Barn Notes

With more than an inch of rain in the Louisville area and more coming down Sunday morning, trainer Dale Romans opted to postpone a work for Preakness (Grade I) contender Cozzetti and instead sent the colt out for a 1 ½-mile gallop after the renovation break under exercise rider Romero Cordache.

“We will see how the track is in the morning and he may work,” said Romans, who won last year’s Preakness with Shackleford.

Cozzetti, a Kentucky-bred gray/roan son of Cozzene, broke his maiden at Churchill Downs last November and has made his next four starts in stakes company. In his final start at age 2, Cozzetti finished eighth in the CashCall Futurity (GI) at Hollywood Park. He began his 3-year-old campaign with fourth-place finish in the Kitten’s Joy on the turf at Gulfstream prior to running third in the Tampa Bay Derby (GII) and fourth in the Arkansas Derby (GI).

Cozzetti will be ridden by Jose Lezcano in the Preakness.

Gallops were the order of the day for other horses at Churchill Downs and the nearby Trackside Training Center under consideration for the Preakness.

Trainer Bob Baffert’s Bodemeister, winner of the Arkansas Derby and runner-up to I’ll Have Another in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), galloped a little more than a mile after the renovation break while stablemate Liaison, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, had a similar activity before the break. Exercise rider George Alvarez was aboard both colts.

Before the renovation break, Hierro, winner of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) on April 28 at Churchill Downs, and Isn’t He Clever, runner-up to Daddy Nose Best in the Sunland Derby (GIII) and most recently eighth in the Arkansas Derby, both galloped with regular exercise rider Carlos Rosas partnering both of the Steve Asmussen trainees.

Both 3-year-olds may work Monday.

Optimizer, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, galloped before the break under exercise rider Joel Cano. The bay son of English Channel finished 11^th in the Derby under Jon Court. Corey Nakatani will have the mount in the Preakness. 

At the Trackside Training Center, champion 2-year-old of 2011 Hansen galloped 1 ¼ miles under Joel Barrientos for trainer Mike Maker. Hansen finished ninth in the Derby.

HEART OF DESTINY TO PREP FOR REGRET IN THURSDAY ALLOWANCE – Hurstland Farm Inc. and James Green’s Heart of Destiny, second to Stephanie’s Kitten in last October’s Darley Alcibiades (GI) and most recently fourth behind Karlovy Vary, Hard Not to Like and Stephanie’s Kitten in the Central Bank Ashland (GI), heads a field of 14 fillies entered in Thursday’s eighth race at Churchill Downs and trainer Jimmy Baker is hopeful the race will set her up for the $100,000-added Regret (GIII) on June 16.

“She came out of the Ashland fine and is doing well,” Baker said. “She always seems to hook a tough group of horses, so we’re putting her in an easier spot to try to get back on the winning track. As long as things go OK on Thursday, we will point her to the Regret.”

The chestnut daughter of Lion Heart broke her maiden on the turf at Saratoga prior to her run in the Alcibiades. In her final start at age 2, Heart of Destiny finished ninth as the favorite in the Pocahontas (GII) on the main track at Churchill Downs. Following that disappointing effort, Baker decided to keep Heart of Destiny on turf and synthetic surfaces.

“After her race at Churchill (Pocahontas), we want to keep her on the turf and Polytrack,” Baker said. “Even if she would have won the Ashland we wouldn’t have considered running her back in the (Kentucky) Oaks.”

While Heart of Destiny will prep for the Regret in Thursday’s allowance, she prepped for the allowance with a five-furlong breeze Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. She recorded the fastest of six five-furlong works Sunday by covering the distance on the sloppy main track in 1:02.

Corey Lanerie was in the irons for the work and he also will be aboard Thursday afternoon. Heart of Destiny was ridden by Edgar Prado in all six of her career starts.

Bred in Kentucky by Hurstland Farm and James Green Jr., Heart of Destiny has a career record of 1-2-1 from six starts and earnings of $150,659. 

BOREL NEARING CHURCHILL, CAREER MILESTONES – Calvin Borel, who won the Kentucky Derby aboard Street Sense, Mine That Bird and Super Saver, inched closer to a couple of milestones with his win aboard School’s Out in the first race at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

The victory put Borel just 10 wins from 1,100 victories beneath the Twin Spires and 50 wins from 5,000 career triumphs. Only 25 jockeys have reached the 5,000-win mark.  

With 30 days of racing left in the 2012 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs, agent Jerry Hissam is hopeful Borel can achieve both milestones at his home track before the meet concludes on July 1.

“I’d love to get it (5,000 wins) done this meet,” Hissam said. “It’s not impossible, but it’s going to be really close. We’re shooting for two wins a day.”

Borel is ranked second in victories at Churchill Downs behind Pat Day, who rode 2,482 winners at the Louisville track.

“When he won 1,000 at Churchill, I told Calvin congratulations for winning number 1,000 and you’ll have to ride till you’re 84-years-old if you want to catch Pat Day,” Hissam joked.

Borel rides in Races 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10 on Sunday at Churchill Downs. His mounts were scratched in Races 2 and 9. He has seven scheduled mounts for Thursday. 

WORKTAB – Stonestreet Stables and George Bolton’s Astrology, winner of the 2010 Iroquois (GIII) and third in last year’s Preakness (GI), breezed five furlongs in 1:02.80 on a sloppy Churchill Downs track Sunday morning for trainer Steve Asmussen. The work tied for the second fastest of six at the distance.

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Dale Romans has been training horses for more than 25 years, he has saddled more than 1,500 winners, his runners have earned nearly $70 million and his long list of graded-stakes wins include such prestigious races as the Dubai World Cup (Grade I) and the Preakness (GI).        

Last weekend, Romans added another feather to his cap when he saddled Silver Max, Shackleford and Little Mike at Churchill Downs to win three graded stakes races during a two-day span for the first time in his career. Silver Max won the American Turf Presented by RAM (GII) on the Kentucky Oaks Day undercard, while Shackleford took the Churchill Downs Presented by Navistar (GII) and Little Mike won the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (GI) on Kentucky Derby Day.

“It was definitely one of the best weekends of my career,” Romans said. “It ranks up there with Preakness weekend last year.”

In 2011, Romans won the Preakness with Shackleford and also saddled Paddy O’Prado to win the Dixie (GII) on the undercard.

The 45-year-old native of Louisville is no stranger to the Churchill Downs Winner’s Circle and is ranked second in career victories beneath the Twin Spires with 543. Bill Mott is the all-time wins leader with 661.

“It’s always special to win a big race at Churchill Downs,” Romans said.

The most notable “big race” at Churchill Downs that Romans has yet to win is the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI). Last Saturday, Romans finished third for a second time in America’s greatest race with Donegal Racing’s Dullahan, winner of the Toyota Blue Grass (GI). Dullahan was the fourth Kentucky Derby starter for Romans.  Paddy O’Prado was third to Super Saver for Donegal and Romans in the 2010 “Run for the Roses.”

“The three big wins helped, but it (the Derby) was definitely disappointing,” Romans said. “That night I left the track with mixed emotions. It’s tough to come so close and come up short, but looking back on it now I feel a lot better about the whole weekend.”    

It was announced Friday that Dullahan will bypass the Preakness and be pointed to the Belmont Stakes (GI) on June 9 and, earlier in the week, co-owner Mike Lauffer noted Shackleford will head to the Met Mile (GI) at Belmont Park on May 28. On Saturday morning, Romans said Mark Bacon and Dana Wells’ Silver Max would next start at Arlington Park in the $125,000 Arlington Classic on May 26 or the $200,000 American Derby (GIII) on July 14.

No plans have been made for Priscilla Vaccarezza’s Little Mike, although Romans mentioned the Breeders’ Cup Turf (GI) as a possible year-end goal.

COZZETTI TO WORK SUNDAY FOR PREAKNESS – The Albaugh Family Stables LLC’s Cozzetti, fourth in the Arkansas Derby (GI) in his most recent start, is scheduled to work Sunday for trainer Dale Romans in preparation for next Saturday’s Preakness (GI). It would be Cozzetti’s third work since the Arkansas Derby.

“He’s a nice horse but he needs to step and run like he trains,” said Romans, who won the Preakness last year with Shackleford.

Jose Lezcano, who has been aboard for Cozzetti’s past two starts, has the call in the Preakness.

Under exercise rider Romero Cordache, Cozzetti galloped 1 ½ miles over a fast track after the morning renovation break.

Morning gallops were the order of the day for other horses under consideration for the Preakness housed at Churchill Downs.

Zayat Stables LLC and Michel and Tiffany Moreno’s Bodemeister, runner-up to I’ll Have Another in last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (GI), visited the starting gate and then galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider George Alvarez following the 8 o’clock renovation break for track maintenance. Arnold Zetcher’s Liaison, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, galloped 1 ½ miles under Alvarez before the morning break. Both colts are trained by Bob Baffert.

Trainer Steve Asmussen’s two potential Preakness entrants, Stonestreet Stables’ Hierro and J. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Isn’t He Clever, galloped before the morning renovation break. Exercise rider Carlos Rosas was aboard both horses.

Five-time Preakness winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent Bluegrass Hall’s Optimizer to the track as it opened at 6 o’clock for a 1 ½-mile gallop under exercise rider Joel Cano.

Eleventh in the Kentucky Derby, Optimizer will be ridden in the Preakness by Corey Nakatani.  Lukas said Optimizer may work before he vans to Pimlico on Tuesday. Rain is forecast for the Louisville area beginning Saturday night and continuing through the day Sunday.

Dr. Kendall Hansen and Skychai Racing’s Hansen galloped Saturday morning at the nearby Trackside Training Center under exercise rider Joel Barrientos for trainer Mike Maker.

Ninth in the Kentucky Derby, the 2-year-old champion of 2011 remains a possible candidate for the Preakness with a decision expected Monday or Tuesday.

