Dunkirk

Early arrivals to Churchill Downs on Saturday will receive a free button to commemorate Mine That Bird’s victory in Kentucky Derby 135 (while supplies last) as the 3-year-old gelding attempts to land two-thirds of horse racing’s Triple Crown in the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes.

Churchill Downs will open admission gates just before 11:30 a.m. (all times Eastern Daylight Time) on Saturday with the first of 11 live races scheduled for 12:45 p.m. The simulcast of Belmont Park’s 13-race card will begin at 11:35 a.m., with the $1 million Belmont (Grade I) scheduled as Race 11 at approximately 6:27 p.m.

The Belmont Stakes simulcast will follow Race 11 at Churchill Downs (6:02 p.m.) and will be prominently shown on television monitors throughout the facility, including the infield and paddock JumboTrons.

Mine That Bird, trained by Chip Woolley, drew post No. 7 and was made the 2-1 favorite in the field of 10 three-year-olds. The 1 ½-mile “Test of a Champion” also attracted Peter Pan victor Charitable Man and Florida Derby runner-up Dunkirk.

Churchill Downs’ popular jockey Calvin Borel is in position to make history in the Belmont. No jockey has swept the Triple Crown in the same year on more than one horse. The 42-year-old Cajun guided Mine That Bird to his upset Derby victory then hopped aboard the fleet-footed Kentucky Oaks heroine Rachel Alexandra for her triumph in the Preakness Stakes. Borel will be back aboard Mine That Bird in the Belmont after the filly was declared from the race last Friday.

Saturday’s Belmont Park wagering menu is enticing. There are six graded stakes races, including four Grade I events, and there’ll be a $1 million guaranteed all-stakes Pick 6 pool on Races 6-11 and a $1 million guaranteed all-stakes Pick 4 pool on Races 8-11. Also, 10-cent Superfectas on all races that qualify will be available.

In conjunction with the Belmont Stakes simulcast, Churchill Downs has secured the Upshaw Briggs Band to entertain patrons with jazz music between live races from 12-4 p.m. in the paddock area. Additionally, there will be an entertaining Early Times Kentucky Whisky mascot race on the Matt Winn Turf Course immediately after Race 4, which is scheduled for 2:16 p.m. ET.

The “Belmont Breeze” specialty drink in a Belmont Stakes collectable glass will be sold by Levy Restaurants at select locations throughout the facility. The Belmont Breeze is the official drink of the Belmont Stakes and will feature 1 ½ ounces of Woodford Reserve bourbon, 2 ounces of Lemonade and 1 ounce of Pomegranate liquor. Before it’s served, the drink is shaken with ice, strained into a rocks glass with ice and garnished with a squeeze of a lemon wedge.

Early on-track arrivals will be treated to racing analyst Jill Byrne’s “Get in the Game” Handicapping Seminar, which begins at noon in the paddock area. The half-hour session – free with general admission – will feature informative and in-depth analysis of races and other handicapping. This week’s special guest is Tom Amoss, one of only 10 trainers to have won 300 races at Churchill Downs.

Saturday’s 11-race live program at Churchill Downs is topped by an outstanding renewal of the $100,000-added Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (GIII). The 33rd running of the 1 1/16-mile turf race landed a field of seven fillies and mares, including four graded stakes winners headed by Grade I-winning millionaire Pure Clan, who’ll make her 4-year-old debut.

In addition to the live racing and ancillary Belmont Stakes activities, there’ll be plenty of fun and excitement for the entire family. Scavenger hunts for children aged 3-10 highlight this weekend’s ledger at Churchill Downs’ Junior Jockey Club located near the Guest Services Booth inside Gate. 10. The Junior Jockey Club is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Churchill Downs’ mascot Churchill Charlie will be on hand for photographs between 2-2:30 p.m. Coloring books, crayons, individual games and reading material are available as well.

Those who can’t make it to Churchill Downs on Saturday can place an advance wager on Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at the track all day on Friday. Also, a unique wager offered on Friday by the New York Racing Association is the Brooklyn/Belmont Double that links two 1 ½-mile marathon events: Friday’s Grade II, $200,000 Brooklyn Handicap for older horses (Belmont Park Race 10 at 5:49 p.m. ET) and Saturday’s Belmont.

Friday patrons for the special 2:45 p.m. twilight racing program can take advantage of the popular “Dress to Impress” Friday Happy Hours promotion. Between 4-7 p.m., there’ll be live music by Songs for Tuesday and discounted food and beverages such as $2 Budweiser Select, $2 hot dogs and $3 margaritas and $3 daiquiris. Also, one female in the crowd will be chosen as “best dressed” and win a $250 gift certificate to Luna Boutique, which is located in the Highlands area of Louisville.

Immediately following Friday’s sixth race at 5:22 p.m., Churchill Downs will host the annual YMCA Safe Place Turf Classic. Approximately 20 Louisville firefighters and corporate representatives each sponsored by a local corporation will run seven furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course to benefit YMCA Safe Place Services, which provides a variety of caring programs and round-the-clock assistance for teens and families in crisis. More than 500 guests are expected in Churchill Downs’ Triple Crown Room and additional proceeds will be raised through live and silent auctions.

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Catch the latest and final updates on your Derby favorites, one day in advance of Kentucky Derby 135!

ADVICE / DUNKIRK / JOIN IN THE DANCE – The trio of Todd Pletcher horses was out and done with their leg stretching prior to 7 a.m. (all times EDT) Friday, each galloping approximately a mile and three eighths around the “sloppy” Churchill Downs oval that had been pelted with some fairly serious overnight rains.

Advice, the last of the barn’s Derby contenders came off the strip just prior to 7 with Pletcher looking on near the six-furlong gap.

“If it is ‘fast’ or ‘sloppy’ tomorrow for the race, I think we’ll be fine,” Pletcher said. “Dunkirk went over this ‘slop’ a little earlier and he handled it well. He was good with it. But I don’t think we’ll want to see a ‘good’ or ‘muddy’ track. That won’t help my horses. We’ll hope we don’t have to deal with that.”

The third Pletcher runner, Join in the Dance, made his first racing appearance at Churchill Downs on May 14 last year on a “sloppy” racing surface and finished second in a straight maiden race. He also ran on a “sloppy” track at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on Sept. 27 in the NATC Futurity, showing early speed, but finishing fourth.

Advice will be ridden by Rene Douglas on Saturday and break from post four. Dunkirk was assigned post 15 and will be handled by Edgar Prado. And Join in the Dance will have Chris DeCarlo up as they leave from post nine.

ATOMIC RAIN / WEST SIDE BERNIE – Trainer Kelly Breen waited until daylight hit the Downs to get West Side Bernie and Atomic Rain out on the track Friday morning.

“The track was sloppy, and I wanted to wait until there was enough light to see well before I took them out,” Breen said.

West Side Bernie went out at 7 a.m., and Atomic Rain was on the track by 7:30. Both colts jogged one mile with Breen aboard. They were ponied to the track by George Hall, who owns the horses with his wife, Lori.

The 6-year-old pony Hall was aboard is a story of his own. He is a Thoroughbred named Fagan’s Legacy and won the Grade III Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont as a 3-year-old. He’s named in honor of Hall’s grandfather, Larry Fagan.

“My grandfather took my brother John and me to the track at Belmont and Aqueduct when we were kids,” Hall said. “He’s the one that got us interested in racing.”

Hall ponied one of his horses to the track for a race Thursday, but says he has no plans to repeat that in the Kentucky Derby.

