Anyone who’s ever visited Louisville, Kentucky, in springtime can vouch for the fact that the weather is unpredictable. And now that many Kentucky Derby participants have descended upon Churchill Downs, reminders are being served.
Rain showers subsided Monday morning, with the track going from good to fast as a slew of promising 3-year-olds took to it. While the strip was still wet, American Promise and Built trained energetically. Additional Derby hopefuls who have galloped at Churchill in the past few days include Sandman, Sovereignty, East Avenue, Publisher, Tiztastic, Flying Mohawk, Admire Daytona, Coal Battle, Tappan Street, and Final Gambit.
Sovereignty’s work, during which he covered three furlongs in 37.16 seconds and five furlongs in 1:00.93, was particularly impressive, with Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch remarking:
“The Sovereignty bandwagon, already pretty crowded following his victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and second-place finish in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, likely gained additional passengers in the aftermath of his penultimate Kentucky Derby work on Saturday.”
Early Derby favorite Journalism’s Saturday work was of the maintenance variety, but as Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free wrote, “Those who liked Journalism before his 47-second half-mile work will still like him after. He does things easily.”
Coal Battle worked on Tuesday, as did UAE Derby winner Admire Daytona. The work was Coal Battle’s third on Churchill’s main strip, while Admire Daytona had his first timed drill since arriving in Louisville two weeks ago.
“We let him decide what he wanted to do over the four furlongs,” exercise rider Yoshimitsu Miyashita said of Admire Daytona’s half-mile work, which he completed in 53.62 seconds. “He increased his speed a bit in the straight on his own and, really, it was exactly the kind of work he turned in prior to the UAE Derby. He has managed to maintain his pre-UAE Derby physical condition perfectly, so we just have to help him keep it until race day.”
Having grown up in Louisville, trainer Whit Beckman is accustomed to the unpredictability of the Bluegrass spring. But after saddling his first Derby starter in Honor Marie last year, the 43-year-old’s main takeaway was to not let the stress get to him.
“There are certain things you want to control, you want to get ahead of, that you just can’t,” Beckman, who has Flying Mohawk for this year’s race, said of his first Derby experience. “As you go through, you learn what’s really worth worrying about and what’s just part of it.”
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert returns to the Derby after serving a suspension, and while Rebel runner-up Madaket Road will be competing on Derby Day, it won’t be in the main event. Instead, he’ll be entered in the Pat Day Mile, which Baffert said “is a better distance for him.” Madaket Road’s defection opened up a slot for Built.
Baffert will still be well-represented in the Derby, for which Citizen Bull and Rodriguez have qualified. Rodriguez silenced plenty of doubters with his Wood Memorial win, and after that 1 1/8-mile triumph, jockey Mike Smith said, “He could have gone another eighth of a mile.”
The Kentucky Derby, it’s worth mentioning, is run at 1 1/4 miles.
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