SUM OF THE PARTS TO TEST TURF IN SUNDAY FEATURE – Klaravich Stables Inc. and William Lawrence’s Sum of the Parts, sixth in the inaugural Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint at Churchill Downs in November, will make his turf debut in Sunday’s featured allowance race for 3-year-olds & up at five furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course.

Sum of the Parts made his 3-year-old debut on April 20 at Keeneland and won a six-furlong allowance race over the Polytrack by 7 ¾ lengths. Trainer Tom Amoss said that performance went into the decision to try the 3-year-old son of Speightstown on the lawn.

“He ran really well over the Polytrack,” Amoss said. “He also has a good turf pedigree and we thought it’d be a good idea to try him on the turf now to keep our options open down the road.”

With Julien Leparoux in the irons, Sum of the Parts set comfortable fractions and led every step of the way at Keeneland.

 “I was surprised they let him go by himself like that (opening fractions of :23.32 and :46.43),” Amoss said.

Sum of the Parts will not only have to handle the change in surface, but he also will attempt to beat older horses for the first time.

“He fits well in here,” Amoss said. “But he will have to beat some good older horses. I think (trainer Ken) McPeek’s horse (Ballyclough) will be tough.”

While Sum of the Parts will be racing on the Matt Winn Turf Course for the first time Sunday, it will be his fourth start beneath the Twin Spires. Prior to his run in the aforementioned Juvenile Sprint, Sum of the Parts broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in his career debut and then finished fourth as the odds-on favorite in the Bashford Manor (GIII).

Sum of the Parts also is entered in Tuesday night’s $100,000 Tom Ridge at six furlongs on the Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs, but Amoss said he would run at Churchill Downs as long as the race is not taken off the turf. 

BARN TALK – Peachtree Stable’s Mamma Kimbo, undefeated in two starts and winner of the Fantasy (G2) in her most recent outing, worked a bullet five furlongs at Churchill Downs in :59.60 in preparation for an anticipated start in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2).

With jockey Shaun Bridgmohan up and working over a fast track, Mamma Kimbo produced fractions of :12, :23.80, :35.40, :47.60 and galloped out in 1:12.60. Of the 17 works at the distance, the next fastest clocking of the morning was 1:01.80.

“(Trainer) Bob (Baffert) said he wanted 59 and change and out in 1:12 and change and that’s what we got,” said Jim Barnes, assistant to Baffert. “That’s her.”

Also working toward a possible start in the Black-Eyed Susan was Bluegrass Hall’s Colonial Empress for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Eleventh in the Kentucky Oaks (GI), Colonial Empress covered a half-mile in :47.80, second fastest of 53 at the distance. …

Another notable worker on a busy Saturday at Churchill Downs was Carolyn Wilson’s Arena Elvira, winner of the Falls City Handicap (GII) beneath the Twin Spires last November, who breezed four furlongs in :48.40 for trainer Bill Mott. The 5-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper was third in her most recent start, the Sixty Sails Handicap (GIII) at Hawthorne.

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Donegal Racing’s Dullahan, the two-time Grade I winner and third-place finisher in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), will race next in the Belmont Stakes on June 9, the stable’s managing partner Jerry Crawford announced Friday.

“(Trainer) Dale Romans loves the way Dullahan came out of the Kentucky Derby and believes we could win the Preakness,” Crawford said. “But we believe we have a 3-year-old ‘Horse of the Year’ candidate and that his future is best served by not asking him to race for the third time in just five weeks in the Preakness.”

Dullahan galloped 1 ½ miles after the renovation break on Friday morning with regular exercise rider Faustino Aguilar up.

With Dullahan now pointed to New York, Romans still has one colt focused on Pimlico in the Albaugh Family Stables LLC’s Cozzetti. With exercise rider Romero Cordache up, Cozzetti galloped 1 ½ miles after the morning renovation break at Churchill Downs.

Romans, who saddled Shackleford to win the 2011 Preakness, will be attempting to become the first trainer to take consecutive runnings of the Preakness since Bob Baffert won in 2001 with Point Given and 2002 with War Emblem.

Baffert’s three possible Preakness candidates had similar exercises here Friday morning at Churchill Downs with gallops of 1 ½ miles under exercise rider George Alvarez.

Arnold Zetcher’s Liaison, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, conducted his business before the 8 o’clock renovation break with Zayat Stables and Michel and Tiffany Moreno’s Bodemeister, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby, coming out first after the break and followed by Zayat Stables’ Paynter, the runner-up in The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII).

A decision on the Preakness status of the three colts will be made when Baffert returns to Louisville this weekend. Baffert has won the Preakness five times.

Also turning in morning gallops beneath the Twin Spires were likely Preakness contender Optimizer, 11^th in the Kentucky Derby, and possible Preakness participants Hierro, winner of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial, and Isn’t He Clever, runner-up in the Sunland Derby (GIII).  The latter two are trained by Steve Asmussen.

At the nearby Trackside Training Center, Dr. Kendall Hansen and Sky Chai Racing’s 2011 juvenile champion Hansen, the ninth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, galloped 1 ¼ miles under exercise rider Joel Barrientos.

 According to Dr. Hansen, the Preakness remains a possibility for his colt.

“There are a lot of variables involved, but it will probably be a last-minute decision next Monday or Tuesday,” said Hansen, who has not seen his stable star since the morning after the Kentucky Derby. “(Trainer) Mike (Maker) wants to see how he is doing and look at who is going to be in the field and so forth.”

Dr. Hansen said the goal for the horse is to get another Eclipse Award this year.

“It is a tough call,” Hansen said of the Preakness. “We want him to be the 3-year-old champion, but to do that, he has to win one of the classics.

“The mile and three-sixteenths (of the Preakness) may be a little bit out of his best distance. I think he is best between seven and nine furlongs but he can go more than nine if he is calm and relaxed like he was in the Gotham (GIII).”

NECK ’N NECK TO MATT WINN OFF IMPRESSIVE ALLOWANCE VICTORY – A. Stevens Miles Jr.’s Neck ’n Neck rebounded from a fifth-place finish in the $1 million Florida Derby (GI) to take Thursday’s featured $54,335 allowance race by 6 ½ lengths under Leandro Goncalves and will be pointed to the $100,000 Matt Winn (GIII) off that impressive effort.

The 15^th running of the 1 1/16-mile Matt Winn is scheduled for the Stephen Foster undercard on the evening of Saturday, June 16 at Churchill Downs. The race was won last year by Peter Callahan’s Scotus.

Thursday’s allowance win was the first victory for Neck ’n Neck since breaking his maiden at Churchill Downs last November in his final start as a 2-year-old. He began is 2012 campaign with a runner-up finish to Discreet Dancer in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park and made his next three starts in graded-stakes company, finishing off-the-board in each.

"He came out of the race fine,” trainer Ian Wilkes said. “We wanted to try to get him some confidence and it worked out well.

“He runs well here (at Churchill Downs) and trains well here, so the Matt Winn is the next logical step.”

Bred in Kentucky by his owner, Neck ’n Neck is a dark bay son of Flower Alley, sire of this year’s Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another. The winner’s share of Thursday’s purse pushed Neck ’n Neck career earnings to $130,370 from nine starts. 

CATALANO CONFIDENT IN HONEY CHILE IN SATURDAY’S UNBRIDLED SIDNEY – James Miller’s Honey Chile will be seeking her first victory of 2012 when she breaks from the outside in the field of 10 for Saturday’s $68,000 Unbridled Sidney.

The Unbridled Sidney will be contested at five furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course. Last spring, rain caused the race to be taken off the turf and it was won by Maggi Moss’ Little Polka Dot.  

Honey Chile will enter the Unbridled Sidney off a runner-up effort in the Whimsical (GIII) at six furlongs on the Polytrack course at Woodbine. The 4-year-old daughter of Invisible Ink led most of the way, but was caught in deep stretch by Roxy Gap.

“She put in a big effort in her last race and she just missed,” trainer Wayne Catalano said via phone from his barn at Arlington Park. “I like this spot she’s in now. She fits well with these horses.”

Honey Chile is winless in two starts on turf, but Catalano doesn’t think she’ll have any problem with the surface Saturday.

“She ran a big race on the turf at Gulfstream (third in the Ladies Turf Sprint on March 4),” Catalano said. “In the (Alison McClay stakes) at Penn National, she didn’t run badly (finishing third), but the turf was a little soft and I don’t think she liked it. This race fit her well and she was at Churchill so we decided to put her back on the turf.”

Catalano is also not concerned with Honey Chile breaking from post 10.

“I would like to see a couple of scratches so she could move in a little, but if not she’ll be OK,” Catalano said. “She has enough speed that I don’t think the outside post will be a problem.”

The Unbridled Sidney is the feature race on Saturday’s 10-race program and is scheduled as race eight at 4:25 p.m. (ET).    

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Trainer Buff Bradley admits to not remembering the early days of every horse foaled on his Indian Ridge Farm in Frankfort, Ky.; however, Bradley certainly remembers the birthday of Humana Distaff (Grade I) winner Groupie Doll. 

"I remember the day she foaled because she was such a beautiful red filly,” Bradley said. “I don’t remember them all, but she stood out from Day One. It’s pretty cool to watch her now.”

Bradley bred Groupie Doll with his father, Fred, and they now race the 4-year-old daughter of Bowman’s Band in partnership with Carl Hurst and Brent Burns. Prior to winning the Humana Distaff in track record time of 1:20.44, Groupie Doll won the Vinery Madison (GI) on the Polytrack at Keeneland. She was ridden to both victories by Rajiv Maragh.

Groupie Doll earned herself a vacation with her back-to-back Grade I victories and Bradley sent her to the farm earlier in the week.

“We planned to give her some time off and thought we might do it after the race at Keeneland, but with the (Humana Distaff) being here, we decided to go one more with her,” Bradley said. “There isn’t much for her right now anyway and the weather is so perfect she can be out in the field all day, every day.”