“I thought about it,” he said, “but the Derby is too big a race. I might get too nervous. Plus, I’m looking forward to the walk over there with family and friends.

“It was fun and exciting yesterday, and I’m glad I did it,” Hall said. “The pony, being a racehorse, got excited about it, too. He got to the top of the stretch and I think he was expecting to go to the gate.”

Breen, who has been smiling most of the week as he approaches his first Kentucky Derby, was coming back to the barn aboard West Side Bernie when he saw Michael Matz on the path.

“Got any pointers for me?” Breen said to Matz.

Barbaro’s trainer just smiled and said, “You’ll be fine.”

CHOCOLATE CANDY – The bay son of Candy Ride was out for some 7 a.m. exercise Friday at Churchill Downs, moving over a racing strip called “sloppy” after some heavy overnight rains.

Exercise rider Lindsey Molina led Chocolate Candy through a drill similar to the one he’d gone through the day before – a short stand in the starting gate and a good gallop of about a mile and five-eighths.

“He’s never run on an ‘off’ track,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said back at Barn 42, “but he’s handled it well the couple of times he’s been on one here this week. This morning when he came around the second time on his gallop he was going even better than the first. Once he got a feel for the track he liked it even more. If it comes up ‘off’ tomorrow, I think we’re going to be OK.”

Mike Smith will handle Chocolate Candy for the first time Saturday and they’ll leave from post 11. This will be the colt’s fourth race of 2009 and his fourth Derby. He started the year back on Jan. 17 by winning the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields in the Bay Area, then came back at that track on Feb. 14 to capture the El Camino Real Derby (Grade III). His most recent outing was a second-place finish (behind Pioneerof the Nile) in the Santa Anita Derby (Grade I) April 4.

DESERT PARTY / REGAL RANSOM – Trainer Saeed bin Suroor sent his Godolphin runners, Desert Party and Regal Ransom, out Friday morning to gallop a mile and three-eighths.

“They’re looking good,” bin Suroor said. “Happy. Fresh. Sound. Healthy. No problem at all. Now the job is done and we’re looking forward to tomorrow. We’re happy with them.”

Bin Suroor is optimistic his colts won’t be affected adversely by running over what is likely to be a wet track in the Derby.

“I think Desert Party will handle it. He’s won on it before,” bin Suroor said. “All week, Regal Ransom has handled the ground good, but in the race it could be different. It’s hard to say.”

Desert Party won the Sanford Stakes (Grade II) at Saratoga Race Course last summer over a track rated as “muddy.”

Bin Suroor said he thinks Godolphin has the right horses prepared properly, with three races in Dubai, for the Derby.

“There is no excuse for them,” he said. “If they are good enough, they are going to win.”

FLYING PRIVATE – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent Flying Private to the track for a routine gallop with Taylor Carty up Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

The Hall of Fame trainer, who has saddled four Kentucky Derby winners, has always had an astute eye for the competition during Derby Week.

“Desert Party appeals to me in this race. They have quality horses, and that horse looks excellent to me. I think he’s going to be a factor,” Lukas said. “I like (Bob) Baffert’s horse (Pioneerof the Nile). I think he’s adjusted (to the dirt surface). I wasn’t an I Want Revenge fan earlier in the week, but he’s starting to come around, too.”

Lukas views handicapping Derby 135 as a particularly tough endeavor.

“The only thing that’s confusing about it are those horses coming from different areas with synthetic surfaces,” he said. “It’s hard to evaluate how good they are. Some of them could adapt to this beautifully and others bomb, so it makes it a nightmare to handicap. There could be a 50 or 60 dollar payoff pretty easy.”

Robby Albarado will ride Flying Private, whom Lukas has compared favorably to two of his Derby winners: Grindstone (1996) and Charismatic (1999).

FRIESAN FIRE – Louisiana Derby (Grade II) winner Friesan Fire visited the paddock and galloped five-eighths of a mile with trainer Larry Jones in the saddle.

“We just wanted to keep his legs fresh,” Jones said. “I let him go to the paddock and look around and he was much more relaxed in there than the other day when he went to the gate.”

Owned by Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farms, Friesan Fire enters Kentucky Derby 135 on a three-race win streak. Listed at 5-1 on the morning line, Friesan Fire will be ridden by Gabriel Saez and break from post position six.

Jones, who saddled Hard Spun and Eight Belles to runner-up finishes in the past two Derbys, was asked about his confidence level with Friesan Fire.

“There is no way you can get too confident, because it is a horse race,” Jones said.

“He is coming into the race as good, if not better, than the last two. We have had no issues with him at all. Some others were battling quarter cracks and some other things, but everything has fallen perfectly in place for him.”

Jones, who plans to retire from training after this year’s Breeders’ Cup, was asked if he could pen the perfect script for Derby 135, how it would read.

“That’s easy. We win,” Jones said with a laugh. “We win in Baltimore and then Belmont. What a way to go out!”

GENERAL QUARTERS – The eyes of Louisville will be on local owner/trainer Tom McCarthy as he saddles Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) winner General Quarters in Saturday’s Derby 135. But don’t look for McCarthy to be hobknobbing in the grandstand.

“I’ll be sitting right there in that tack room and be with my horse all day,” McCarthy said. “I don’t get into all that other stuff. We’re here to do a job, and he’s the only one I really need to be with on Derby Day. I’m letting my son handle all the tickets and people and such.”

General Quarters galloped 1 ½ miles Friday morning under exercise rider Julie Sheets, and McCarthy loved what he saw on the sloppy track.

“Oh, boy, I think I’m hoping for rain now to be honest,” he said. “He just skipped over the mud and loved it.”

HOLD ME BACK – WinStar Farm’s vice president and racing manager Elliott Walden checked on WinStar’s three Derby starters, Hold Me Back, Mr. Hot Stuff and Advice on Friday morning.

Hold Me Back, handled by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, galloped a mile and a half. The Lane’s End (Grade II) winner and Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) runner-up will start from post five, while Lexington winner Advice is in post four and Mr. Hot Stuff, third in the Santa Anita Derby (Grade I), is in post three.

Walden acknowledged that is quite an accomplishment to get three horses into the Derby field.

“All three are coming off very good races, so you feel good about that,” Walden said. “Hold Me Back is a horse that has developed very quickly with the last two races and he seems to be doing very well.

“Mr. Hot Stuff is a horse that is a little further behind, as far as his development is concerned. He’s only won one race, but we feel that the X factor is that he’ll love the mile and a quarter. He’s galloped out his races extremely well and he is progressing physically and mentally. He’s a little bit slower to come to the party than his full brother Colonel John, who had more of a 2-year-old career. We’re excited about how he’s coming in and we hope we’re right, but we’re guessing a little bit on that. Advice ran a big race and he’s worked great over the dirt, so we felt like he deserved a chance, too.”

Since all three colts have an off-the-pace running style, Walden said that WinStar officials were happy to see the speedy Join in the Dance, trained by Todd Pletcher, get a spot in the field this week.

“We had Advice sitting on the fence to run and a lot of that was because of the fact that he came to it late by winning the Lexington, but we also wanted the speed in the race from Todd’s horse.

“When Todd’s horse got in by another defection, that’s when we decided to run Advice. We probably wouldn’t have run Advice if he was 20 (on the earnings list) and  Join in the Dance was 21. We would have let him run because of the speed. We do need speed for all three horses. So we would have probably held Advice back.”

