LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -Jockey Robby Albarado took a quick glimpse at the tote board moments before heading into the starting gate and wondered if he was missing something.

Albarado couldn't figure out why 3-year-old colt Exhi, who won his last start at the Rushaway Stakes and is trained by Todd Pletcher, was a 20-1 long shot for Saturday's $300,000 Lexington Stakes.

``I was like, 'Wow, somebody's missing something here, I'm missing something,''' Albarado said. ``I guess he exceeded expectations.''

Did he ever.

Exhi raced to the lead then held off a late bid by Bushwhacked to pull off a win that was an upset in name only. The victory marked Pletcher's third straight triumph in one of the final Kentucky Derby preps, though it's unlikely Exhi will run at Churchill Downs in two weeks.

Not that it mattered to Pletcher, who already has a handful of Derby prospects including likely favorite Eskendereya. He's simply happy to see Exhi start to deliver on the promise he's shown glimpses of during his young career.

``He's a horse that's always trained very well, he's shown signs of being a nice horse at different times on the turf,'' Pletcher said.

That hasn't always translated to the dirt. He finished a distant second to Odysseus in an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs in February before being moved to Polytrack, where he captured the Rushaway at Turfway three weeks ago.

Pletcher liked what he saw and sent Exhi out to Keeneland, where he zipped to the lead and had little trouble holding on, beating Bushwhacked by a length. Exhi paid $41.80, $16.80 and $8.60 while covering the 1 1/16th mile race in 1:44.38.

The $180,000 winner's share puts Exhi on the fringe of the Kentucky Derby picture. The Derby field is limited to 20 horses, with preference given to those with the highest graded stakes earnings. The victory lifts his earnings to $180,358, which would place him 25th among 3-year-olds.

Pletcher didn't rule out running in the Derby if there are enough defections, though his chances of running well in the Derby on short rest are slim. Charismatic in 1999 is the only horse to pull off the Lexington-Derby double.

Still, the fact Pletcher will talk to owners Alain and Gerard Wertheimer about the Derby is a victory of sorts for a horse that's a decided late bloomer.

``I thought the horse was fantastic today,'' assistant trainer Mike McCarthy said. ``Anytime you can get a horse like him with such amazing cruising speed ... we were kind of licking our chops coming down the lane.''

Exhi had more than enough in reserve to keep Bushwhacked at bay, as jockey Rajiv Maragh couldn't close the gap deep in the stretch. Trainer Jonathan Sheppard said he's considering sending Bushwhacked to the Preakness in four weeks.

``I thought he ran a very game race,'' Sheppard said. ``I think the third and fourth horses seemed to be closing but he was actually holding them off, I think, at the end.''

Bushwhacked paid $6.80 and $4.80 after surviving a late challenge from sentimental favorite Uptowncharlybrown. The colt's trainer, Alex Seewald, died suddenly on Monday. His longtime assistant, Linda Ann White, led Uptowncharlybrown to the paddock with a heavy heart and the horse and jockey Garrett Gomez fought gamely to get up to third and pay $4.20.

``Our stable is in an upheaval right now with the death of Mr. Seewald,'' White said. ``I'm just so happy we were able to do well today for him. ... It was an emotional week.''

Connemara went off as the co-favorite with Uptowncharlybrown and was hoping to win his way back into the Derby field. He appeared to be a legitimate contender after winning the El Camino Real Derby in February, then slipped to third in the Lane's End Stakes.

He entered the race with $138,500 in graded earnings, and a victory easily would have put him in the field. Yet he was never in it on Saturday, slogging his way to a 10th-place finish.

``He never seemed to get his legs under him,'' Pletcher said.