Bradley said Groupie Doll is enjoying her time at the farm with her paddock mate, Brass Hat. The 11-year-old gelded son of Prized retired last year with 10 victories to his name and more than $2.1 million in earnings.

“I like to tell people, ‘Yeah, I’ve got a couple of Grade One winners running around the field.’ ”

When Groupie Doll is brought back to the racetrack, she will continue her preparations for her year-end goal of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (GI), which will be run at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.   

SHACKLEFORD TO MET MILE OFF CHURCHILL DOWNS VICTORY – Mike Lauffer and Bill Cubbedge’s homebred Shackleford galloped 1 ½ miles beneath the Twin Spires under regular exercise rider Faustino Aguilar on the Thursday after winning the Churchill Downs (GII) over champion male sprinter Amazombie on the Kentucky Derby Day undercard.

The Churchill Downs was the first victory for Shackleford since the Preakness (GI). “He looks so good that I think we ought to run him in the Preakness again,” Lauffer joked.

With the Preakness not being an option for the 4-year-old Shackleford, the chestnut son of Forestry will be pointed to the Met Mile (GI) at Belmont Park on May 28.

“It’s going to be a war,” Lauffer said. “But that’s OK. It’s supposed to be that way and if we’re going to go up against those types of horses then I’m glad we’re doing it while the horse is doing so well.”

The Dale Romans-trainee was making his third start of the year in the Churchill Downs. Shackleford previously finished seventh in the Donn Handicap (GI) in February at Gulfstream Park and third in the Carter Handicap (GI) on April 7 at Aqueduct.

“This horse has a lot of heart and try in him,” Lauffer said. “He always runs his eyeballs out.”

Bred in Kentucky by his owners, Shackleford has a career record of 4-4-1 from 15 career starts and earnings of $2,291,381.

THREE PREAKNESS POSSIBLES VISIT STARTING GATE – It was an uneventful morning at Churchill Downs for horses on the grounds that are under consideration for the Preakness to be run May 19 at Pimlico.

The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) winner Hierro and stablemate Isn’t He Clever visited the starting gate as part of their morning activity before the 8 o’clock renovation break. Both 3-year-olds are trained by Steve Asmussen.

Also visiting the gate was Zayat Stables’ Paynter. Runner-up to Hierro in The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial, Paynter went to the gate after the break and then galloped a little more than a mile under George Alvarez.

Paynter is trained by Bob Baffert, whose other Preakness possibles also were on the track Thursday morning.

Zayat Stables and Michel and Tiffany Moreno’s Bodemeister, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI), jogged a mile before the break while alongside a pony with Alvarez up. Arnold Zetcher’s Liaison, sixth in the Derby, galloped 1 ½ miles under Alvarez after the break.

Bluegrass Hall’s Optimizer, 11^th in the Derby, galloped 1 ½ miles under Joel Cano shortly after the track opened at 6 o’clock. Donegal Racing’s Dullahan, third in the Derby, galloped 1 ½ miles under Faustino Aguilar after the break as did stablemate Cozzetti, owned by the Albaugh Family Stables, who was partnered by Romero Cordache.

At the nearby Trackside Training Center, Dr. Kendall Hansen and Skychai Racing’s Hansen galloped 1 ¼ miles under Joel Barrientos.

BARN TALK – Doug Branham’s Henny’s Hurricane heads a list of seven fillies entered for Friday’s featured $58,000 allowance race at 6 ½ furlongs on the main track at Churchill Downs. The bay daughter of Henny Hughes raced three times at the Louisville track during the 2011 Spring Meet and recorded two victories and one runner-up finish.

“She’s as honest as they come,” said Phil Bauer, assistant to trainer Ken McPeek. “She seems to run on any surface and at any distance. I think she’s well spotted and if she runs the same race back (second by ¾ lengths in a seven-furlong allowance at Keeneland on April 15) then she’ll be pretty tough.” …

The nine-race program Thursday at Churchill Downs concludes with a Super-Hi 5 race with a carryover pool from Kentucky Derby Day of $276,914. Post time for the ninth race is 4:59 p.m. …

On Friday, May 11, Churchill Downs will launch its Friday “Twilight Racing” programs and the 2012 Paddock Concert Series with Eric Lindell, an Alligator Records recording artist who will bring a unique blend of blues, R & B, funk and rock to the paddock stage following the races at approximately 8 p.m. Admission gates open at 1:30 p.m. and post time for the first race is 2:45 p.m. Happy Hour drink specials in the paddock garden area include $3 Stella Artois Draft Beer from 4-7 p.m. …

A limited number of seats for Mother’s Day dining at Churchill Downs on May 13 remains available in the Skye Terrace on the 6^th floor of the Clubhouse. Jockey Club Suites and box seats are also available for Mother’s Day. Tickets for Mother’s Day, and any day during the Spring Meet, can be purchased through the track’s online box office at www.ChurchillDowns.com/tickets or by calling (502) 636-4400.

WORKTAB – Barbara Hunter’s homebred Snow Top Mountain breezed four furlongs on the firm Matt Winn Turf Course on Thursday in :49.60 for trainer Tom Proctor. The 5-year-old gray/roan daughter of Najran is being pointed toward the $100,000 Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (GIII) on June 2 at Churchill Downs. …

Bourbon Lane Stable and Wayne Lynn’s Bourbon Courage, fourth in The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (GIII) in his most recent start, breezed four furlongs in :50.60 on the fast main track at Churchill Downs prior to the renovation break Thursday for trainer Kellyn Gorder.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 138^th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012, and its Spring Meet is scheduled for April 28-July 1. The track has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

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BELIEVE YOU CAN – Brereton Jones’ homebred Kentucky Oaks heroine Believe You Can came out of the race in great shape, trainer Larry Jones said while accepting congratulations at his barn early on Kentucky Derby Day.

“Boy, she’s wanting treats and she thinks she deserves some reward!” Jones said as his filly poked her head out of her stall. “She gets all kind of peppermints, carrots, sweet potatoes, you name it. Whatever she wants she’s pretty well going to get.

“She ate every bite of her supper so right now we’re good. She sure looks bright and happy.”

Believe You Can walked the shedrow at about 7:30 a.m. Her scheduled day to return to the track for light exercise is Tuesday.

“I’m going to be gone to New York but I might stick around here long enough to jog her and make sure everything’s OK,” Jones said. “But we’re not in a hurry now and we could walk her for a week if we need to.”

While Jones hasn’t penciled in anything for Believe You Can’s next start, he said it’s possible she could keep following the same path as his first Kentucky Oaks winner, Proud Spell, which has worked well to this point.

“We have been focusing on the Oaks all winter long,” Jones said. “This was the game plan and thank goodness we were able to follow our steps. We didn’t know that there was life after the Kentucky Oaks; we’ve got to go back and think now. I do know we could do like with Proud Spell and go back to the Mother Goose (GI, $300,000 at 1 1/16 miles on July 21), and the Alabama (GI, $600,000 at 1 ¼ miles on August 18) will be our primary goal for the summer. But we’re going to have to do something with her between now and then and we’ll let her tell us. We’re not going to get in a big hurry with her because she’s shown she races well fresh and distance isn’t a problem. But I would say the Mother Goose would be a primary target.”

Jones was effusive in his praise of Rosie Napravnik’s ride on Believe You Can, historic because she’s a woman but brilliant for her decisiveness.

“There was a lot of speed in the race and I just told her, ‘Rosie, on paper there’s a lot of speed but a lot of times when I’ve seen races with a lot of speed everybody’s afraid to go. So you’ve got to make up your mind when this thing opens and you see what everyone’s doing.’ I said, ‘You have my blessings on whatever you decide and I’m not going to second-guess you, honey. You’ve got to ride it and do what you got to do.’ When she saw that nobody was sending hard she let her get into the race and we saw it was the right choice.”

 

 

Jones already knew that if they made the lead at any point in the final quarter-mile of the Kentucky Oaks they’d have a big shot. Believe You Can’s tenaciousness had been on full display a month before when she gamely held off Summer Applause in the $500,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (GII).

“We carried fractions that day that should’ve made her lay down and say, ‘I’m done,’ but she wouldn’t,” Jones said. “I saw a horse with an iron constitution that day and I knew I had me another Proud Spell because Proud Spell refused to be passed down the lane. No horse in her career ever passed her down the lane and this horse here is trying to do the same thing. If you’re not in front of her turning for home you’re not finishing in front of her.”

Speaking of the Fair Grounds Oaks, the win by Believe You Can means five of the past eight Fair Grounds Oaks winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Oaks: Ashado (2004), Summerly (2005), Proud Spell (2008), Rachel Alexandra (2009) and Believe You Can. The race was not run in 2006, the year after Hurricane Katrina.

“There is no better place to prep,” Jones said. “What can you say? It works.”

Jones’ second Kentucky Oaks triumph reversed a spate of bad luck for his barn. Several familiar faces have gone missing in recent weeks and none has been more conspicuous in their absence than the trainer’s wife, Cindy Jones, who suffered three broken ribs, a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder when kicked by a yearling on the couple’s Arkansas farm. Cindy Jones was unable to attend the Kentucky Oaks.

“She’s going to try to get here, maybe, tomorrow afternoon,” Jones said. “She didn’t want to get into all the bumping and hugging. That can be painful for her.

            “April was a tough month. On March 31 this filly won and apparently we used up our quota of good luck that month. On April 1, April Fool’s Day, Mark Valeski had his lost shoe fiasco (in the Louisiana Derby). A few days later Cindy gets hurt. Then Havre de Grace gets a career-ending injury. Then Robi Jo, who looked so good at Fair Grounds and who we thought we’d have a big shot with in the Edgewood, has to be retired due to a tendon injury.”

            Then on Tuesday, they withdrew Mark Valeski from Kentucky Derby consideration.

“May’s turning around, though,” Jones said. “Maybe we’ll be OK.”

 

BROADWAY’S ALIBI – E. Paul Robsham Stables’ Broadway’s Alibi was doing fine Saturday morning after her second-place finish behind Believe You Can in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (GI).