I WANT REVENGE – The Wood Memorial (Grade I) winner galloped a mile and jogged a mile under excise rider Joe Deegan on Friday morning at Churchill Downs. Trainer Jeff Mullins expressed satisfaction with I Want Revenge’s preparation for his start in Kentucky Derby 135.

“The only thing I could ask for is better weather and a fast racetrack,” the Southern California-based trainer said.

I Want Revenge will enter the Derby coming off an impressive victory in the Wood Memorial, in which he overcame a very late start and severe traffic in the stretch under jockey Joe Talamo.

Although Talamo will be riding in his first Derby, Mullins said that the 19-year-old jockey will be on his own without any instructions on how to get to the finish line first.

“I haven’t given him any yet, so I don’t think I’m going to start now,” Mullins said. “I could have given him all the instructions in the world for the Wood and look what happened.”

MINE THAT BIRD – While Tom McCarthy might be the most hands-on owner in this year’s Kentucky Derby with General Quarters, Mine That Bird co-owner Mark Allen isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, either. The rancher and owner of Double Eagle Farm doubled as groom Friday morning, giving his pint-sized Kentucky Derby contender a sponge bath.

Allen and trainer Chip Woolley go back more than two decades and are making their first appearance on Thoroughbred racing’s biggest stage. Mine That Bird galloped 1 ½ miles Friday morning and impressed Allen with how he responded to the conditions.

“He handled the track really, really well,” Allen said. “Chip could not have this horse doing any better.”

Both Allen and Woolley have worked extensively with Quarter Horses over the years in New Mexico, and Allen said he has big dreams in 2009 for both breeds.

“How amazing would it be to have a horse in the Kentucky Derby and the All American Futurity in the same year?” he asked. “I’d call that a perfect year. That’s what we’re hoping for. We have four or five really quality 2-year-old Quarter Horses that we’re aiming for at Ruidoso.”

MR. HOT STUFF – WinStar Farm’s Mr. Hot Stuff went trackside at 6:45 Friday morning and galloped a mile over a “sloppy” racetrack.

“A mile was enough,” trainer Eoin Harty said. “I didn’t want to chance any more.”

The transplanted Irishman was asked how he thought his Kentucky-bred son of Tiznow might handle a possible “wet” surface in Kentucky Derby 135 on Saturday.

“Haven’t a clue,” the conditioner said. “He’s never been on one, but I guess there’s a fair chance we might find out.”

Harty was asked if Mr. Hot Stuff’s full brother – Colonel John, whom he trained and saddled to run sixth in last year’s Derby – had any history of “off” track performance.

“No help there,” he said. “Don’t believe he was ever on a wet track.”

Wet or fast, Mr. Hot Stuff will break from post three Saturday at 6:24 p.m. with John Velazquez doing the steering.

“We’re ready for it now,” Harty said. “We’re as ready as we can be.”

MUSKET MAN – Trainer Derek Ryan had Musket Man out early Friday morning for a one-mile gallop around the sloppy Churchill Downs oval.

After that, the colt by Yonaguska calmly munched grass behind Barn 41, looking the picture of a happy, healthy horse.

“He’s doing great,” Ryan said as he prepares for his first Kentucky Derby. “I’m doing OK, too. It’s like all the other races – if you win, you celebrate; if you lose, you go home. Except this is the big one, so that makes it different.”

Ryan has been able to celebrate five times in Musket Man’s six-race career. The colt has lost only once, and comes into the Derby off consecutive victories in the Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) and Illinois Derby (Grade II). Eric Fein and Vic Carlson own Musket Man, a $15,000 yearling purchase who already has earned $572,600.

NOWHERE TO HIDE – My Meadowview Farm’s Illinois Derby (Grade II) fourth-place finisher walked the shedrow under tack Friday morning, one day after blowing out a quarter-mile in :25.20 for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito.

“Everything’s good and he’s ready,” Zito said.

The two-time Derby-winning trainer is among a trio of multiple Derby winners in this year’s cast, joining four-time winner D. Wayne Lukas and three-time winner Bob Baffert. But recent history indicates those three may not have an edge as six of the past seven Derby winners have been trained by conditioners making their debut in the Run for the Roses.

What does Zito make of the recent trend?

“It’s terrific and great for the game, are you kidding me?” he responded. “It shows you how great this race is, and how hard it is to win and also how many people are trying to come here and win it.

“Everybody wants to win this race from the moment they look at a horse in a yearling sale. That wasn’t always the case. When I bought Go for Gin for $150,000 in 1992, it wasn’t with one race in mind like buyers are aiming for today. Things have changed. Almost everyone today is looking for a Triple Crown or Breeders’ Cup winner, and that’s about it. As a trainer, you know what they want and that’s what you aim for.”

PAPA CLEM – With his pre-Derby work completed Thursday after a three-furlong blowout in :34 flat, the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) winner walked the shedrow Friday morning and was feisty as trainer Gary Stute met him afterward in his stall. Papa Clem took a nip at his trainer, eliciting some laughter and the declaration, “I think that means he’s ready.”

Stute will stick to his plan and walk Papa Clem on Derby morning as well. The trainer reported that Papa Clem’s legs were “ice cold” after the final breeze and that “he has not missed an oat this week, according to my barn foreman.”

Saturday’s famed Kentucky Derby walkover will be an exciting time, Stute said, as he makes the long journey from the stable area to the paddock with Papa Clem. He joked Friday morning that he hopes it goes better than the first time he made the trek in 1980 with his father, Mel.

“When my dad ran Bold n’ Rulling, I wanted to walk over with the horse,” he recalled. “But as I leaned to duck under the rail to go on the track, my pants split right down the seam! I had to run back to the barn and duct-tape them together. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen Saturday on national TV.”

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Trainer Bob Baffert said Friday morning he has tried to prepare Pioneerof the Nile mentally and physically for the grind of running three times in five weeks in the Triple Crown series of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

“He’s filled out. He’s carrying a lot of flesh,” Baffert said. “I’ve worked on his mind pretty well. He’s the kind of horse that is going to be able to handle the three races. I sort of brought him in here good enough to do this one but still have him for the next one. I didn’t want to do too much here. I wanted to do enough to get him to win this one so he can go to the next one. I’m still trying to win that damn Triple Crown.”

Pioneerof the  Nile has won all four of his starts since being moved to Baffert’s care late last year. The Empire Maker colt, to be ridden by Garrett Gomez, galloped a mile and a half Friday morning.

“He looks good. He had a good day,” Baffert said. “Everyday has been a good day for him. You need that.”

Pioneerof the Nile pulled Gomez to the lead early in what turned into a victory in the Santa Anita Derby (Grade I). The colt will be making his first start on dirt and Baffert chose post 16 in the starting gate in hopes that it will reduce the amount of dirt Pioneerof the Nile has kicked in his face. The key, he said, is for Gomez to get the colt to relax early.

“He didn’t want to settle the last time,” Baffert said. “That’s why I didn’t take a chance of putting him on the inside, especially with the wet. If it’s wet and he’s down on the inside and that mud starts hitting him, sometimes it can get to them.”

SUMMER BIRD – Trainer Tim Ice had Summer Bird out very early Friday morning, and the Birdstone colt jogged two miles over the sloppy track with jockey Chris Rosier aboard.

“It was dark, I didn’t even see him out there,” Ice said. “But I wanted to get out early and get him back to his stall today. Chris told me he went good out there, which is what I wanted to hear.”

