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Sovereign Awards Derby & Auction Prices Santa Anita Derby Day Wood Memorial Day Kentucky Derby Contenders |
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 Trainers Aidan O'Brien (beige coat) and Patrick Biancone (gray pants) walk the turf course after workouts on Thursday.
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Although forecasted rains failed to materialize beyond a sprinkle, it was still dark and dreary on Thursday morning with temperatures down in the 50's after warm weather earlier in the week. Many Breeders' Cup entrants came out onto the track for some maintenance work over the muddy main track and soft turf course before the Championships are decided.
Here are 34 horses, almost all new faces from the previous days, plus four bonus pictures at the end. Click the small picture to see a larger version.
Friday workout photos
Wednesday workout photos
Tuesday workout photos
Sunday workout photos
 Curlin - Classic contender galloped on the track and schooled in the starting gate. "He's feeling way too good," said assistant trainer Scott Blasi. "It's the weather and him feeling ready to run." Trainer Steve Asmussen added, "I feel very good about how he's doing and coming into the race. We have similar concerns, I thought he jumped up and down a little bit early in the race there. He's going to have to run considerably better (on Saturday). I think that he'll have to run better than he did in the Jockey Club Gold Cup as well. But this is the time to do it. We're hoping our horse is sharper than the others. In such a competitive field, he's going to have to run a very sharp race. We have a lot of horse going in. He's everything we had hoped for and more than we expected." |
 A to the Croft - Juvenile Fillies entrant galloped 1 1/2 miles and schooled in the starting gate under exercise rider Jesus Castanon. |
 Arravale - Canadian representative in the Filly and Mare Turf galloped 1 1/2 miles and then schooled in the starting gate. "She doesn't mind soft or hard turf," assistant trainer and exercise rider Barb Przedrzymirska said. "It really doesn't matter, but I'd lean to soft rather than hard. Going a distance, sometimes the speed doesn't come back when the turf is hard." |
 Awesome Gem - Classic entrant galloped 1 1/2 miles. Trainer Craig Dollase said, "It looked like he went well over it. The first time past, he was just getting limbered up, but when he came by the second time, he looked like he was doing well. We'll come back tomorrow and do the same thing. This is all new to him. He's never shipped before, and he's never been on an 'off' track. But, he's risen to the occasion before, so why not again?" |
 Backseat Rhythm - Juvenile Fillies entrant galloped 1 3/8 miles. Trainer Pat Reynolds said, "She just got acquainted with the track. The track was a little hard on the bottom. They were making a little noise when they hit. She looked good. I don't really have to do much with her. She gets happier as she goes along. She doesn't really need a whole lot. She's super fit and there are a lot of buttons left to press with her. You always have to be concerned with bad tracks. Pedigree-wise it shouldn't hurt her to get a little water in the track, but as long as it's even and it plays fair we're fine. There's too much of a chance to have horses get injured on a greasy track, so naturally you don't want that." |
 Cannonball - Juvenile Turf entrant jogged 1 mile. Blake Heap, assistant to trainer Wesley Ward said, "He won Sunday (Belmont Park's King Cugat Stakes) on a soft course. He ought to love this." |
 Forefathers - Still cross-entered in Friday's Dirt Mile and Saturday's Sprint, schooled in the paddock and then galloped 1 mile. "I haven't heard anything different," trainer Bill Mott said. "We're leaning toward the Sprint, but as far as I know we're still in the (Dirt) Mile, too." Mott and owner Ahmed Zayat would have until 45 minutes before post time Friday (approximately 5:35 PM) to scratch from the race. "That leaves six speed horses (in the Sprint, after Attila's Storm scratched). I counted 7 front-runners and I might have included him in that group." |
 Fri Guy - Turf entrant galloped 1 mile. He acted pretty wild both times he went by me. |
 Gio Ponti - Juvenile Turf entrant galloped 1 1/8 miles on the turf course. "He got a good look around and seemed to like the grass," said Nicholas Balachard, assistant to trainer Christophe Clement. "He went well. (The turf condition) will be the same for everybody. So nobody has an edge." |