            Stable manager Anna Ford reported that the 3-year-old daughter of Vindication will ship to Belmont Park on Sunday.

            “We’ll take a couple weeks (before deciding on her next start),” Ford said. “We'll take our time. We’re not in any hurry.”

            Although Broadway’s Alibi lost by three-quarters of a length after setting the pace, her connections were pleased with her effort under John Velazquez.

            “Johnny said he could feel her struggling a little bit (with the track), which is amazing that she managed to do as good as she did,” Ford said.

 

GRACE HALL – The beaten favorite in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks, Grace Hall, came out of her third-place finish in good order, reported trainer Anthony Dutrow Saturday morning.

            “She’s very good,” said Dutrow, whose filly will ship Sunday to Delaware Park or Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland.

            Dutrow offered no excuses on the morning-after Grace Hall’s performance in which she closed from sixth under Javier Castellano to third without menacing 1-2 finishers, Believe You Can and Broadway’s Alibi.

            “She just didn’t run fast enough,” he said. “I thought we got a dream trip and we were unable to run them down.”

            Dutrow offered no immediate plans for Grace Hall, noting that the Alabama at Saratoga and the Cotillion at Parx as likely goals.

 

SUMMER APPLAUSE – Gillian Campbell, R Group Management and Greenwood Lodge Farm’s Summer Applause came out of her fourth-place effort in “perfect” condition, according to Mark Cornett, racing manager for the ownership group.

 

            The Harlan’s Holiday filly likely will get about six weeks off before pointing for an undetermined race in June to set her up for late-summer tries in the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama at Saratoga Race Course.

            “Our next goal is to get her Grade I-placed, at least, or hopefully a Grade I win,” Cornett said. “Since she’s already a stakes winner it’s important to get that Grade I placing for that residual value.”

            The Kentucky Oaks may sting a bit more, Cornett suggested, knowing that they beat the winner on the square two starts back. At the same time, that result bolsters Summer Applause’s reputation, who Cornett says has proven herself to be among the top 3-year-old fillies in the country.

            “Broadway’s Alibi and Believe You Can really had it their own way on the front end, I thought,” Cornett said. “They were both sitting up there very relaxed and comfortable with their ears pricked. When Eden’s Moon didn’t break that really messed up the pace scenario. When you look back the only filly that really closed any ground was Summer Applause.”           

 

ON FIRE BABY – Trainer Gary Hartlage said that Anita Cauley’s On Fire Baby came out of her fifth-place finish in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (GI) in good order.

            “We live to fight another day,” Hartlage said of the half-sister to High Heels, who had finished third in the 2007 Kentucky Oaks. “The hole was there, but she just didn’t fire.”

            The next start for On Fire Baby, winner of the Pocahontas (GII) and Golden Rod (GII), is undetermined.

            “We haven’t even thought about that yet,” Hartlage said.

 

HARD NOT TO LIKE – Aside from taking a lot of dirt during the running of Friday’s Kentucky Oaks, according to her trainer Gail Cox, Hard Not to Like exited the race in good shape. She left Churchill Downs Saturday at 5 a.m. aboard a van heading back to the trainer’s headquarters at Woodbine Race Course near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

            It was the filly’s first time to race on dirt.

            “I went by the barn this morning to get her on the van,” Cox said, “and then I got ready to fly back home.”

            As for Cox’s experience, she said, “It was just a wonderful experience. Everything was nice at the track.”

 

SACRISTY – Sacristy split the 14 Oaks fillies with a seventh-place finish, and came out of the race with no notable issues, reported Kelsey Danner, assistant to trainer Wayne Catalano.

            “She came back fine and is doing good,” Danner said. “She got shuffled back farther than we thought in the Oaks, but she tried.”

            Sacristy, a sprinter making her first route race, mildly rallied from last of 14. No immediate plans are set for what’s next.

 

AMIE’S DINI – Trainer Ron Moquett reported that his Oaks eighth-place finisher Amie’s Dini exited the race no worse for the wear.

            “She came back happy and perfect, just tired,” Moquett said. “After that trip, let’s just say she knows what the outside rail looks like.”

            Amie’s Dini was bumped at the start and raced wide throughout. No immediate goals were on tap, Moquett said, but Oklahoma-based co-owner Mike Walker indicated earlier in the week that one of the filly’s major goals this year will be the Remington Park Oaks, a race these connections won last year with Tourmaline.

 

AND WHY NOT – Helen K. Groves’ And Why Not was reported to be fine Saturday Morning following her ninth-place finish in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (GI).

            “She came out fine. She’s over there grazing. She ate up everything,” trainer Michael Matz said. “I was just hoping they would come back to her a little bit more, but they didn’t.”

            Matz said he had no immediate stakes plans for And Why Not.

            “We’re just going to pick the easiest spot we can find to build back her confidence,” said Matz, who was scheduled to saddle Union Rags for a start in the Kentucky Derby later in the day.

 

 

JEMIMA’S PEARL/EDEN’S MOON – Gillian Campbell, R Group Management Ltd. and Greenwood Lodge Farm’s Jemima’s Pearl (10^th) and Kaleem Shah’s Eden’s Moon (14^th) came out of the Kentucky Oaks in good shape, trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday morning.

            “They look fine,” Baffert said. “They didn’t really run much. I’m really disappointed that they didn’t run.”

            Baffert said the fillies will head back to California for a freshening.

 

COLONIAL EMPRESS – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ maiden filly exited the race in good order, the stable reported this morning. Lukas indicated that the Oaks would be the last stakes shot before dropping back into the maiden ranks and regrouping.

            Colonial Empress finished 11^th in the Oaks after pressing the pace from a wide draw and fading.

 

KARLOVY VARY – Jack Bohannan, assistant to trainer Rusty Arnold, said that Alex Campbell Jr.’s Karlovy Vary was doing well Saturday morning following her 12^th-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks (GI).

            “She ate a lot of mud yesterday,” Bohannan said. “I think we are going to keep her on turf or Polytrack. We learned a lesson yesterday.”

            Karlovy Vary had entered the Oaks off a victory in the Central Bank Ashland (GI) at Keeneland over Polytrack.

            “She had run such a big race over there that we had to try,” Bohannan said.

            Arnold said Karlovy Vary would ship back to her main base at Keeneland on Monday and be pointed to the Arlington Oaks (GIII) at 1 1/8 miles on the turf on July 21.

            “I am not saying we will not try her on the dirt again,” Arnold said. “But I can say it will not be in the near future.”

 

YARA – Peras International’s Yara appeared none the worse for wear while standing in her stall the morning after a dull 13^th-place effort in the Kentucky Oaks.

            “She came back perfect,” trainer Jose Garoffalo said. “She ate good today. The most important thing is that she came back perfect.”

The Davona Dale (GII) winner had a trip that was far from ideal. Her head was cocked when the gates sprung, she raced in the back of the field behind a pace that was softer than her connections had hoped, and she lost sight of the leaders through the stretch. Jesus Castanon did not persist with the filly once all hope was lost and they ultimately checked in 37 ¼ lengths behind Believe You Can.

“She doesn’t like the wet track too much and she took a bad step at the start,” Garoffalo said. “It was a bad trip.”

            Garoffalo declined to speculate about where Yara might show up next, saying that he will continue to monitor her recovery from the Oaks while checking the condition books back in Florida.

 

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 138^th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012, and its Spring Meet is scheduled for April 28-July 1. The track has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

AMIE’S DINI – Co-owner Mike Walker said the Fantasy Stakes (GII) runner-up Amie’s Dini had an easy jog this morning after the renovation break and will school in the paddock during Thursday’s program at Churchill Downs. The $3,000 sales purchase drew post 13 of 14 for the Oaks.
    “We would have loved to have been somewhere four through 10,” Walker said. “But she breaks so good it’s not an issue with a long run into the first turn. I really didn’t want to be in gates one through three and fear being shuffled back to the rear if you don’t break. But she’s out-broken the field in just about every race she’s run in seven starts so far, so don’t be surprised if you hear her name called first.”
    “Jon (Court) said she really gets over this track good,” Walker continued. “That might help even things out a little bit when facing so many high-class and more expensive fillies. It’s the thrill of a lifetime. What she lacks in purchase price, she makes up for in tenacity.”

AND WHY NOT – Helen K. Groves’ And Why Not galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider Peter Brette Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs.
    The daughter of Street Cry, who closed well to finish a close second in the Pocahontas (GII) at Churchill in her 2011 finale, has raced only once this year, finishing a distant seventh in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (GII) on March 31.
    Having gotten such a late start, And Why Not is expected by trainer Michael Matz to blossom later in the year while hoping for the best in the Oaks.
    “She’s a May 26th foal, so she’s a really young horse to be doing this. I think by the time the ends of the season comes around, maybe like Saratoga in the Alabama going a mile-and-a-quarter, it’ll really suit her to a ‘T,” Matz said.     “But she ran well here in the Pocahontas, only got beat a half-length, and she has a race under her belt and has worked well since that, so I hope she will run a good race. There’s a lot of speed in the race, so that should help her.”
    Julien Leparoux has been named to ride And Why Not.

BELIEVE YOU CAN – Brereton Jones’ homebred Believe You Can continues to impress trainer Larry Jones, who gallops the filly himself each morning during the Oaks and Derby training session. Today the duo walked around the paddock and stood in the same stall she’ll be saddled in Friday before galloping five-eighths of a mile.
    “We let her walk around there a little bit, let her find what hole she’s going to be in for the Oaks and let her get accustomed to that view,” Jones said of the paddock visit.
    Fair Grounds’ Silverbulletday Stakes and Fair Grounds Oaks (GII) winner galloped professionally and doesn’t appear to have felt any negative effects from her blazing :58.80 breeze on Sunday.
    “She had a very uneventful day but she went really well,” Jones said. “Now all we do is keep her from getting in trouble between now and the race.”