Ice, who went out on his own as a trainer less than a year ago, has been the picture of placidity this week as he saddles his first Kentucky Derby starter.

“I’m trying to do everything like I normally do,” Ice said. “I’m not approaching this like it’s the world’s greatest race – which it is, of course – but I’m trying to stay calm and just go through my routine. It’ll probably all hit me Saturday.

“Chris and I were talking about that the other day,” Ice said. “Chris said that he’s ridden with all those jocks, so he has that experience to go with. Of course, when they play ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ that’s when the butterflies will really start. If you don’t get butterflies in your stomach at that point, you probably shouldn’t be here.”

David Lanzman, IEAH Stables & Puglisi Racing’s I Want Revenge, a dazzling winner of Aqueduct’s Wood Memorial (Grade I) and Gotham (GIII) since his move from synthetic racetracks to traditional dirt, was installed as a solid 3-1 favorite when he faces 19 rivals in Saturday’s 135th renewal of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) on Saturday at historic Churchill Downs.

    The 3-year-old son of Stephen Got Even could give IEAH Stables its second consecutive victory in America’s greatest race, following a dominant performance in last year’s Derby by the then-unbeaten Big Brown.  A victory by I Want Revenge would provide California-based trainer Jeff Mullins with his first Kentucky Derby victory in five tries, and give 19-year-old jockey Joe Talamo a victory in the famed “Run for the Roses” in his first attempt.  The Louisiana native would be the youngest jockey to win the Derby since Kentucky-born racing legend Steve Cauthen, then 18, won the 1978 Derby and swept the Triple Crown with Affirmed in 1978.

    But to win the 1 ¼-mile classic I Want Revenge will have to turn back an accomplished and consistent group of rivals headed by Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile, whose four-race winning streak includes a victory in the Santa Anita Derby (GI); Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s Dunkirk, a $3.7 million yearling sale purchase who was runner-up in the Florida Derby (GI); Friesan Fire, a son of A.P. Indy whose three consecutive victories include a 7 ¼-length romp in the Louisiana Derby (GII); Papa Clem, winner of the $1 million Arkansas Derby (GII); Godolphin’s Dubai-based stars Regal Ransom and Desert Party, the 1-2 finishers in the $2 million UAE Derby; and Toyota Blue Grass (GI) winner General Quarters, the sole runner in the one-horse stable of former Louisville, Ky. educator Tom McCarthy, who claimed his horse for $20,000 a year ago and now stands on the verge of a triumph of America’s most important race and one of the most unlikely victories in the history of the great race.

    The Kentucky Derby again used its unique process of establishing post positions for the 20 horses in which the connections of each horse selected their preferred slot in the starting gate after a blind draw was conducted to establish selection order.  I Want Revenge ended up with the 10th spot in selection order, and co-owner David Lanzman chose post 13 for the colt.

       “We wanted the 14, but they took it right in front of us,” Lanzman said.  “We just wanted to avoid a disaster. We didn’t want (post position) one, two, three, four and we didn’t want 17, 18, 19, 20. So, we couldn’t be happier.”

    Churchll Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia installed Dunkirk and Pioneerof the Nile, who ended up alongside each other in posts 15 and 16 in the auxiliary starting gate, as the 4-1 co-second choices.  Dunkirk, one of three Derby entrants trained by Todd Pletcher, will bid to give his four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer his first victory in the Kentucky Derby.  A win by Pioneerof the Nile would be Baffert’s fourth, but his first since War Emblem in 2002.

    Edgar Prado, who won the 2006 Derby aboard Barbaro, will ride Dunkirk.  Garrett Gomez, last year’s Eclipse winner as America’s top rider, will seek his first Derby victory aboard Baffert’s colt.

    Vinery and Fox Hill’s Farm’s Friesan Fire is the fourth choice in the morning line at 5-1.  Trainer Larry Jones has saddled the last two runners-up in the Kentucky Derby in Fox Hill’s Hard Spun, second to Street Sense in 2007, and the filly Eight Belles, last year’s ill-fated second-place finisher.  

    Lane’s End Stakes (GII) winner Hold Me Back will carry the hopes of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs who is winless in the track’s biggest race, and WinStar Farm, which also owns Derby contenders Advice, the Pletcher-trained winner of Keeneland’s Coolmore Lexington (GII), and Mr. Hot Stuff, third in the Santa Anita Derby (GI) for trainer Eoin Harty.  If all three horses run on Saturday, WinStar would become the first owner to start three horses in a Kentucky Derby since Maine Chance Farm sent out Lord Boswell, Knockdown and Perfect Bahram to finish fourth, fifth and ninth, respectively, behind eventual Triple Crown winner Assault in the 1946 Kentucky Derby.

    A sentimental choice for many Kentucky Derby fans will be General Quarters, who emerged over the winter and spring as a contender for owner-trainer Tom McCarthy with victories in the Sam F. Davis (GIII) at Tampa Bay Downs and his recent upset in the Toyota Blue Grass.  Julien Leparoux, coming off a record-smashing Fall Meet riding title at Churchill Downs, will have the mount aboard General Quarters, a son of Sky Mesa that McCarthy claimed for $20,000 out of a maiden race at Churchill Downs nearly a year ago.

    General Quarters is the only horse currently in training for the 75-year-old McCarthy, a retired teacher and a principal at three Louisville area high schools.  A victory by the sole member of McCarthy’s stable would make him the first person to own and train a Kentucky Derby winner since owner-trainer-breeder T.P. Hayes saddled 91-1 shot Donerail for his surprise win in the 1913 Derby.

    If all 20 horses start, the purse for the Kentucky Derby will be $$2,202,200 and the winner’s share will be $1,442,200.    

Post time for the 135th Kentucky Derby is set for 6:24 p.m. (all times EDT) on Saturday.  The race will be televised nationally by NBC Sports from 5-7 p.m.   

The following quotes and comments were collected by the Churchill Downs Notes Team following the draw for post positions for the 135th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), to be run on Saturday, May 2.

ADVICE (Selection No. 13, Post position No. 4, morning line 30-1)
DUNKIRK (Selection No. 6, Post position No. 15, morning line 4-1)
JOIN IN THE DANCE (Selection No. 1, Post position No. 9 morning line 50-1)

Trainer Todd Pletcher on Dunkirk
“We talked about it this morning and our first choice was 15. So we got what we wanted. I was a little hesitant about going in next to Pioneerof the Nile (who picked fifth and selected No. 16) because I know he doesn’t always come out of there the right way. But 15 is a good spot. You’ve got some room there (it is the first opening in the auxiliary gate with space to the inside) and being outside you can fall into a good spot. We’re happy with it.”

On Join in the Dance
“Well, we thought about it a lot – sort of. Then when you know that Rashard’s jersey number is 9, you’ll know why we picked it.” (Rashard Lewis, a 10-year veteran of the NBA who currently plays for the Orlando Magic, wears No. 9 on his basketball jersey. He is one of the horse’s three owners along with Jake Ballis and Reagan Swinbank.)

Elliott Walden, vice president and racing manager of WinStar Farm, on Advice
“We like it. It’ll be fine. We like the selections for all our horses.” (The other two WinStar horses drew on either side of Advice – Mr. Hot Stuff in No. 3 and Hold Me Back in No. 5.)

ATOMIC RAIN (Selection No. 9, Post position No. 14, morning line 50-1)
WEST SIDE BERNIE (Selection No. 20, Post position No. 1, morning line 30-1)

Trainer Kelly Breen on Atomic Rain
“It’s a good post for him, just outside the speed. It should be OK.”

