had considered the Iowa Derby for his star trainee, but opted for the Ohio Derby's mile-and-an-eighth distance.“I wanted to put him in with some good company,” he noted. “I like him a lot and we wouldn't be here with him if it weren't for that.”Chad Allan is a homebred for Anthony Gentry's Gentry Farms.Gentry said he has been involved in the business “since he was a kid” and operates a farm in Ocala, Florida. With around 18 mares, Gentry Farms is primarily a breed-to-race operation and campaigns a combination of both Kentucky and Florida-breds.The farm's leading earner is Accomplished Girl (Street Boss), who won the 2023 GII Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes and collected seven more stakes placings over her three-year career. The Steve Asmussen trainee recently retired and is carrying her first foal.With the stable's former flagbearer entering her next chapter, the door has opened for Chad Allan to become the next stable star.Chad Allan's dam was a rare claiming purchase for Gentry. Bred by Dell Ridge Farm and from the family of GISW R Heat Lightning (Trippi), Bardot (Candy Ride {Arg}) joined the Gentry Farms broodmare band after breaking her maiden for Todd Pletcher in 2020.“She was really well bred, but she has just had some bad luck,” said Gentry. “She had one baby get an infection and it didn't work out. This year she had a baby that would have been a full-brother to Chad Allan and he died at birth. She has had some hard times, but everything that we've gotten out of her seems like they can really run.”After he was raised in Ocala, Chad Allan was sent to Young. The colt showed so much promise from the start that he was named after Gentry's oldest son, who passed away as a young man.Carrying the weight of such a meaningful name into his toughest test yet on Saturday, the homebred could be ready to hit his best stride.“He seems to be putting it all together,” said Gentry. “Our hope is that the longer he goes, the better.”The post Ohio Derby Contender Chad Allan “Putting It All Together” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.