BROADWAY’S ALIBI – E. Paul Robsham Stables’ Broadway’s Alibi galloped 1 ¼ miles under exercise rider Carlos Cano at Churchill Downs in preparation for a start in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (GI). The daughter of Vindication arrived Tuesday morning after a flight from South Florida.
    The winner of her last four starts after finishing second in her debut at Delaware Park last summer, Broadway’s Alibi will be making her first start around two turns in the 1 1/8-mile Oaks.
    “Everything she’s done so far, stretching out from six furlongs to seven furlongs to a mile, she keeps going and going and going,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “The way she trains, she gave us every indication that we needed to be in there and trying her.”
    Although her two-turn credentials may be a “question mark,’ her trainer has reason to hope that 1 1/8 miles is within her scope.
    “Pedigree-wise, she’s by Vindication, who is by Seattle Slew, and has Seeking the Gold on the bottom, so suggests she should handle it,” Pletcher said.
    Broadway’s Alibi will be ridden by John Velazquez.

COLONIAL EMPRESS – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas shuffled plans with Colonial Empress this morning, giving his Honeybee Stakes (GIII) third-place finisher the day off.
    “The filly just walked today,” Lukas said. “I let her open her stride up pretty good for about five-eighths in her gallop yesterday, so she got the day off.”
    Colonial Empress, bidding to give Lukas a record-tying fifth career Oaks win, is scheduled to return to the track tomorrow. She will be ridden by two-time Oaks winner Corey Nakatani on Friday.

EDEN’S MOON/JEMIMA’S PEARL – Kaleem Shah’s Eden’s Moon and Gillian Campbell, R Group Management Ltd. and Greenwood Lodge Farm’s Jemima’s Pearl each galloped 1½ miles Wednesday morning.
    Eden’s Moon, winner of the Las Virgenes (GI) and third as the favorite in the Santa Anita Oaks (GI) will be ridden by Martin Garcia in the Kentucky Oaks. Joe Talamo will be aboard Jemina’s Pearl, who raced five times in Ireland in 2011 and has made her two starts this year in the U.S. for trainer Bob Baffert. She came from off the pace to finish third in her last start, the Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn Park.
    “They’re different,” Baffert said. “Eden’s Moon is speed. The other one is still green and learning. I think the distance won’t be a problem for either one of them.”

GRACE HALL – Gulfstream Park Oaks (GII) winner Grace Hall made her first appearance on the track Tuesday morning since shipping from South Florida to Churchill Downs on Tuesday.  The Anthony Dutrow-trained 3-year-old filly galloped about a mile under exercise rider Carol Fisher.
    Dutrow expressed pleasure with his 5-2 morning-line favorite for Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (GI).
    “She doing really well. She’ll either jog or gallop tomorrow,” said Dutrow, who is considering a trip to the paddock for the daughter of Empire Maker on Thursday.
    Owned by Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables and The Elkstone Group, Grace Hall, finished second behind champion My Miss Aurelia in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs last fall after winning her first three starts by open lengths. After finishing second in the Davona Dale (GII) at Gulfstream in her 2012 debut, she captured the Gulfstream Park Oaks in a runaway by more than six lengths.
    Javier Castellano will have the return mount aboard Grace Hall.

HARD NOT TO LIKE – Though trainer Gail Cox was en route to Louisville from Ontario, Canada, her Kentucky Oaks prospect Hard Not to Like was on the track at Churchill Downs for a gallop getting her initial feel of the surface she’ll tackle Friday in the $1 million Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.
Hard Not to Like arrived at Churchill Downs in mid-afternoon Tuesday after a 10-hour van ride from her home base at Woodbine Race Course.
Cox is expected to get into Louisville by mid-afternoon.

KARLOVY VARY – Alex Campbell Jr.’s Karlovy Vary galloped 1 ½ miles under exercise rider Marty Metcalf before the morning renovation break.
    Winner of the Central Bank Ashland (GI) in her most recent start, Karlovy Vary is scheduled for a second paddock schooling session this afternoon.
    “She did OK yesterday, but it could have been better,” trainer Rusty Arnold said. “If she does fine today, that will be it.”
    Listed at 20-1 on the morning line, Karlovy Vary will break from post position 11 under jockey James Graham.
    “Eleven is a good spot, couldn’t be any better,” Arnold said. “A lot of things can get her beat, but it won’t be the post. We just have to see if she can handle the dirt and the competition.”
    Karlovy Vary captured the Central Bank Ashland in front-running fashion, but Arnold sees Friday’s Oaks as a whole new ballgame.
    “It will be a completely different race from the Ashland,” Arnold said. “The Ashland had no speed and there is a lot of speed here. It is not a comparable race.”
 
OAKS LILY – Jonathan Rey, Javier Sarmiento and Dante Zanelli Jr.’s Oaks Lily is hoping for some good news in time for her third birthday Friday (while all registered Thoroughbreds officially have their birthday on Jan. 1, Oaks Lily’s foal date was May 4, 2009). The Keeneland maiden winner remains on the “Also-Eligible” list and needs a defection from the current 14-horse field to draw in.
    As time runs out on her chances, Oaks Lily continues to train forwardly should the opportunity come. This morning she galloped 1 1/8 miles during the Oaks and Derby training session under exercise rider Raphael Verderosa.
“On the track she’s doing really good,” said Zanelli, the bloodstock agent who co-owns the filly and is managing her preparations this week. “We let her stretch out a little more this week, to let her know that it’s getting a little more serious with what we want her to do.
    “She’s doing great and moving forward with each passing day. Just have to sit tight and wait.”
    Being a relative youngster because of a foal date that falls later in the spring than most, Oaks Lily continues to mature at a rapid pace. Zanelli has seen significant changes in her physical appearance over the three weeks since her win at Keeneland.
    “There’s tons of difference,” he said. “Her coat, the way she looks, she’s muscling in, filling in real good. She’s really coming around. You can see her neck is getting muscled. Mainly it’s because she’s still a baby and has continued growing into herself.
    “She’ll have a happy birthday regardless, but it could get happier.”

ON FIRE BABY – Anita Cauley’s On Fire Baby, the co-second choice on the Kentucky Oaks morning line at 4-1, visited the paddock and then galloped a mile and a half under jockey Joe Johnson shortly after 6 o’clock Wednesday morning.
Winner of the Pocahontas (GII) and Golden Rod (GII) here last fall, On Fire Baby drew post position one for Friday’s Oaks.
“I wanted the one or the seven,” trainer Gary Hartlage said. “That’s perfect. She has been outside for most of her races. Maybe after the race, I’ll feel different.”
Wednesday’s activity was more the norm for On Fire Baby, who galloped only seven-eighths of a mile the day before because of a loose horse and Johnson cut the gallop short.
“This makes up a little bit for yesterday,” Hartlage said. “She’s full of herself this morning. She will have a light day tomorrow.”

SACRISTY – Sacristy, the beaten favorite in the Beaumont (GII), galloped a mile Wednesday morning and will have a paddock schooling session in today’s seventh race at Churchill Downs. Sacristy also schooled in the paddock yesterday.
    “She got a little hot yesterday, but overall was very good in there,” trainer Wayne Catalano said. “With the forecast calling for hot weather Friday, it’s not going to hurt to get them used to the afternoon temperatures.”
    Catalano said he likes the post seven draw for the Oaks.
    “She’s right in the middle,” he said. “You can’t complain about that. I like it.”
    Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will have the Oaks mount on Sacristy.

SUMMER APPLAUSE – Gillian Campbell, R Group Management and Greenwood Lodge Farm’s Summer Applause galloped an easy 1 ½ miles on the main track just after it opened at 5:45 a.m., with her neck bowed the entire way.
    “She’s full of herself,” trainer Bret Calhoun said. “She’s strong right now. She’s ready to go and it just seems like mentally and physically everything’s good.”
    Summer Applause schooled in the Churchill Downs paddock during Tuesday’s races and has one more morning of light exercise before raceday.
“We’ve pretty much got all of our ‘i’s dotted and all of our ‘t’s crossed,” Calhoun said. “She’s trained really well coming into the race and everything’s good.”
The Harlan’s Holiday filly drew post No. 3 for the 1 1/8-mile event.
“I’m glad we’re not on the fence, but really we’re going to be back off the pace,” Calhoun said. “There’s a lot of pace in there and we’re going to be sitting back off it. I think it gives us an opportunity to not get sawed off and jammed up against the rail, and we don’t have to worry about dropping over and saving ground.”
The nine furlongs she’ll attempt for the first time should not be an issue for Summer Applause, whose pedigree suggests she should thrive at longer distances.
    “Every one of her races she’s been coming, continuing to close and finishing strong,” Calhoun said. “I think a mile and-an-eighth is what she wants. There’s a lot of speed in there and it sets up well for her.”

YARA – Peras International’s Yara jogged a half-mile and galloped 1 ½ miles under regular exercise rider Mario Diaz as soon as the track opened at 5:45 a.m.
    “I gave her the jog because I wanted her to see the environment, the twin spires, the grandstand, which is all different than what she’s seen before,” trainer Jose Garoffalo said. “Now she’s very familiar with her environment and she went really well today. I think she’s ready for the race.”
    Yara drew the outside post No. 14, which Garoffalo believes could work to her advantage, as the main question is whether she can successfully relax behind the early leaders if necessary.
    “I think it’s going to be good for her,” Garoffalo said. “The race is going to be fast inside so we can rate her. I think we can have a good trip from there.”
    In her last race, the Gulfstream Park Oaks (GII), Yara faded to fifth after pressing a pace that would be considered fast for the nine-furlong distance. In that one, though, she had fewer options breaking from the rail.
    “I think the post position had a lot to do with that,” Garoffalo said. “She had to press the pace and it was extremely fast, too fast for her. But she did good in that race and she would’ve finished second behind Grace Hall if the pace had been a little slower.
“This time we’re not going to make the same mistake. We’re going to go slower, try to relax at least the first half-mile. If we can relax, if [jockey Jesus] Castanon can do it, we’ll be close or can win the race. It’s going to be a fast race and if we can rate a bit we’ll hit the board.
"She has the tactical speed to do it and she proved it when we won the Davona Dale.”
That 64-1 surprise was the first Grade II score for Garoffalo, who has been training for 20 years.
    “I started to train in my country, in Venezuela, then I moved back here in 1999,” he said. “I started out as a breeder – my dad runs a big farm there – so I’ve been in the horse business forever, all my life. I trained in Venezuela, won some races there, but decided to come here for as long as I can.”
    Yara will conclude her Oaks preparations Thursday with a one-mile gallop – “very easy,” said Garoffalo – and “that will be that.”