On West Side Bernie
“It is what it is. I’ll get together with Stew (jockey Stewart Elliott) and we may have to change our tactics.”

CHOCOLATE CANDY (Selection No. 3, Post position No. 11, morning line 20-1)

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer
“It’s good; good. I would rather have had the 10, but 11 is the next best thing. We’re happy.”

DESERT PARTY (Selection No. 17, Post position No. 19, morning line 15-1)
REGAL RANSOM (Selection No. 2, Post position No. 10, morning line 30-1)

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor on Regal Ransom
“That’s a good draw. The horse always shows a good turn of foot. He can take a good position early in the race. It depends how fast they go, but if he sits close behind the lead I’ll be really happy.

On Desert Party
“He’s been more calm and relaxed in his races. If he can take a nice position, I’d be happy with that. I’m happy with the draw.”

FLYING PRIVATE (Selection No. 19, Post position No. 20, morning line 50-1)

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas
“I went outside. There are four or five horses inside of me that aren’t speed horses. I feel like we’ll be able to get a better position. In reality, probably 100 yards out of the gate, we’ll probably be in the 14 or 15 post. I don’t think it’s so bad, but I really didn’t have much of a choice.”

FRIESAN FIRE (Selection No. 11, Post position No. 6, morning line 5-1)

Trainer Larry Jones
“I was surprised the six was still left. I thought there would be more speed horses to draw inside. Right now we are in good shape. We had the five last year with Eight Belles and worked out a great trip. He should be laying anywhere from third to fifth early and suck back behind the speed and hopefully get a clear run when the real running starts.”

GENERAL QUARTERS (Selection No. 8, Post position No. 12, morning line 20-1)

Owner-trainer Tom McCarthy
“I was really worried we wouldn’t get in the middle where we wanted to be, but it all worked out. Post 12 ought to be just fine. I’m hoping we’re sitting 3-4-5 going into the first turn right behind the speed horses.”

HOLD ME BACK (Selection No. 12, Post position No.  5, morning line 15-1)

Trainer Bill Mott
“We would have had to go, I think, to 17 or inside.  Who knows? I didn’t want to be in the one, two or three. Sometimes you take a lot of pressure down in there going into the first turn. You can have a good trip from anywhere and a bad trip from anywhere. It’s a little hard to determine until the gate opens. We’re satisfied with the draw.”

I WANT REVENGE (Selection No. 10, Post position No. 13, morning line 3-1)

Trainer Jeff Mullins
“I kind of left it up to the owners to pick. I’m just going to concentrate on getting him ready and getting him there safe. Ideally we wanted most of the speed inside of us. That’s what we tried to do, but there’s maybe one outside of us. But we’re here to play and hope our horse stays healthy and everyone has a nice trip. I haven’t given (jockey Joe Talamo) any instructions so far, so I don’t think I’ll start now.”

David Lanzman, managing partner of I Want Revenge
“We could see where it was going; we could see the direction it was going. We wanted the 14, but they took it right in front of us. We just wanted to avoid a disaster. We didn’t want one, two, three, four and we didn’t want 17, 18, 19, 20. So, we couldn’t be happier.”

MINE THAT BIRD (Selection No. 7, Post position No. 8, morning line 50-1)

Trainer Chip Woolley
“Everything is super. We were hoping for six through nine, and wound up with eight. Where we’re at, he’ll get a chance to settle without being jostled too much on the far inside going into the first turn.”

MR. HOT STUFF (Selection No. 16, Post position No. 3, morning line 30-1)

Trainer Eoin Harty
“It’s good, sure. We’ll save lots of ground.”

MUSKET MAN (Selection No. 18, Post position No. 2, morning line 20-1)

Trainer Derek Ryan
“Well, he broke his maiden going from the two hole, so it should be OK. And anyway, we can’t change it.”

PAPA CLEM (Selection No. 4, Post position No. 7, morning line 20-1)

Trainer Gary Stute
“It went perfect. Lucky No. 7 is what we were hoping for. I was hoping more of the speed would be inside us, but I think it will work out. Then again, if he blows out (three furlongs) in 34-and-change tomorrow morning, I might have wished we put him even farther inside.” Note: Papa Clem will work 3 furlongs Thursday at 6:15 a.m.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (Selection No. 5, Post position No. 16, morning line 4-1)

Trainer Bob Baffert
“It all depended on the draw. When I got the five-draw, I said I’m going to go to 16. If I had had a higher number, I might have gone inside with him. He hasn’t had that dirt experience, so there will be less dirt on the outside than there will be on the inside.”

SUMMER BIRD (Selection No. 14, Post position No. 17, morning line 50-1)

Trainer Tim Ice
“I’m happy with the post. Once he breaks, he should be able to drop over toward the inside and get good position into the turn.”

How are your favorite contenders training up to the first Saturday in May?  Check back daily with the Churchill Downs Notes Team for all the latest.

ADVICE / DUNKIRK / JOIN IN THE DANCE – Trainer Todd Pletcher sent his chief Derby threat Dunkirk through a five-panel drill in company at the training center at Palm Meadows in Florida on Saturday morning – and he was tickled with the outcome.

Clockers gave the Unbridled’s Song colt a final time of 1:01.05 for the drill, while his workmate – the 3-year-old stakes-placed Munnings – was given a time of 1:01.25.

“I was very, very pleased with the work,” Pletcher said. “I caught him (Dunkirk) in splits of :12 4/5, :24 4/5, :36 4/5 and 1:01, and I had him galloping out in 1:14 2/5. He started out about a length and a half or two lengths behind the other horse, then he finished up about a half-length ahead. It was a very good move for him.”

The five-time Eclipse Award winner as the nation’s top trainer said he couldn’t be happier with the way his $3.7 million yearling was coming up to Derby 135.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the way things have gone as he’s come up to this race,” Pletcher said. “Everything has fallen into place. Every one of his works has taken place when we wanted it to and they have all come off the way we hoped. He’s coming up to the race right and we’re feeling very good about him. We couldn’t be happier.”

Pletcher said Dunkirk would ship by air from Florida on Tuesday. Pletcher himself was coming to Louisville late Sunday.

Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade II) winner Advice galloped a mile and three-eighths at Churchill Downs under exercise rider Kevin Willey shortly after the 8:30 renovation break.

Pletcher’s right-hand man, Mike McCarthy, oversaw the exercise out of their Barn 34 headquarters.

Advice, a son of Chapel Royal, is scheduled to have his final blowout toward his possible Derby start on Monday. To this point, no rider has been assigned to the colt, who is owned by WinStar Farm.

Join in the Dance, expected to be a serious forward factor in Derby 135 if he gets to run, continued his training toward next Saturday’s race with a mile and three-eighths gallop under Willey.

Join in the Dance is currently No. 21 on the graded stakes list and would need one of the horses ahead of him to withdraw prior to the taking of entries on Wednesday if he is to get to dance.

CHOCOLATE CANDY – The big bay colt with the mellow disposition came trackside under exercise rider Lindsey Molina Saturday at 7 a.m., but Chocolate Candy wasn’t in any rush. He stepped into the clearing near the six-furlong chute and stopped to look around. He moved forward a few yards and halted to take it all in again. And then he did it once more before walking through the chute and going about his business.

“He’s such a big, easy goin’ fella,” said Galen May, the right-hand man on the scene for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. “Nothing bothers him. That’s why I like him so much.”