 High Finance - Dirt Mile entrant jogged 2 miles the wrong way and then schooled in the starting gate. Trainer Rick Violette said, "Beats me (why he lost the Forego). I still don't have a reason why, because if I did, I could have worked on something. But we never really discovered a reason why he didn't show up that day. But he's training great. I expect if he can run his 'A' race, he can handle all comers." |
 Icy Atlantic - Mile entrant galloped 1 3/8 miles. Trainer Todd Pletcher said, "He really likes a firm course, but that is something we can't control." |
 Indian Blessing - Juvenile Fillies contender galloped 1 3/8 miles under exercise rider Sarah Cillie. |
 Irish Smoke - Juvenile Fillies entrant schooled in the paddock and then jogged 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Rebecca Kamerman. Trainer Francois Parisel was willing to forgive Irish Smoke for losing the Alcibiades "because it came over the Polytrack" and she had been idle since her Spinaway victory. |
 Jeremy - Mile contender worked 4 furlongs in 53 seconds around the dogs over the soft turf with jockey Frankie Dettori aboard. Dettori said after, "He just did a quick, two-furlong sprint. The ground is on the slow side of good. If it's like this on Saturday, it will be fine for everybody. I was on the outside of the track this morning and the bends are very sharp, but apart from that, it's no different to any other American track. The bends are well cambered. I'm not going to make a prediction, but the horse seems to be in good order and we'll give it a go. It's the Breeders' Cup, it's always tough. I'm riding some other horses for Paul Reddam, a couple of them in the Juvenile races. Some are longshots but I've had good luck with him and I've won him a couple of Breeders' Cup races (Wilko, 2004 Juvenile; Red Rocks, 2006 Turf)." |
 Kelly's Landing - Sprint entrant galloped 1 mile. |
 Kodiak Kowboy - Juvenile contender galloped and then schooled in the starting gate. |
 Lewis Michael - Dirt Mile entrant galloped 1 mile, schooled in the gate, and then schooled in the paddock. Trainer Wayne Catalano. "He handled it all like a pro." |
 Miss Macy Sue - Filly and Mare Sprint entrant galloped 1 1/2 miles and then schooled in the starting gate under exercise rider Enrique Ramirez. Trainer Kelly Von Hemel said, "She came back at Presque Isle and ran a monster race and Wild Gams (who was second that day) won the TCA at Keeneland. I think that right there proved that we belong with everybody. She doesn't mind anything. She has won at Hawthorne, which is knee-deep sand; at Hot Springs, which is deeper sand, and won at Prairie Meadows, which is rock solid. We have yet to find a surface she doesn't like and I hope it is not here." |
 Octave - Distaff contender galloped 1 3/8 miles. "Octave is the most versatile of the fillies we have in the Distaff," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who will also run Indian Vale and Unbridled Belle. "She's also been unlucky. I thought she ran a huge race in the Kentucky Oaks, but she ran into Rags to Riches. Octave will pretty much do whatever you want her to do. I'll let (Gomez) determine what he will do going into the first turn. In this race, I think the strategy will be dictated by how the track plays. If it is anything like it was at Churchill Downs last year, you might see a bunch gunning for the rail." |
 Old Man Buck - Juvenile entrant galloped 1 1/2 miles and then schooled in the starting gate under exercise rider Jesus Castanon. |
 Phantom Income - Juvenile Fillies entrant jogged 2 miles the wrong way and then schooled in the starting gate. "You can literally throw out her two races at Saratoga, and if you do that, she broke her maiden by 10 and she won a stake by 4 ½ and ran a second faster than the boys that night," said trainer Rick Violette, whose filly won a restricted stakes at the Meadowlands last time out. "If she just had those two races, she might look like a sprinter, but she's out of a half-sister to Ghostzapper, so she has a license to get two turns." |
 Preachin Man - Juvenile Turf entrant galloped 1 mile. "He's doing good," trainer Ronny Werner said. "I had wanted him to go a little faster on Monday (when he worked), but he had a good work right before that. And, not that this means anything, but his regular exercise rider said he felt he got over the turf better than dirt. Who knows, he may love it and he may love a soft course. It's a guessing game at this point for a lot of them." |