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012, and its Spring Meet is scheduled for April 28-July 1. The track has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

ALPHA – Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin confirmed that Godolphin Stable’s Alpha will be ridden by jockey Rajiv Maragh in the Kentucky Derby. Maragh was aboard for the Bernardini colt’s sharp work (:59.40 for five furlongs) at Belmont Park on Saturday.
    McLaughlin said that Alpha schooled in the gate before galloping about 1 ½ miles Wednesday morning. Alpha acted up in the gate before the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I) at Churchill Downs in November, but has been fine in each of his three starts in 2012.
    “He stood great,” McLaughlin said. “He was perfectly behaved.”

BODEMEISTER/LIAISON – Zayat Stables LLC’s Bodemeister schooled in the starting gate and galloped about a mile under exercise rider George Alvarez.
    According to The Jockey Club, the Empire Maker colt has had three names since he was purchased for $260,000 by Ahmed Zayat at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale. In January 2011, the name Bradelberry was approved by The Jockey Club. The name was changed to Graham N Spike in August 2011. One month later, the colt was named Bodemeister, which is a nickname for trainer Bob Baffert’s 7-year-old son, Bode.
    Zayat said Wednesday that the original name was for Brad Weisbord, his racing manager at the time. When Weisbord left the organization, the name was changed Graham N Spike. Virginia resident Graham Mandl is a Zayat family friend and Spike is Mandl’s dog. Zayat and his son, Justin, had second thoughts about Graham N Spike being an appropriate name if the colt developed into a prominent horse that might go on to a career as a stallion and made the second change.
       Arnold Zetcher’s Liaison jogged 1½ miles Wednesday morning. The CashCall Futurity (GI) winner breezed five furlongs on Monday and walked the shedrow on Tuesday.

CREATIVE CAUSE – Creative Cause followed his normal routine in walking the second straight day after a workout, trainer Mike Harrington said Wednesday morning.
The colt, runner-up to I’ll Have Another in the Santa Anita Derby and third to Hansen and Union Rags in the 2011 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI), schooled for a second straight day in the paddock during the second race.
The colt seemed to get a little hot in the paddock Tuesday, but that caused no concern to Harrington, who excused it with a quick, “That’s just him. And it was hot that day.”

DADDY LONG LEGS – The globe-trotting colt owned by Michael Tabor, Mrs. Susan Magnier and Derrick Smith completed his journey from Ireland to Louisville Wednesday morning when he arrived at Churchill Downs at approximately 4:30.
    The UAE Derby (GII) winner began a 48-hour quarantine and will not be able to go to the track until Friday.
    Daddy Long Legs, a Kentucky-bred son of Scat Daddy, has won three of five career starts, including the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes (GII) at Newmarket. He participated in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) in November at Churchill Downs and finished 12th.

DADDY NOSE BEST/SABERCAT – Trainer Steve Asmussen’s pair of hopefuls for Kentucky Derby 138 – Cathy and Bob Zollars’ Daddy Nose Best and Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Sabercat – returned to the track for the first time since Monday’s half-mile breezes. Each galloped one mile under exercise rider Carlos Rosas, with Sabercat going first just before 6 a.m. and Daddy Nose Best following in the next set at 6:15 a.m.
    Asmussen said both colts came out of their works “extremely good” and continue to impress in the mornings.
    “I think we’re very fortunate with their physical condition,” he said. “I like the races they’re coming off of and how they’ve trained over this racetrack and how we are three days away.”
    The pair reacquainted themselves with the Churchill Downs paddock – where they started their careers at last year’s Spring Meet – in a schooling session during Tuesday’s sixth race. Team Asmussen took Daddy Nose Best and Sabercat through the same paces they’ll experience Saturday, faithfully recreating the process down to the tack and custom saddle towels they’ll carry in the Kentucky Derby.
    “They’re two very good horses to run in a race like this,” Asmussen said. “There’s quite a bit to them and they act like it.
“I think that’s a very comfortable thing with both of these horses. Look at Sabercat going to Delta. That’s not an easy place to go – night, bullring, so many things. They’ve already accepted a lot of the variables that are important to being able to run your race in the circumstances the Derby’s run under.”
Team Asmussen has long emphasized controlling as many of those variables as possible. Maintaining a regimented and detail-oriented routine, from training patterns to feeding to schooling, is what keeps the sprawling operation humming and keeps the horses comfortable day after day.
Asmussen’s successes have included two Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Trainer, two Preakness wins, a Kentucky Oaks score and three Breeders’ Cup victories. His best Kentucky Derby finish from 10 starters was a second last year with Nehro, who briefly held the lead in midstretch before Animal Kingdom roared past, but at 46 with who knows how many Derby entrants still ahead of him one would think it will be his day eventually.
“It is definitely on the bucket list,” Asmusssen said with a laugh. “If I were in this position enough years in a row, I could do it. You just hope this is the year. I like my horses, love how they’re doing, feel that they’re going to run real good Saturday, but have no control over everybody else.
“It’s like last year – Nehro ran great, Animal Kingdom ran a little bit better. You think about it a lot because of the fact that you haven’t won one, and then you think of what you would do differently. Like Curlin’s year – Liquidity comes off the fence at the quarter-pole, Street Sense gets through and Curlin gets stopped. There are so many things that have to go right other than being good.
“If you’re in this position enough times, with two healthy horses going in the right direction, it’s going to come to you, whether it’s this year or another.”

DONE TALKING – The Illinois Derby (GIII) winner Done Talking galloped 1 ½ miles this morning after the renovation break with James “Bobo” Brigmon aboard, and will be sent to the paddock for a schooling session with the horses in today’s second race. “He’s already had all of his hard work,” trainer Hamilton Smith said. “That’s the extent of it.”
    As for Done Talking’s Derby chances, Smith surmised, “He’ll be a longshot and rightfully so.”
    As for the pace scenario in Derby 138, Smith said, “I’m hoping he can be five or six lengths off the lead with three-eighths of a mile to go. There are some fast horses in here. Trinniberg may be 10 in front.”
    Given his deep-closing style and longshot status, Done Talking won’t be one of the buzz horses at this evening’s post position draw.
    “I don’t think post position will be a big issue for him like some of the others,” Smith said. “Anywhere in the middle should be OK.”
    Smith has seen top young riders of yesteryear venture through Maryland to hit the big time and said that his Derby 138 pilot Sheldon Russell, 24, will be the next. “From Chris McCarron to Kent Desormeaux to Edgar Prado to Ramon Dominguez, I rode them all a lot in Maryland. This kid is doing it the right way. He’s not in a hurry. He’s like Edgar in that regard. When he’s ready for the big time, he’ll go.”

DULLAHAN – No one will accuse Dullahan of loafing this week in the lead-up to the Derby. He bypassed the usual day off following his final workout, and this morning his routine 1 ½ mile gallop included a little extra sizzle.     “He had a strong gallop around there this morning and we let him open-it up around the turn and through the lane a little bit,” trainer Dale Romans said. “He’s been training so eager and we’ve been watching him to keep him improving. Today is the best he’s looked out on the racetrack all week. We want him to peak at the right time.”
    Clockers did not credit Dullahan with an official “blow-out” work, but Romans said it was a little more than just the meat-and-potatoes gallop under Faustino Aguilar.
    Dullahan will school in the paddock on Thursday.
    Romans joked that the over/under on the number of questions about Dullhan’s ability to handle the dirt has gone “way over” the number, whatever it was. When asked what the Derby win would mean to a Louisvillian, he replied, “It’s like a guy from Augusta putting on the green jacket (after winning the Masters).”
    Three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Kent Desormeaux will be back aboard after a successful closing journey in the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland.
    “He got a great ride (in the Blue Grass),” Romans said. “That’s why we try to ride a Hall of Fame jockey.”

EL PADRINO/GEMOLOGIST – Let’s Go Stable’s El Padrino and WinStar Farm’s Gemologist were sent to the racetrack Wednesday morning after arriving from Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Fla., Tuesday afternoon.
    El Padrino with Melvin Hernandez up and Gemologist with Hector Ramos aboard both galloped 1 ¼ miles following the renovation break at Churchill Downs.
    “They all shipped in really well,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who included Broadway’s Alibi, who will run in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (GI). “They all galloped well over the track today. I’m very pleased.”
    Gemologist, who will put an undefeated record in five starts on the line in the Derby, hasn’t quite received the media buzz that usually surrounds unbeaten horses.
    “He’s done everything he could possibly do, but part of it might be because the 2-year-old races he ran in weren’t the Breeders’ Cup races. He was a little late in developing. His first stake was in the Jockey Club here.”
    After breaking his maiden by Turfway and winning a two-turn allowance at Churchill Downs, Gemologist captured the Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) by 1¾ lengths to conclude his juvenile season. After winning an allowance race at Gulfstream by seven lengths, the son of Tiznow posted a game victory by a neck over Alpha in the Wood Memorial (GI) at Aqueduct last time out.
    “I think after the Wood, everybody know what he’s about,” Pletcher said.
    Returning to Churchill Downs, where Gemologist was victorious twice around two turns, gives Pletcher considerable confidence heading into the Derby.
    “It’s enormous. Anytime you’ve had success over this track in the past, it bodes well for the future,” Pletcher said.
    Javier Castellano will have the return mount on Gemologist, while Rafael Bejarano will be aboard El Padrino for the first time.