Chocolate Candy took a tour of the paddock, then galloped a solid mile and a half, doing it in his low-key style out in the middle of the track.

Hollendorfer, the king of Northern California racing, had a busy day at Golden Gate Fields where he was going to saddle – among others – Our Partner the San Francisco Mile. He was scheduled to travel to Louisville on Sunday.

DESERT PARTY / REGAL RANSOM – With exercise rider Bob Chapman up, the Godolphin duo of Regal Ransom and Desert Party put in their final works for Kentucky Derby 135.

Regal Ransom was first out shortly after the track opened at 6 a.m. Accompanied by a pony, Regal Ransom backtracked to the front side then galloped to the backstretch where he broke off at the five-eighths pole. Churchill Downs clockers caught Regal Ransom in fractions of :12.40, :23.80, :35, :47 and completing the five furlongs in :59.20 for the fastest clocking of 30 at the distance.

Regal Ransom galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.40 and pulled up seven-eighths in 1:27 over a track labeled “fast.”

Desert Party came out without a pony after the renovation break and worked in :59.60, second-fastest of the morning. Fractions for the work were :12.60, :24.60, :36.40 and :48.20 with a six-furlong out time of 1:12.40 and up seven-eighths in 1:25.80.

Chapman, who has been wearing a finger watch for 10 years when working horses, had Desert Party covering the final quarter mile in :22.91.

“They both worked nicely this morning,” trainer Saeed bin Suroor said. “They are really in good form here and that is a good sign. They will walk tomorrow, jog Monday and then gallop up to the race. They both may go to the gate and paddock one time next week.

“Regal Ransom goes out with a pony because he is always keen in the morning. Desert Party is a more laid back and relaxed and always easy to train.”

The works were the second for each at Churchill Downs. Regal Ransom worked five furlongs in :59.80 and Desert Party 1:00.20 last Saturday.

Desert Party and Regal Ransom will represent the sixth and seven Kentucky Derby starters for Godolphin. They had three starts in Dubai before shipping to Churchill Downs and only one of the stable’s previous starters had had more: Curule, who had four starts in Dubai in 2000 before running seventh here.

“They are fit and ready to go,” bin Suroor said in explaining why this year may be different than in previous Derby attempts. “There will be no excuses for our horses.”

Alan Garcia will have the Derby riding assignment on Regal Ransom and Ramon Dominguez is on Desert Party.
    
FLAT OUT – Oxbow Racing's Flat Out was taken to Lexington's Hagyard-Davis Equine Clinic on Friday afternoon and underwent a precautionary scan Saturday morning.

“He's fit and there is no problem,” trainer Charles “Scooter” Dickey said. He said the owners just wanted the scan as a precaution to make sure the heel bruise he suffered in the Southwest Stakes on Feb. 16 is not redeveloping.

Flat Out is scheduled to return to Churchill Downs early Sunday morning in hopes of making it on the track before training hours are over.

He is currently 22nd on the graded earnings list and needs a couple of defections in order to make the field for Derby 135.

FLYING PRIVATE – Robert Baker and William Mack's Flying Private galloped under exercise rider Taylor Carty. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Flying Private would likely work Monday or Tuesday depending on weather. Robby Albarado has the Derby riding assignment on Flying Private.

FRIESAN FIRE – Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm’s Friesan Fire made his first appearance on the track at Churchill Downs, galloping a mile and a half under trainer Larry Jones after the renovation break.

“Everything is good here,” Jones said. “I like the way he handled his first day here.”

Friesan Fire enters the Kentucky Derby on a three-race win streak, having taken the LeComte (Grade III), Risen Star (Grade III) and Louisiana Derby (Grade II) at Fair Grounds this winter. Friesan Fire had been stabled at Keeneland for a month before shipping to Churchill Downs on Friday afternoon.

Gabriel Saez, who has been aboard for Friesan Fire’s past three victories, has the Derby riding assignment and is scheduled to work Friesan Fire on Monday morning after the renovation break.
Friesan Fire worked three times at Keeneland.

GENERAL QUARTERS – Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) winner General Quarters galloped 1 ½ miles just after 7:30 a.m. Saturday, tugging at exercise rider Julie Sheets. Today’s routine will become ”routine” for the Sky Mesa colt, who had what is expected to be his final Derby 135 workout on Thursday.

Owner-trainer Tom McCarthy said General Quarters will gallop up to the Derby in all likelihood.

General Quarters was calm and composed walking to and from the track, led by hand by McCarthy, a retired Louisville teacher and principal who has become the Derby darling of 2009. On Friday night McCarthy was featured on ABC World News with Charles Gibson as the newscast’s “Person of the Week.”

“The phone has been ringing off the hook in all honesty,” McCarthy said of his recent fame. “Old friends, people I haven’t heard from in years, they’re all calling. It’s great, but it has not changed me. I just go on every day and keep doing what I do. Hope springs eternal. Everybody who trains horses hopes someday to be here. We’re going to enjoy it.”

General Quarters likely will become the most famous one-horse stable in America over the next seven days. But he won’t fly solo for long. McCarthy said he has a 3-year-old filly, Miss Sunshine, ready to come to the track this summer after the Derby hub-bub subsides.

HOLD ME BACK – WinStar Farm’s Hold Me Back went twice around under assistant trainer Kenny McCarthy before the renovation break.

Trainer Bill Mott said the winner of the Lane’s End (Grade II) would work “maybe Sunday; maybe Monday.”

Three-time Kentucky Derby-winning rider Kent Desormeaux will have the riding assignment next Saturday.
Hold Me Back has a record of three wins and a runner-up finish in four starts on synthetic surfaces. In his lone dirt try, Hold Me Back ran fifth in the Grade II Remsen.

“He was a big, tall, light 2-year-old who needed time to fill out,” said Elliott Walden, vice president and racing manager for WinStar. “His Ragozin number in the Remsen was the same he ran at Keeneland (in an allowance win).

“It would be reasonable to question that (his ability on dirt). But I am more confident in him than one would have just by looking at the past performances.”

I WANT REVENGE – Wood Memorial (Grade I) winner I Want Revenge galloped two miles Saturday morning with regular exercise rider Joe Deegan aboard.

Bobby Troeger, assistant to trainer Jeff Mullins, supervised the exercise. He said that Mullins was en route from California and was expected to arrive in Louisville at 7 p.m. Saturday.

I Want Revenge, a Stephen Got Even colt, has been working on Tuesdays the past month, and is expected to have his final Derby breeze this Tuesday. He’s worked twice at Churchill Downs, a 1:01.60 breeze on April 21, and a :50 half-mile on April 14.

MINE THAT BIRD – Last year’s Canadian champion 2-year-old Mine That Bird logged two miles Saturday morning, jogging a quarter-mile before galloping 1 ¾ miles under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.

“He looks like he’s getting over the ground a little better than yesterday and better than the day before,” trainer Chip Woolley said “That’s what we’re hoping to see – him getting better each day until next Saturday.”

The son of Birdstone will breeze five furlongs Monday (approximately 8:50 a.m.) with Calvin Borel in the irons. Woolley said that he never has had Borel aboard one of his horses in a race, but that the rider of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense makes a lot of sense.

“We just weighed our options of riders out there and kept coming back to him,” Woolley said. “I’ve always liked him and thought he’d fit this horse. He’s patient and that’s the trip we’re likely to get if we’re to do any good in the Derby.”

