Gary Stute

MINE THAT BIRD GALLOPS TWICE AROUND – Longshot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird galloped twice around the Churchill Downs through a light drizzle Wednesday morning with exercise rider Charlie Figueroa up.
    “He looked super and switched leads perfectly,” trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr said. “I was happy with him yesterday (when Mine That Bird galloped a mile). He tried to run off a little bit and that surprised me. I will let him do a little bit more tomorrow.”
    Owned by Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine, Mine That Bird is scheduled to ship to Pimlico next Tuesday where he likely will face a full gate of challengers.
    Woolley said he feels no added pressure going into the second leg of the Triple Crown to quiet naysayers who viewed the 50-1 Derby victory as a fluke.
“He had a great run and came out on top,” Woolley said. “We are going to train him the way we trained here and hope things go well again.
“I don’t expect us to be the favorite. Pioneerof the Nile, if he runs, rightfully so. He may have stumbled a little bit in the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness is a sixteenth of a mile shorter and that is in his favor.”
Woolley may have had karma on his side Derby Week without knowing it.
His stable jacket has a horse on the back bearing a No. 8 saddle cloth. Mine That Bird, of course, wore No. 8 in the Derby.
“This jacket’s at least three years old,” Woolley said. “I hadn’t even thought about that.”

STALL’S TERRAIN PREAKNESS-BOUND – Adele Dilschneider’s Terrain galloped a mile and half at Churchill Downs under exercise rider Jimmy Valdez rather than boarding a plane to Texas for Saturday’s Lone Star Derby (Grade III).
    “We are not exactly sure what we saw last Saturday,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said of Mine That Bird’s upset victory and the decision to go on to Baltimore.
    Fourth in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) in his most recent start on April 11, Terrain vanned to Churchill Downs on Tuesday afternoon from Keeneland where he had two works since the Blue Grass after a little break.
    “He is right where he needs to be,” said Stall, who plans to work Terrain Saturday or Sunday and ship to Baltimore next Wednesday.
No Preakness rider has been confirmed for Terrain.

PAPA CLEM HEADING TO PIMLICO THIS WEEKEND -- Trainer Gary Stute said Wednesday morning that Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem, fourth to Mine That Bird in Kentucky Derby 135, may leave Churchill Downs for Pimlico on Friday or Saturday.
    “My alternate plan was to breeze him five-eighths at Churchill Downs on Friday, then check his legs on Saturday and wait to ship,” Stute said. “But I am thinking now that I will go on to Baltimore and meet the horse there, gallop him a few days then breeze five-eighths either Monday or Tuesday.”
    Papa Clem galloped a mile and a half before the renovation break on Wednesday under exercise rider Mundo Gonzalez.

McCARTHY EYES PREAKNESS WITH GENERAL QUARTERS – “I think he went from 50 percent to 80 percent today,” owner/trainer Tom McCarthy said of the Preakness status of General Quarters after the colt galloped a mile and a quarter under exercise rider Julie Sheets on Wednesday morning.
    “I knew I couldn’t walk him another day and Julie couldn’t stop him,” McCarthy said. “He came out of this race better than any race yet.”
    General Quarters, winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) before finishing 10th in Kentucky Derby 135, returned to the track Wednesday for the first time since the Run for the Roses.
    “You never know until they gallop if there is anything wrong. You can see it right away,” McCarthy said. “But he did so well this morning.”
    General Quarters is scheduled to gallop again in the morning for McCarthy, who had said he wanted to see the colt gallop two days before rendering judgment on a Preakness bid.
    But after the morning’s activity, McCarthy sounded like a man whose mind was made up.
    “He likes to ship, so if we go, he would van up Tuesday and that would give us Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to gallop over there,” McCarthy said. “Julien (Leparoux) would ride him back.”

PREAKNESS PROSPECTS GALLOP, JOG UNDER TWIN SPIRES – Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, Team Valor International and Gary Barber’s undefeated Hull galloped after the renovation break Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs.
    Now three-for-three after winning the Grade III Derby Trial on April 25, Hull is scheduled to have his first work since that victory on Saturday before heading to Pimlico on May 13.
    Trainer Dale Romans, who never has had a Preakness starter, was asked what the deciding factor was in opting for the Preakness for the son of Holy Bull.
    “It looks like a wide-open race,” Romans said.
    Miguel Mena, who rode Hull to his Derby trial victory, has the Preakness mount.
Robert Baker and William Mack’s Flying Private galloped before the renovation break with exercise rider Taylor Carty up.
    Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Flying Private returned to the track for the first time since running 19th in the Kentucky Derby on Tuesday to jog. Lukas said no rider has been confirmed for Flying Private, who is scheduled to ship to Pimlico on May 12.
    Lukas also will be bringing Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) runner-up Stone Legacy to Pimlico for the May 15 Black-Eyed Susan, plus Jazz Nation.
            Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile was one of the first horses on the track, jogging once around accompanied by a pony.
    “Everything is looking good this morning,” said Jim Barnes, assistant to trainer Bob Baffert of Pioneerof the Nile’s first day back at the track since his runner-up finish in Kentucky Derby 135. Exercise rider George Alvarez was aboard Pioneerof the Nile.
    