HANSEN – Kendall Hansen and Skychai Racing’s Hansen galloped at his trainer Mike Maker’s home base, the Trackside Training Center, Wednesday morning and was shipped to Churchill Downs later in the morning.
    All Kentucky Derby runners are required to be in the grounds at Churchill Downs by Wednesday. Hansen, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile over the track in November, was the last to arrive, at 11:45 a.m.  
    Skychai Racing partners Dr. Harvey Diamond and James Shircliff, were part of the group that greeted Hansen when he reached Barn 42. Diamond said the Derby really comes into focus once you step on the grounds at Churchill Downs. He said the colt is ready.
    “There is pressure and there is stress,” Diamond said. “Pressure is when you have studied well for an exam and you need to do good. Stress is when you haven’t studied, but you still need to do good. We’re feeling the pressure.”

I’LL HAVE ANOTHER – It was a gallop day like any other gallop day for I’ll Have Another – high octane sustained speed. The colt altered the routine just a bit by going into the paddock before heading back to the barn.
Trainer Doug O’Neill remains upbeat about his Santa Anita Derby (GI) winner’s training. O’Neill He talked about the colt’s progression since O’Neill’s brother, Dennis, bought the horse at the 2011 OBS 2-year-old training sale, pointing out that Team O’Neill, including owner J. Paul Reddam were high on the colt from the outset.
Their enthusiasm was rewarded as the son of Flower Alley broke his maiden at first asking and they followed up with a second to fellow Kentucky Derby prospect Creative Cause in his next start, the Grade II Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar.
Following an out-of-the-money finish in Saratoga’s Grade I Hopeful Stakes, the chestnut colt got time off to allow sore shins to heal.
From there, Reddam and the training team plotted the course that has led to a two-for-two record this year and his shot at the Run for the Roses.
“When he broke his maiden in his first race, we all believed we were on to something,” O’Neill said. “He’s turned out to be an absolute pleasure to train. He’s intelligent and he does everything we ask of him. He really enjoys training, and, obviously, that’s a plus.”
Asked if he thought about changing the colt’s training style; his high cruising style while galloping? “Not at all,” he said. “He’s always been like that; a long-striding horse. Our philosophy is let the horses do what’s best for the horse. You can’t train them all alike.”

MY ADONIS – George and Lori Hall’s My Adonis, to be first in line on the Kentucky Derby “Also-Eligible” list when entries are drawn, arrived on the scene shortly after 1 a.m. following a 13-hour van ride from Monmouth Park. Trainer Kelly Breen flew into Louisville and was aboard the Pleasantly Perfect colt for a one-mile jog at 6:30 a.m.
    “He felt awesome,” Breen said. “He was on his toes and came back looking good. With the van ride and everything I thought he would be a little bit tired but he got on the track and he knew what was going on right away.
    “I haven’t been on him for awhile so for me to be on him today and for him to pull on me like he did was a good feeling. I don’t feel misrepresented by him in any way. He’s a good-looking horse, he’s coming in feeling good, and it’s up to the racing gods now to see if I can race him here.”
    Breen and the Halls could be making their third Kentucky Derby in four years. They were here last year with Pants On Fire, who finished ninth, and had two starters in 2009, West Side Bernie (ninth) and Atomic Rain (16th). Of those, Pants On Fire was the most highly regarded, having come off a win in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (GII).
    “They’re two totally different animals,” Breen said when asked to compare My Adonis and Pants On Fire. “This guy here is much more laid-back. The other horse is probably a full hand taller than this one, a little bit longer and lankier. This one here, though, has got a lot of heart.”
    Breen and the Halls can do little more than wait to see what develops between now and Friday morning, when any defections would have to be announced by in order for the Gotham Stakes (GIII) runner-up to draw in.
“His trip so far has been uneventful,” Breen said. “It’s all been positive for him as far as training; now I just need it to be not-so-positive for one of the other 20.”

OPTIMIZER – Late-running Optimizer will be Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ 45th career Derby starter, most of any trainer all-time. But it will be the first run for the roses by a horse owned by Brad Kelley’s Bluegrass Hall LLC. Lukas said his dealings with Kelley have centered around the chance to repeat history.
    “He told me ‘You took Calumet back to the top of the heap in the 1980s, can you do it again?’,” Lukas said this morning. “Brad Kelley has got a lot of skin in this game.”
    Kelley has been the subject of media reports in the past month that he is the next suitor for the historic Calumet Farm in Lexington, which has been represented by a record eight Derby winners as an owner. The sale has not been finalized to date.
    Optimizer galloped 1 ½ miles today after the renovation break and will school in the paddock during race six today.
    “The only time I school horses in the paddock is during Derby and Preakness,” Lukas said. “You can’t duplicate that circus with all the drunks, but it does help some.”
    Lukas remains realistic about his longshot chances. “It is what it is,” he said. “I know my horse is doing good, but this is the best bunch I’ve seen in a long time. I was out there riding next to some of them today, and let me tell you, this is a hell of a group.”

PROSPECTIVE – The steady-moving Tampa Bay Derby (GII) winner Prospective continued his paces with a 1 ½-mile gallop this morning under exercise rider Juan Bernardini. Trainer Mark Casse looked on and commented that the sultry morning temperatures and pending forecast could play a factor in Saturday’s Derby.
    “It’s hot out here today,” Casse said. “A lot of horses got hot today, but not this one. He’s a cool cucumber. The hot weather may be to our advantage. There are some hot-headed horses in this field that it could hurt. My horse stays calm and cool.”
    Casse indicated that the reason they opted for the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) on Polytrack vs. the Wood Memorial (GI) on dirt for Prospective’s final prep was about logistics and necessity.
    “If we thought we needed the earnings, we would have gone to the ($1 million) Wood Memorial,” he said. “The question Mr. Oxley said to me is, ‘How do we get to the Derby and be at our very best?’ That was very easy with the Blue Grass so close by.”

ROUSING SERMON – Rousing Sermon, owned by breeders Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, walked the shedrow Wednesday following a five-furlong workout Tuesday.
The Idaho natives, who own Tree Top Ranches in Parma, Idaho, about 40 miles west of the capital city of Boise, were at the barn Wednesday to watch their first Kentucky Derby horse. The California-bred colt comes to the Derby from a third-place finish in the $1-million Louisiana Derby (GII) at Fair Grounds.
Hollendorfer, still in search of his first Kentucky Derby victory but three-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks, said the colt followed his walking stint with some grazing in the grassy area outside the barn.
The colt will school in the paddock during Wednesday’s race day, according to Christina Jelm of Midway, Ky., who has been helping Hollendorfer with Rousing Sermon’s training.
“Everything is going well,” Hollendorfer said Wednesday morning. “No problems so far.”
As for Wednesday’s post position draw, Hollendorfer said, “I’m not real concerned about that, but I’m not keen on an inside draw.”
Hollendorfer’s victories in the Oaks came with Lite Light in 1991, Pike Place Dancer in 1996 and Blind Luck in 2010.

TAKE CHARGE INDY – With his owners, Chuck and Maribeth Sandford, watching from the bleachers along the backstretch at Churchill Downs, Take Charge Indy galloped 1 5/8 miles under jockey Calvin Borel Wednesday during his first visit to the track this year.
    The A.P. Indy colt was flown to Louisville from West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday. Trainer Pat Byrne said the trip was uneventful.
    Byrne said his Florida Derby (G1) winner is ready for the race and his versatility will allow him to react and adjust to how the race is being run.
    “Everyone knows there is going to be a lot of speed and Calvin can put his horse wherever he wants to be put,” Byrne said. “Hopefully he will have a clean break and won’t get knocked around. That’s what makes the Derby the Derby. It’s 20 horses, everybody is vying for position early.
    “I think he’ll break sharp. He’s a good gate horse. Hopefully, he’ll get position early. By saying that, I don’t mean on the lead. But if they want to go and throw a couple of :11s in early, he’ll sit back and go in maybe :12 and change four or five lengths off the pace. It all depends on the pace scenario.”
    Byrne said he’s prepared the colt and Borel will have to make the decisions once the gate opens.
    “It’s all up to the jock. I’ve done my bit,” he said. “We’ll train him here up to Friday. Calvin wants to get on him. We’ll ride him around the shedrow early Saturday morning, just because he asks to get the tack on him. It’s up to Calvin. Calvin has won three of these. This is my first time here. I’m not going to tell him how to ride the race.”
    Byrne said that Take Charge Indy is ready for his assignment Saturday in America’s biggest race.
    “We couldn’t be any happier with him,” Byrne said. “The horse is doing fantastic. I wouldn’t trade him for any other horse in the race.”

TRINNIBERG – Shivananda Parbhoo’s Trinniberg galloped two miles under exercise rider Sabastian Garcia Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs.
     An unseasonably warm morning and forecasts for very warm temperatures on Saturday were of no concern for the connections of the South Florida-based Kentucky Derby entrant.
    “It doesn’t bother him. It won’t be an issue. If it were 100 degrees it wouldn’t bother him. We have 100-degree days in South Florida, and still they go and race,” Parbhoo said. “It’s no problem. I don’t worry about him. He went straight for the feed bucket today, so that’s good.”
    Trinniberg, who has won the Swale (GIII) at Gulfstream and the Bay Shore (GIII) at Aqueduct this year, will be ridden by Willie Martinez on Saturday.    

