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Paco Lopez 4000 wins Woodbine Turf Showcase Woodward Stakes Day Pennsylvania Derby Day Mohawk Million Night |
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 Verrazano and Falling Sky round the turn together this morning |
Tuesday morning was clear, sunny, and cool at Churchill Downs and the track still fast. Almost all of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses came out for their special private workout session at 8:30 after the break. Yesterday, trainer Bob Baffert took all his horses out of the race, which let Golden Soul and Fear the Kitten into the Derby. Below are photos for 14 Derby horses and 6 Oaks fillies from this morning on the track. Full barn notes for today are available here.
 Black Onyx galloped 1 1/4 miles under exercise rider Aurelio Gomez. Trainer Kelly Breen said, "It was a little bit longer gallop, a little bit stronger at the end. He came out of it looking dynamite." Jockey Joe Bravo added, "This is going to be my third Derby and the trainer's third Derby, so hopefully three's a charm. He keeps improving day by day, just looking at him. Don't know how good he is but we'll find out real soon. It looks like we have plenty of pace in there. Another factor is going to be this weather. We don't know who is going to get ahold of a muddy track but we're going to find out about 7 o'clock Saturday night." | |
 Charming Kitten galloped 1 1/4 miles under exercise rider Patty Krotenko. He is scheduled to school in the paddock on Wednesday with the other Todd Pletcher trainees during the second race. | |
  Falling Sky galloped 1 3/8 miles under exercise rider Cassie Garcea. Trainer John Terranova said, "He was really into it. He's always into it. He's great. He likes to go out there and train. He just loves it. It's all good. Everyone thought we would run in the Hutcheson, but we did the 180 at the last minute. We knew what we wanted to do and ended up going to the route (Sam F. Davis). That worked out nicely. He's a real honest horse. He obviously has real talent. He's a horse that's a free-runner who likes to be out there. And he's been pretty competitive in each start." | |
 Frac Daddy galloped 1 1/2 miles with jockey Victor Lebron aboard. Lebron will get the call on Saturday. Trainer Ken McPeek said, "He's had a couple of episodes where things didn't go his way and he didn't perform all that well. But I think we're in a good spot. His last race was super and he handled everything really well and I'm anticipating he'll do it again. He still needs to show he can handle adversity a little bit better but physically he's doing terrific. He loves this racetrack and the 1 1/4 won't be a problem." | |
 Goldencents galloped 1 1/4 miles with exercise rider Jonny Garcia. Co-owner Rick Pitino, who coached the Louisville Cardinals to the 2013 NCAA basketball championship, will be in attendance Wednesday. Trainer Doug O'Neill said, "No, he's not going to do anything special (for Pitino). He'll just train along as he has been doing. But each of his gallops is pretty special all on their own. He puts a lot into his mornings; a lot to each time he goes out on the track." | |
 Golden Soul galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Emerson Chavez. Trainer Dallas Stewart said, "(My team is) elated (to draw into the field). They were excited. And they know he's a good horse, and everybody, obviously, wants to be in the race. Well, I think I've got (the jockey) pretty much narrowed down. I mean, we've got a couple of guys – one guy we're real solid on. We're just going to wait. If something was to happen (further defections), then the owner (Charles Fipke) wouldn't step in and say, ‘Hey, how come we're not using one of these guys?'" | |
 Itsmyluckyday galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Peter Shelton. Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said, "Nothing bothers him, so I don't see any reason to (school in the paddock). I'll be miserable to be around, as my wife will attest to, on the morning of the race. I don't like to be bothered. Then, I'm focused and zoned in. Things just disrupt that, and I don't like it. That's not my usual demeanor, but for big races it is – not everyday races." | |
 Java's War galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Marvin Abrego. Trainer Ken McPeek said, "He had a great day. Today was probably as good as I've ever seen him go over this surface. He really had great energy. He had a couple of light days in a row and I may go light with him the rest of the week because I want to see that kind of energy on Saturday." | |