 Proud Spell - Juvenile Fillies entrant galloped 1 mile. "She never was all that impressive in the morning, but her attitude carries her," said trainer Larry Jones. "She just doesn't know how to lose. In her mind, she can't be beat. Knowing her, I don't think (the wet track) will be an issue. She seems to handle everything real well." |
 Prussian - Juvenile Turf contender schooled in the paddock and then galloped 1 1/4 miles. "He's out of an Alleged mare," trainer Bill Mott said. "I think her race record was mostly in France. He's kind of got the pedigree for it. I think he'll be fine on it, but until he does it we won't know. I don't like turf sprints. They don't really serve any purpose. With this pedigree, it would have silly to run in one of those. I think he'll get better the longer he goes." |
 Pyro - Juvenile entrant galloped and schooled in the starting gate. |
 Rebellion - Mile entrant galloped 1 3/4 miles. Trainer Graham Motion said, "Coming off sprints, I would think he'll be closer to the pace. The No. 1 post will be an advantage. I think he'll be more forwardly placed drawing the inside." |
 Shamdinan - Turf entrant galloped 1 1/2 miles under Ruth Hargreaves, assistant to trainer Angel Penna. |
 Slew's Tiznow - Juvenile entrant schooled in the paddock and jogged 1 1/2 miles. |
 Tough Tiz's Sis - Distaff entrant galloped 1 3/8 miles under exercise rider Sarah Cillie. "I remember Frankie Dettori saying that Tiznow had a head like a dinosaur after the horse he rode lost to him in the second Classic," recalled trainer Bob Baffert. "She has that kind of head too." |
 Transduction Gold - Turf entrant jogged 1 mile and then galloped 1 mile. "He did great, no problems," said breeder, owner, and trainer John Glenney. "The exercise rider is someone that hasn't been on him in a while and he said he felt great. He was strong, but was listening to his rider. He looked really good. He'll handle (soft turf) fine. He's run over a soft course before and done fine. The only thing he doesn't like is rain hitting him in the face, so hopefully it won't be raining at race time." |
 Wait a While - Filly and Mare Turf contender galloped 1 5/8 miles. "Right now, the course is soft but it is not chewed up," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "They took the races off the turf (Thursday). We'll watch the races on Friday. If it gets windy and we don't get any more rain, it might be a drying out situation. If not, then we'll have to make a decision (whether to scratch)." |
 Wanderin Boy - Dirt Mile entrant galloped 1 1/2 miles and schooled in the starting gate. "He's been a champion in my eyes," trainer Nick Zito said. "When you say warrior, that's the right word. He's six years old, he's had many interruptions in his life. Mr. Hancock has done a great job sending him to his farm, fixing him up and sending him back to us. It's been unbelievable. It would fitting for him to win that race. It would be great." |
 Your Round - Juvenile Turf entrant galloped with a pony and then schooled in the starting gate. Trainer Mark Hubley said that the soft course is "kind of an unknown.(Monmouth's course) is supposed to be real speed-favoring so maybe for some of the closers like us it will be a little edge. (But) maybe he can't handle it. We really don't know." |
 Z Humor - Juvenile entrant schooled in the paddock and then galloped 1 1/4 miles. "He got over the track today just fine," trainer Bill Mott said. "He's moving absolutely fantastic, absolutely floating over the ground. I think he's going to like two turns. He got left at the post. He stumbled at the start and fell a long ways back. He made up a lot of ground, but lost all chance leaving the gate." |
  Left: Trainers Aidan O'Brien (left) and Sir Michael Stoute chat while they wait for the turf works to begin.
Jockey Joe Bravo, who recently recovered from an injury, and trainer Nick Zito watch the morning works beside the 6 furlong chute.
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  Left: It always helps to have a nice calm pony horse to help keep the thoroughbreds from acting up. You may not want to use this one. :-)
Right: I just love his side stripe and blue eye even if he is only a pony horse. The other eye is the normal brown.
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