UNION RAGS – Chadds Ford Stable’s Union Rags stood in the starting gate before galloping 1½ miles at Churchill Downs Wednesday morning. The colt’s owner and breeder Phyllis Wyeth, who arrived by flight from Pennsylvania Tuesday, was on hand for the daily exercise.
    “She told me the other day she got on the plane to come down here and she cried,” said trainer Michael Matz, noting how much happiness Union Rags’ participation in the Derby is giving to his owner.
    Union Rags is coming off a third-place finish as the 2-5 favorite in the Florida Derby (GI), in which he was trapped behind and between horses and lacked running room until the deep stretch. Although Matz has been critical of the ride by Julien Leparoux, he didn’t make a big issue of it with Union Rags’ jockey following the disappointing result at Gulfstream.
    “I’ve never ridden a race in my life, so who am I to say, ‘He should have done this,” Matz said. “It’s easy in hindsight for people to say, ‘You should have done this; You should have done that.’ I think he felt the same way, so for me to beat him up, what good would that do?”
    Leparoux, who rode Union Rags for a four-length victory in the Fountain of Youth (GII) prior to the Florida Derby, has the return mount for the Derby.

WENT THE DAY WELL – Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well schooled in the starting gate with blinkers on before galloping 1 ¾ miles under exercise rider Zeke Castro Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Graham Motion saddled Animal Kingdom for a victory in the Kentucky Derby last year, but his first success in the Run for the Roses is hardly a fading memory.
“The year’s gone by very quickly. It just seems like we’re back awfully quick. I don’t know why, but it’s good to be back,” Motion said.
The past year has been a whirlwind for Motion, and one during which he has become an active participant in major stakes.
“Professionally, it’s been the most successful year of my life. It’s been very satisfying. There’s been a lot of attention on us, which is something I’m not familiar with and something I try to stay away from. But generally it’s been mostly positive,” Motion said.
Went the Day Well, a New York-bred who raced in Europe last year, has run three times this year, including a maiden score at Gulfstream on March 3 and a 3 ½-length triumph in the Vinery Racing Spiral (GIII) at Turfway Park on March 24.
“He’s somewhat of an immature horse. I feel like he’s still maturing and he’s got a ways to go, but he’s getting there. It’s very similar to last year with Animal Kingdom,” said Motion, who saddled Animal Kingdom for a victory in the Spiral prior to his Derby triumph.
“It’s very different having won it. I’m probably more relaxed about it than I was last year, having won it. It’s definitely a different feeling,” said Motion, noting that his desire to win the Derby “has not been tarnished.”
John Velazquez, who was aboard for Animal Kingdom’s Derby win, has the mount aboard Went the Day Well.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012, and its Spring Meet is scheduled for April 28-July 1. The track has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

Dr Kendall Hansen and Skychai Racing’s Hansen, a major contender for the 138^thrunning of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) on May 5, worked a strong five furlongs on Saturday at Churchill Downs’ Trackside Training Center in preparation for a planned run in next week’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) at Keeneland.

Exercise rider Joel Barrientos was in the saddle for trainer Mike Maker as the gray son of Tapit covered the distance in 1:00 over “fast” footing on the six-furlong training oval.  He was joined in upper stretch by the Maker-trained 5-year-old mare La Gran Bailadora, a multiple stakes winner who was just starting her work.  The two horses worked as a team through Hansen’s final quarter-mile and were on even terms when Hansen, an emphatic winner of Aqueduct’s Gotham (GIII) in his most recent start, finished his training move midway around the first turn.

"I don’t want to hook him up with another horse early in his work to keep him from getting rank, so I just have a workmate jump in with him to start their work where he’s finishing to get him to finish well,” Maker said.  “Before the Gotham that’s kind of how we were working him.  So we’re hoping to have a replay for the Blue Grass.”

Hansen was clocked in fractional times of :11.80, :23.60, :35.80 and :48.20 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.80.  The colt’s work was the fourth-fastest of 14 at the distance and satisfied Maker, who looked ahead to next Saturday’s final Kentucky Derby prep for Hansen over Keeneland’s synthetic Polytrack course.

“I just hope we draw well at Keeneland,” Maker said. “It looks like there’s going to be a big field.”

Among those looking on during Hansen’s work Dr. Kendall Hansen, the majority owner of his namesake, and Skychai Racing partners Harvey Diamond and Jim Shircliff.

Although the Kentucky Derby is 28 days away, Dr. Hansen was already exhibiting symptoms of a springtime malady know throughout horse racing as “Derby Fever.”

“I can hardly work,” Hansen said.  “It started two days ago when it was the 5^th and it (the Derby) was exactly 30 days out. Something happened to my body. My nurses were telling me, ‘Doc, your hands are shaking.’  My hands never shake, but I’ve got a tremor now and I think it’s from adrenaline. So I’m staying away from Mountain Dew.”

Hansen, who bred his Kentucky Derby contender, said he’s hearing from increasing numbers of friends and fans who are excited about the gray colt’s Kentucky Derby bid.

“The toughest question I get asked is ‘How does it feel to have a horse this good?’, and I really can’t answer it,” Hansen said.  “There are just so many feelings and I’m kind of worried – am I taking it in right?  Even (owner) Mike Repole, when he had (2010 juvenile champion) Uncle Mo, said he had a little stress with it.  There’s a little responsibility that comes with trying to do it right.

“Then throw in the fact that the horse is almost white, and it’s almost like he’s blessed and supposed to be special – and I think he knows he’s special.  I’ve got to stand by the way and push him in the right direction and get people exposed to him so they can have fun.  It’s kind of a romantic thing to be engaged with a horse, to see a Thoroughbred.  I hope we can bring some new fans to the great sport of horse racing and I think he’s going to be part of it.”

Hansen (the owner), who wore a blue T-shirt emblazoned with a white silhouette of his horse and the words “The Great White Hope,” wants to share his experience with fans who have become enchanted with Hansen (the horse).

“I don’t really feel like he’s my horse,” he said.  “He’s the people’s horse. I’m just kind of a caretaker.”

Hansen, who was crowned as the champion 2-year-old in the United States after his victory in last fall’s Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) at Churchill Downs, has won four of five races, with a runner-up finish to Algorithms in the Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park being the only setback in his young career.  Hansen – the horse - has earned $1,473,305 in those races.

 

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Rushaway Stakes runner-up Gung Ho, also trained by Maker, fired the five-furlong “bullet” at Trackside when he worked in :59.  Other Maker-trained workers at the distance included 2010 Toyota Blue Grass winner Stately Victor(1:01), 2011 Toyota Blue Grass runner-up Twinspired (1:02.80) and 2010 Lane’s End (GII) winner Dean’s Kitten (1:01.60).  La Gran Bailadora finished her five-furlong work in 1:04.20.

 

The work tab over a “fast” track at Churchill Downs was highlighted by a blistering move by Gulfstream Park Handicap (GII) winner Mucho Macho Man.  Trainer Kathy Ritvo’s third-place finisher to Animal Kingdom in the 2011 Kentucky Derby covered the distance in :46.30, the fastest of 25 moves at the distance.

Mucho Man Man is expected to run next in the $300,000-added Alysheba Presented by Besilu Stables (GII) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day, May 4.

Other Churchill Downs workers included Humana Distaff (GI) and Princess Rooney (GI) winner Sassy Image, who breezed five furlongs in :58, the fastest of 34 moves at the distance; Honey Fox (GII) and 2009 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Tapitsfly, who covered five furlongs in :48.80; and Iroquois (GIII) runner-up Seven Lively Sins, who breezed four furlongs in :46.80, the day’s second-best move at the distance.

Reigning American 2-year-old champion Hansen tuned up for a planned run in Keeneland’s Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) on April 14 with a strong five-furlong work in :59.80 on Saturday at Churchill Downs’ Trackside training center.

The Toyota Blue Grass will be the colt’s final prep for the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 5.

Dr. Kendall Hansen and Sky Chai Racing’s 3-year-old son of Tapit had Joel Barrientos in the saddle as he zipped over the “fast” six-furlong training surface in fractional times of :12.20, :23.80, :35.80 and :47.40 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.60.

Hansen had turned in a couple of relatively easy works since he returned to trainer Mike Maker’s base at Trackside after spending most of the winter in Florida, but his trainer was looking for something more in Saturday’s move.

“We let him pick it up a little bit,” Maker said.  “He’s doing good.  He is not stressed at all.  It was a pretty solid work and he had a nice gallop-out.”

Hansen’s move was the second-fastest of 10 Trackside works at the distance.  His Maker-trained stablemate Lotta Lovin, a 3-year-old filly owned by William J. Butler, fired the “bullet” work at the distance at :59.20.

Hansen scored an emphatic three-length victory in his most recent start on March 3 in the 1 1/16-mile Gotham Stakes (GIII) at Aqueduct.  He has a career record of 4-1-0 in five races and earnings of $1,473,305.  His only setback was a runner-up finish to Algorithms in the Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 29.

 

Reigning 2-year-old champion Hansen continued his preparations for the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) with an easy five-furlong work on Saturday at Churchill Downs’ Trackside Training Center.

Exercise rider Joel Barrientos was in the saddle for trainer Mike Maker as the gray son of Tapit covered the distance in 1:01.20 over a track that was rated “fast” despite heavy rains dumped on the surface by overnight storms that rolled through Louisville.  Hansen worked with Maker’s second set after the break for track maintenance, and stepped on the six-furlong training surface just before 9 a.m. (Eastern).

Maker said Dr. Kendall Hansen and Sky Chai Racing’s gray son of Tapit would make his final Kentucky Derby prep in either the Wood Memorial (GI) at Aqueduct on April 7  or the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland on April 14.  He said a final decision on which race would be Hansen’s final Kentucky Derby prep early next week.

Hansen worked in fractional times of :12.20, :24.20, :36.60 and :48.80 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.80.  The move was the slowest of six works at the distance during the morning at Trackside

Barrientos barely moved in the saddle during the work as Hansen relaxed in the early part of the move and closed well in the run to the finish.

"He’s just fit and happy,” Maker said.  “We’re just trying to more or less keep him relaxed.”

The work earned Hansen a trip to Trackside’s sand pen, where he spent several minutes rolling and playing in the damp sand while he cooled out following his training move.

Hansen is coming off an impressive three-length victory in the $400,000 Gotham (GIII) at Aqueduct that improved his career record to 4-1-0 in five races with earnings of $1,473,305.