 Normandy Invasion galloped 1 3/8 miles on Tuesday. Trainer Chad Brown said, "I thought he went super. I was anxious to see him come out of that work to see how he would be moving and he couldn't be moving any better. I'm getting excited about him. He galloped today the way he did prior to his last work. That's all I was looking to see because he was moving super since he has been at Churchill and in the week leading up to his final workout. When you're breezing a horse for a big race like this and he has a serious work like he did, as a trainer you're always curious to see how they're coming out of there and how they're moving. He's moving just like he was prior to the work and I was excited to see him galloping today." | |
 Overanalyze galloped 1 1/4 miles under exercise rider Obed Perez. He is scheduled to school in the paddock on Wednesday with the other Todd Pletcher trainees during the second race. | |
 Palace Malice galloped 1 1/4 miles under exercise rider Jake Nelson. He is scheduled to school in the paddock on Wednesday with the other Todd Pletcher trainees during the second race. | |
 Revolutionary jogged 1 mile under exercise rider Nick Bush. He is scheduled to school in the paddock on Wednesday with the other Todd Pletcher trainees during the second race. | |
  Verrazano galloped 1 1/4 miles under exercise rider Humberto Zamora. He is scheduled to school in the paddock on Wednesday with the other Todd Pletcher trainees during the second race. Asked about the condition of injured jockey John Velazquez, who is scheduled to ride Verrazano in he Derby and Dreaming of Julia in the Oaks, Pletcher said, "I understand Johnny was to get on horses this morning at Belmont (Park)," Pletcher said. "Then he's going to ride some races there tomorrow." | |
 Vyjack galloped 1 1/2 miles under trainer Rudy Rodriguez. Rodriguez said, "The same routine. We aren't changing anything," Rodriguez said. "We've been doing that since Day One and he got us here doing that so I don't think we need to change anything. So far, so good. I'm very comfortable. He has been galloping like that all along. He doesn't show us anything that he doesn't like, but he's still got to go and do it. We're happy." | |
 Beholder galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Dave Nuesch. Trainer Richard Mandella said, "We're ready for the Belmont now." Mandella will give a leg up to rider Garrett Gomez Friday, then watch them break from the No. 3 post in the 11-horse Oaks lineup. She is the 7-2 co-second-choice on the morning line for the Oaks. | |
 Close Hatches walked through the paddock and then galloped 1 1/4 miles. She drew post 11, just outside stablemate Flashy Gray, and is 15-1 morning line. Trainer Bill Mott said, "I'd like to be somewhere between one and 11. I would say one of any five or six of these would be the favorite any other year." | |
 Flashy Gray walked through the paddock and then galloped 1 1/4 miles. She drew post 10, just inside stablemate Close Hatches, and is 6-1 fifth choice on the morning line. Trainer Bill Mott said, "I'd like to be somewhere between one and 11. I would say one of any five or six of these would be the favorite any other year." | |
 Midnight Lucky jogged 1 mile and schooled in the starting gate, 2 days after her 5f in 59.60 work on Sunday morning. Trainer Bob Baffert said, "She's only had two outs; her weakness is her foundation. There are some good fillies in there. She has to break well. She ran a sprint and went a mile. Now she's going 1 1/8 against the best fillies. She has her work cut out for her." Midnight Lucky, listed at 9-2 on the morning line, will break from post position two under Rafael Bejarano. | |
 Pure Fun galloped under exercise rider Jose Cano. Trainer Ken McPeek said, "The filly jogged off the right direction and galloped 1 1/2. She picked it up from the 3/8. I felt like she really needed the race over there (Lexington Stakes). She was a bit behind the 8 ball. We maybe laid her up a little longer than we should have or needed to. When we brought her back she gained more weight. The race did her more good than sitting on her and working her a couple more times so that sets her up good." Pure Fun, listed at 30-1 on the morning line, will break from post seven under Julien Leparoux. | |
 Rose to Gold galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Denis Roberson. Trainer Sal Santoro said, "She will walk the next two mornings and not go to the track Friday morning. I have done the same thing for all of her races and if it isn't broken I am damned sure not going to change it now. I'm excited. This is holy ground here (in Barn 43). There's Shug (McGaughey), Todd (Pletcher), and me." Rose to Gold, 15-1 on the morning line, will break from post position nine. | |
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