BARN TALK – L and M Partners’ Rachel Alexandra, record-breaking 20 ¼-length winner of the Kentucky Oaks 135 last Friday, returned to the track Wednesday morning for the first time since that score. With exercise rider Rudy Gallegos up, Rachel Alexandra jogged a mile and a quarter.
    Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s undefeated Cash Refund is headed for the May 16 Matt Winn for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. “He is going to work Friday or Saturday,” trainer Steve Margolis said of Cash Refund, who was a seven-length allowance winner on opening day, April 25 going six furlongs.
    In the $100,000-added Matt Winn, Cash Refund is likely to meet up with three-time graded stakes winner Capt. Candyman Can for trainer Ian Wilkes. Owned by Joseph Rauch and David Zell, the 3-year-old gelding worked a bullet five-eighths in 1:00.20 on Tuesday.

 
Churchill Downs Spring Meet Leaders (through May 2)       
    Starts    1-2-3       
JOCKEYS       
Julien Leparoux    54    10-9-4       
Jamie Theriot    38    10-4-7       
Calvin Borel    45    9-5-6       
TRAINERS       
Steve Asmussen    26    5-4-5       
Greg Foley    12    4-4-0       
Steve Margolis    14    4-1-0       
Al Stall Jr.    12    3-3-1       
OWNERS       
Zayat Stables; Marylou Whitney Stable; Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein; Heiligbrodt Racing Stable; Billy Hays; and Columbine Stable tied with 2 (two) wins    

MINE THAT BIRD ‘LOPES’ ONCE AROUND – Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Kentucky Derby 135 winner Mine That Bird back-tracked to the paddock tunnel and then ‘loped’ once around a “fast” Churchill Downs main track Tuesday morning before the renovation break.
    Trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. liked what he saw and said Mine That Bird would ‘lope’ around twice on Wednesday.
    “The only reason we are staying here is because he is very comfortable here and training well,” Woolley said. “We will leave Monday or Tuesday, probably Tuesday.  He may jog the morning we leave. I’d like to leave about 9 and get into Pimlico around 7 that evening.”
    The magnitude of pulling off the second-largest mutual shocker ($103.20) still has not sunk in on Woolley.
    “The whole thing is still a whirlwind,” Woolley said. “It is hard to get a grip on it that it really happened. Eventually you’ll get used to the fact that it really did happen.
    “Sunday I was in the paddock getting ready to do an interview and looked up at the sign ‘Kentucky Derby 2009, Mine That Bird’ and I almost started crying. I couldn’t believe it.”
    Winning jockey Calvin Borel, who saw his bid for a Triple Crown end two years ago at Pimlico on Street Sense when he was nipped by Curlin, came by the barn to look in on the Derby winner.
    Woolley was asked what Borel told him after he worked Mine That Bird five furlongs the Monday before the Derby after being on the gelding for the first time.
    “I was looking for 1:01 that morning and he went in 1:02 but he got off a little slow,” Woolley said. “Calvin never moved on him and he said ‘He will finish’ and that gave Calvin the confidence to take back and come driving.”

PAPA CLEM RETURNS TO THE TRACK – Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem returned to the track at Churchill Downs at 6:15 Tuesday morning for the first time since running fourth in Kentucky Derby 135.
    With exercise rider Mundo Gonzalez aboard, Papa Clem jogged the wrong way around accompanied by a pony. Gonzalez said Papa Clem would gallop in the morning about the same time.
    Trainer Gary Stute is scheduled to return to Louisville this weekend and the colt is scheduled to fly to Baltimore on May 13.

PIONEEROF THE NILE HEADS BACK TO TRACK WEDNESDAY – Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile is scheduled to return to the track Wednesday morning for the first time since his runner-up finish in Kentucky Derby 135.
    Trainer Bob Baffert is scheduled to return to Louisville on Saturday night. Two of the nine runners he has at Churchill Downs, Mike Pegram’s Mayor Marv and Peachtree Stable’s Mythical Power, will be heading to Texas on Wednesday for Saturday’s $400,000 guaranteed Lone Star Derby (Grade III) at a mile and a sixteenth.