Woolley has spent much of his training career with Quarter Horses, but said the increased chances to run Thoroughbreds in slots-rich New Mexico was part of the reason his stable has branched out in breeds in recent years. Plus, he said, “The Quarter Horse game can be awfully tough. You do everything right; but one bad break, and you’re done. It’s different with Thoroughbred racing. Look at I Want Revenge in the Wood. He stumbled, but still had a chance to run to his ability. In Quarter Horse racing, he would have been done in at the start.”

MR. HOT STUFF – WinStar Farm’s Mr. Hot Stuff, third in a pair of graded stakes at Santa Anita in his most recent starts, will put in his final Kentucky Derby drill Sunday morning at the Los Angeles track.

“He’ll go five eighths with one of our exercise riders up,” said his trainer, Eoin Harty, via phone, from a working trip in Chicago. “We’ll work him tomorrow and he’ll fly out Monday. I’ll be flying to Louisville Sunday afternoon.”

Mr. Hot Stuff, a son of Tiznow, is still missing a jockey for Derby 135 after his regular rider, Corey Nakatani, chose to jump ship and ride Square Eddie.

“We don’t have a rider yet,” Harty said, “but we’ve got lots of time to get one. We will. You can be sure of that."

MUSKET MAN – The Yonaguska colt Musket Man had his final Kentucky Derby breeze Saturday morning, and the move was a little more exciting than trainer Derek Ryan would have liked.

“A horse crossed in front of him when he broke off,” Ryan said, “and that got him a little excited. Then, near the eighth pole, some guy going the wrong way of the track ducked over toward the rail. A little excitement, but no big deal. Nothing happened.”

With Derby jockey Eibar Coa aboard, Musket Man broke off at the 5 ½-furlong pole and breezed straight through the wire to the 15/16ths pole. He was credited with a move of five furlongs in 1:01.60, out the six furlongs in 1:14.80.

“It was a good work, just what we wanted,” Ryan said. “I didn’t want him to do too much a week before the race.”

This was the second time Musket Man had worked over the Churchill Downs strip. The Illinois Derby winner breezed six furlongs in 1:13 flat last Saturday.

“I was happy with him today, and I know Coa was more impressed this morning than he was last week,” Ryan said.

“I was happy with him this morning,” Coa said. “He was more aggressive than usual, I think because that horse crossed in front of us when we broke off. He’s usually a very quiet horse.”

Musket Man has now won stakes at a mile and a sixteenth and a mile and an eighth his past two starts. Ryan, who is participating in his first Derby, has no doubts the colt can get a mile and a quarter.

“I’ve been hearing about his distance limitations since October,” the trainer said. “So far he’s handled every track and every distance. He’s improved off his last start each time, and each race he gets a little better.”

Coa rode Musket Man for the first time in the Illinois Derby and has been impressed since.

“He’s an easy horse to ride,” Coa said. “He’ll sit behind horses and wait. He runs better with a target. He’ll have plenty of targets Saturday.”

Ryan purchased Musket Man for $15,000 as a yearling from the Keeneland September Sale in 2007 on behalf of owners Eric Fein and Vic Carlson.

PAPA CLEM – Arkansas Derby (Grade II) winner Papa Clem worked seven furlongs in 1:29.20 Saturday just after the renovation break in what could be his final major preparation for Derby 135. Trainer Gary Stute said that the Bo Hirsch home-bred could blow out a quarter-mile in the final day or two before the Derby “if he’s biting and kicking.”

“The main goal was just to get him tired,” Stute said of Saturday’s drill, which went in splits of :12.60, :24.80, :37.00, :49.60, 1:02.40 and 1:15.40. “He broke off kind of fast and got a little ‘late’.”

Exercise rider Mundo Gonzalez was aboard for the workout and had a few anxious moments at the gap as Papa Clem bucked before heading onto the track and also was stirred up on the front side.

“With him,” Stute said, “I always take him with a pony. He gets to feeling pretty good.”

Fitness should not be a question with Papa Clem, who has rattled off four consecutive route races (three in stakes company) since the opening of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting. But while the first three of those races went in moderate paces with easy trips for Papa Clem, Stute said the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) provided the most education.

“He had trouble on the first turn and got dirt in his face,” Stute said of the Oaklawn experience. “Everything wasn’t just handed to him. He had to work for it.”

Papa Clem will walk the shedrow next two days and is expected to return to the track Tuesday morning. Rafael Bejarano will be in from California for the mount Saturday.

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Looking an absolute picture on a sunny and warm Kentucky morning, the dark son of Empire Maker went trackside under exercise rider George Alvarez immediately after the morning renovation break at 8:30. Assistant trainer Jim Barnes astride his pony led Pioneerof the Nile on a backtrack to the frontside, then let him do his thing – and do it he did.

Galloping well out in the middle of the track, the Zayat Stables’ homebred was strong, then stronger, going through his mile and a half exercise, finishing up just as well as he started in an impressive display or readiness for his upcoming 10-furlong task.

“He’s doing good,” said his trainer, Bob Baffert, the man who just had his ticket punched to racing’s Hall of Fame. “He likes it here. In fact, I think he might like this track more than he does Santa Anita (where he is a three-time graded stakes winner this year). He seems to lower his head and stride out even better here.

“But he’s in a tough race with some nice horses and we’ll need some luck. Twenty horses; anything can happen. We’ll need some luck.”

Pioneerof the Nile, a winner of five of his eight starts and $1,234,200, is scheduled to have his final Derby work Monday morning.

QUALITY ROAD – Florida Derby (Grade I) winner Quality Road jogged 1 ¾ miles at Belmont Park, just one day after a second quarter crack appeared. Quality Road’s latest malady appeared in his right front hoof, adding to the quarter rack he suffered in his right hind hoof after his signature win at Gulfstream Park on March 28.

“Jogging is obviously a lot easier on the horse in all ways, respiration-wise and on the legs, than galloping is,” trainer James Jerkens said of the reduced workload this morning. “It’s not quite as good of a conditioner … but it was all we could do to be on the safe side. He came back and the crack was dry and (there was) no blood seeping from it. We’re planning on patching him at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning and galloping him at about 9:20 after the second harrow break.”

According to the NYRA Press Office notes, noted hoof specialist Ian McKinlay reported, “There was no blood and he’s sound. He’s feeling good and I couldn’t be happier.”

McKinlay “laced” the half-inch quarter crack Friday and treated it with antiseptic and a “hoof toughener,” Jerkens said.

Jerkens addressed a national media teleconference Saturday morning and said the Kentucky Derby still remains in Quality Road’s crosshairs. “The way things are going, I’m pretty confident,” Jerkens said, then admitted, “I’m usually negative about everything by nature.”

If Quality Road gallops sound on Sunday, he’ll advance on to a serious workout Monday. “Tomorrow is the big day in finding out where we’re going,” Jerkens said, adding that the acrylic patch will be tested for pressure by the gallop.

Quality Road last worked five furlongs April 10 in 1:02.19 at Belmont, but Jerkens said more will need to be done to be Derby-ready.

“That was quite a while ago and we’ll definitely have to do something by Monday to be prepared,” he said. “A mile-and-a-quarter against the best horses in the country, you don’t want to be going in short of conditioning. That’s for sure.”

Jerkens said the quarter-crack problems may have more to do with pedigree and Quality Road’s build than anything. “For a horse his size,” Jerkens said, “(his feet) in comparison to the rest of him, are a little on the small side. His (hoof) walls are kind of thin.”