GENERAL QUARTERS REMAINS PREAKNESS POSSIBILITY – Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy walked General Quarters on Tuesday morning and plans to return the 10th-place Kentucky Derby 135 finisher to the track Wednesday morning.
    “The Preakness is a possibility, but I want to see how he gallops and go from there,” McCarthy said. “He is doing so well. I’d like to get him over there (Pimlico) and get a few turns around the track.”
     McCarthy is not sure when he would bring General Quarters to Pimlico if he decides to try the Preakness. A charter flight leaves from Louisville on May 13, but, McCarthy said, “He ships so well, I may van him up.”
    
HULL, MENA TO TEAM UP IN PREAKNEES FOR ROMANS – Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, Team Valor International and Gary Barber’s undefeated Hull galloped Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs.
    Trainer Dale Romans said the undefeated winner of the Grade III Derby Trial on April 25 would work Saturday morning and fly to Baltimore on May 13. Miguel Mena, who was aboard for the Derby Trial win, has the Preakness call.

TERRAIN HEADING FOR TEXAS … OR BALTIMORE – “We’ve got a decision to make,” trainer Al Stall Jr., said Tuesday morning. “The plane for Texas leaves at 7 o’clock in the morning.”
    The decision will be whether Adele Dilschneider’s Terrain goes to Lone Star Park for Saturday’s Lone Star Derby or remains in Stall 7 at Barn 47 at Churchill Downs and trains for the Preakness.
    “We are not 100 percent for the Preakness,” Stall said. “He is at Keeneland and is coming over here this afternoon. If he does not go to Texas, he will work here this weekend and fly to Baltimore next Wednesday.”
    Terrain ran fourth in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) at Keeneland on April 11 in his most recent start.
    “We gave him a little time off after the Blue Grass and he has had two works since,” Stall said of Terrain, who worked a half-mile in :50.40 at Keeneland on Sunday. “He has done real well since the Blue Grass.”
    Terrain has run twice this year, opening with a third-place finish in the Louisiana derby (Grade II) on March 14. Fourth in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I), Terrain closed 2008 with a fifth-place finish in the Grade III Delta Jackpot behind possible Preakness rival Big Drama.

BARN TALK – IEAH Stables, Lewis Lakin and Pegasus Holding Group Stable’s Pure Clan, winner of last year’s Grade III Regret at Churchill Downs and the American Oaks Invitational (Grade I) at Hollywood Park, worked five furlongs on a “fast” main track in 1:00.40, second best of 25 at the distance, under regular morning partner Steve Schmelzel.
    “When we got her back off the farm, she had a stone bruise and that put us about 30 days behind with her,” trainer Bob Holthus said of Pure Clan, a three-time stakes winner at Churchill Downs and third-place finisher in the 2008 Kentucky Oaks (Grade I). “I had been working her on Saturday, but I didn’t want to go on Derby Day.”
    Pure Clan’s return is expected to come in the Early Times Mint Julep (Grade III) at a mile and a sixteenth on the Matt Winn Turf Course.
    “She worked well this morning, but her next work or two will probably be on the grass,” Holthus said.
The only faster work was turned in by three-time graded stakes winner Capt. Candyman Can, owned by Joseph Rauch and David Zell in 1:00.20 for trainer Ian Wilkes.
Robby Albarado joined the 800-win club at Churchill Downs last week, becoming only the sixth rider in track history to reach that milestone. He hit the mark in Thursday’s eighth race when he guided La Mousse (ARG) to victory.
    Calvin Borel, currently third in the rider standings with nine victories, is six wins shy of becoming the fourth rider in Churchill Downs history to reach 900 victories. Victory No. 9, which came aboard Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby, gave him 4,729 for his career.
    Jamie Theriot and Julien Leparoux lead the rider standings with 10 victories each.
Trainer Ken McPeek enters Wednesday’s card with 996 career victories, 231 of them at Churchill Downs. McPeek has two horses entered on Wednesday’s card: Biden Our Time in the second and Mimi’s Kids in the sixth.
Nominations close Wednesday for the eighth running of the $100,000 Matt Winn for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs on the main track on May 16. Zayat Stables’ Eaton’s Gift gave trainer Dale Romans his second consecutive Matt Winn victory in the 2008 running.
    Closing Saturday are nominations for the 72nd running of the $100,000 Louisville Handicap (Grade III) for 3-year-olds and up going a mile and a half over the Matt Winn Turf Course and for the sixth running of the $100,000 Winning Colors for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going six furlongs on the main track. The Louisville Handicap will be run May 23 and the Winning Colors on Memorial Day, May 25.
    Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm’s Lattice won last year’s Louisville Handicap for trainer Al Stall Jr. Graeme Six, trained by Tom Amoss for the ownership of Tom O’Grady, Johns Martin and Team West Side Stables, won the 2008 Winning Colors.
Tracy Farmer’s Commentator, a two-time winner of the Whitney (GI) at Saratoga, worked four furlongs in :47.60 for trainer Nick Zito.  The 8-year-old Distorted Humor gelding is coming off an upset loss in his 2009 debut in the $500,000 Charles Town Classic at West Virginia’s Charles Town Races & Slots.
Chrysalis Stable LLC’s Silverfoot, the 9-year-old three-time winner of the Louisville Handicap (GIII), continued to work toward his 2009 debut with a five-furlong breeze around the dogs on “good” turf in 1:03.40.
Mr. Nightlinger, winner of the 2008 Aegon Turf Sprint (GIII), breezed four furlongs on the grass in :49.40.