He said Quality Road’s three-quarter sister, Kobla Road, was a quarter-crack nightmare. “We had a horrible time with her. We were forever patching quarter-cracks up.” Her racing career had to be cut short and now is a broodmare.

While the quarter crack remains a serious concern, Jerkens said, “He hasn’t been weight-bearing sore on it.”

Quality Road will ship to Churchill Downs Tuesday if all goes well over the next two days.

SQUARE EDDIE – Square Eddie was out for a very easy jog once around the Churchill oval Saturday morning at 6:30. Exercise rider Tony Romero did the honors, moving easily alongside a big pony.

“Nice and easy today,” said assistant trainer Leandro Mora, who is holding down the fort until chief trainer Doug O’Neill makes the scene. “He’s going to work tomorrow morning after the break, so we want him fresh for that.”

Square Eddie announced his return to the racing wars with a swooping move to the front in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes on April 18 at Keeneland, only to fall back and finish third behind winner Advice. That start was the first in three months for the Smart Strike colt, who last year won the Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (Grade I) at Keeneland and then finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I) at Santa Anita.

Square Eddie is scheduled to work Sunday morning. Mora wasn’t sure whether or not his new rider, Corey Nakatani, would be coming from California for the exercise.

Mora noted further that Square Eddie’s conditioning for his comeback has been supplemented by “swimming” on an equine treadmill.

“His work routine wouldn’t have been enough to get him ready for this race on his own,” he stated. “The swimming has been a big help. In fact, we’re going back over to Keeneland with him this afternoon and let him ‘swim’ for 45 minutes or so. We’ll try to keep that up during the week, but it may be that we won’t be able to take him out of here (because of security concerns) as we get closer to the race. But we’ll keep ‘swimming’ him as long as we can. He loves it.”

Mora, a veteran of the Southern California racing scene, remembered another case of a “swimming” Derby horse.

“I was at Hollywood Park back in 1983 when David Cross Jr., had Sunny’s Halo. He’s only had a few races prepping for the Derby and a lot of people didn’t think he could be ready. But I saw David ‘swim’ that horse for 40 straight days at the old pool and treadmill they had there and I knew he was going to be fit. And he was.”

Sunny’s Halo, with only two 3-year-old prep races coming into Kentucky Derby 109, was always prominent under Eddie Delahoussaye and drew clear to win by two lengths.

SUMMER BIRD – The lightly raced colt by Birdstone who had his final major Derby work on Friday here (6 furlongs in 1:15.80) just walked under the shedrow Saturday morning.

Trainer Tim Ice and jockey Chris Rosier were off to Lone Star Park in Texas, where the trainer has three horses entered, including Catmantoo in the Texas Mile Stakes and Affirmed Truth in the Richmond Hills Stakes.

Both trainer and rider are due back in Louisville on Sunday. Before Ice left at 6:30 he had a chance to take in the pre-dawn work of Godolphin’s Regal Ransom.

WEST SIDE BERNIE – West Side Bernie had his final Kentucky Derby breeze Saturday morning, drilling a half-mile over the fast main track in :48.20 with jockey Stewart Elliott aboard.

“I told ‘Stew’ to go in :48, so it was just what I wanted,” trainer Kelly Breen said of the move. “Better a fifth slower than a second too fast.

“The track has been kind of dull, so I think that was a very good work. And ‘Stew’ told me that he had a lot of horse left when he passed the wire. So I was happy he stayed well within himself today, instead of leaving his race on the track.

“He got something out of the work without knocking himself out. The time was as close to the plan as you can get, so I’m happy.”

Breen, who will be saddling his first Kentucky Derby starter, said that West Side Bernie will gallop up to the race now.

This was the first recorded breeze West Side Bernie has put in since he drilled a half in :48.80 at Palm Meadows on March 12. He went on to run second in the Wood Memorial (Grade I) on April 4.

“I want to have a sharp horse in the Derby,” Breen said. “That’s why he worked a half-mile.”

Elliott, who won the Derby aboard Smarty Jones in 2004, said he thought the work was perfect.

“He went just like we wanted him to,” the rider said. “A very good work.”

And was the rider happy to be back at Churchill Downs?

“Thrilled,” he said. “It’s great to have a horse in the Derby.”

Breen gave $50,000 for West Side Bernie at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2007 on behalf of George and Lori Hall.

WIN WILLY – Win Willy, a son of 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos jogged a mile and galloped a mile Saturday morning with exercise rider Elias Lopez aboard.

Luis Moldonado, who is caring for the horse at Churchill Downs, said that trainer Mac Robertson is due in Monday or Tuesday to supervise final preparations for Win Willy, who won the Rebel Stakes and then ran fourth in the Arkansas Derby. Cliff Berry, who was aboard in those races, will again be the rider next Saturday.

Moldonado said that Robertson was in the process of moving his entire string of some 60 horses from Oaklawn Park to Canterbury Downs, his summer headquarters.

David Lanzman and IEAH Stable's I Want Revenge, who overcame a poor start and significant traffic concerns to win Saturday's Wood Memorial (GI) at Aqueduct, emerged a solid favorite to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) as the third and final pool of Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby Future Wager ("KDFW") completed its four-day run on Sunday, April 5.

            The Jeff Mullins-trained son of Stephen Got Even, now unbeaten in two races over traditional dirt, left a strong impression on bettors after clearing several obstacles to win the 1 1/8-mile Wood, was the 9-2 fans' choice when KDFW Pool 3 betting concluded at 6 p.m. (EDT) at  racetracks and satellite wagering centers across North America.  Edward P. Evans' Quality Road, winner of the Florida Derby (GI) and the favorite through the first two days of Pool 3 betting, closed as the 6-1 second choice.  Vinery LLC and Fox Hill Farm's Friesan Fire, the Louisiana Derby (GII) winner, was the 8-1 third choice, and Santa Anita Derby (GI) winner Pioneerof the Nile was next at 9-1.  Florida Derby runner-up Dunkirk was next at 11-1 and Old Fashioned, who figures to be among the favorites for next week's Arkansas Derby (GII) closed at 12-1.

Pool 3 ended with 23 wagering interests after betting on Sham (GII) winner The Pamplemousse (#21) was suspended on Sunday afternoon following the announcement that concern over a tendon would knock the colt out of consideration for the Kentucky Derby.  Under the official rules of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, no scratches or refunds are permitted in the wager.  But wagering must be suspended when Churchill Downs officials determine that an injury, illness or other issue will prevent that horse from competing in the Kentucky Derby.  All money wagered on The Pamplemousse to the point of the suspension remained in the pool, but no additional betting was allowed.

            Wagering during Pool 3's four-day run totaled $377,158, with $108,278 of that wagered in the exacta pool.  KDFW Pool 3 was only the second in the 11-year history of the Kentucky Derby Future bet to offer exacta betting.  Both the Future Wager's traditional "win" bet and its exacta require a minimum wager of $2.

            Pool 3 betting pushed total wagering on the three pools of the 2009 Kentucky Derby Future Wager to $1,236,299.

.           The Kentucky Derby Future Wager provides fans the opportunity to wager on contenders for the 2009 "Run for the Roses" at odds that could be far more attractive than those they would receive on the day of the race. Final payouts on both the win and exacta wagers in KDFW Pool 2 are determined by the odds in place at conclusion of the pool. 

The 135th running of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 at Churchill Downs. 

Real time odds, exacta payouts and other information on the Kentucky Derby Future Wager are available on the official event Web site at www.kentuckyderby.com