The morning after the stunning victory in the $2,177,200 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) by Mine That Bird was a busy one for his owners and trainer – and for the 3-year-old gelding that won the roses with his last-to-first rally along the rail on Churchill Downs’ one-mile dirt oval.

Visitors to trainer Chip Woolley and owners Mark Allen of Double Eagle Ranch and Dr. Leonard Blach of Bueno Suerte Equine included three-time Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert, trainer of Derby 135 runner-up Pioneerof the Nile; winning jockey Calvin Borel; and Tom McCarthy, the owner-trainer of General Quarters the winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (GI) and 10th to Mine That Bird in Saturday’s race.

There was also a live appearance by Woolley, Borel, Allen and Blach on NBC’s “Sunday Today” that included an appearance by the Kentucky Derby winner, as the horse stood behind the winning connections grazed in front of Barn 42 while wearing the winner’s saddle towel that bore the official Kentucky Derby 135 logo and the images of roses in the area that covered Mine That Bird’s withers.

Woolley, whose stable is based at New Mexico’s Sunland Park, said Mine That Bird was doing well after the race, and the gelding validated that assessment as he nibbled at the Churchill Downs grass and never turned a hair as a sizable crowd of reporters, videographers and well-wishers looked on.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Woolley.  “It’s actually a little bit hard to get your arms around right at the moment.  It’s hard to believe that you actually came in here and won this thing.”

The 45-year-old Woolley admitted to getting little more than an hour of sleep after the biggest win of his training career.  Allen, when asked about how the night of celebration had gone, said “It’s still going,” and drew a hearty laugh from media members present on the morning after America’s greatest race.

Woolley said it will be a while before a decision is made on a possible bid for the $1 million Preakness (GI), the second jewel of the Triple Crown that will be run at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course on May 16.

“We’ll decide that today or tomorrow,” Woolley said.  “Me and the owners will meet and have a little discussion.  It really wasn’t something that was on our radar, so we’ll decide on it.  We were looking to run the horse farther anyway, so we’ll just have to see what it brings today.

“You’ve got to do what’s best for the horse, and the horse comes first.  So we’ll just see what happens.”

Blach and Allen agreed that the condition of Mine That Bird would be the basis for the ultimate decision on a Preakness bid, but Allen was most enthusiastic about the notion.

“We’re going to let the horse tell us that,” he said.  “This horse is doing good and comes off this race good, you bet we’ll run, but he’s going to have to tell us.”

All three credited the patient, ground-saving ride by jockey Calvin Borel as being the key to the upset victory by the 50-1 shot, the second-largest upset in the 135-year history of the “Run for the Roses.”  Mine That Bird was last in the field of 19 on the first run through the stretch after being jostled shortly after leaving the starting gate.

“The one-run was definitely the plan and we had talked about being eight-to-10 (lengths) from the lead,” Woolley said.  “I had felt all along that’s where the horse needed to be, but we had just never gotten that trip.  When he got annihilated leaving there – this is a little horse, he’s not very big – and when he got banged around leaving there, we were really concerned right away about that.  I had told the press before that he couldn’t take a bunch of beating, so when he got shuffled that far back, I actually wasn’t too high on my chances when he came by me at the grandstand way last.  But the horse responded and Calvin done a super job of riding the horse.  So we’re just lucky to have been there.”

“It’s truly an honor to be a part of it, but I’m telling you guys that this horse never got nearly enough credit for his ability.  You earned your way here.  It’s not like we just paid him in here and brought him.  The horse earned his way here and he deserved a chance to run in the Derby.  He was doing super, the horse was training good and we just felt like he had earned his spot here and we had to come and take ‘em on.  He anted up, I’m telling you.  He’ll leave it on the track every time.”

Baffert, who spent more than a little time racing in New Mexico and at Sunland Park, dropped by the barn and said “Where’s that cowboy who beat me?”

After offering best wishes to Woolley, Allen and Blach, Borel arrived and receive a hearty handshake from Baffert, who told Borel that this weekend, which began with Borel’s 20 ¼-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks aboard Rachel Alexandra and reached its peak with his unlikely romp in the Kentucky Derby, had earned the Louisiana native a spot in racing’s Hall of Fame.

“He’s the only one who could have pulled that off,” Baffert said of Borel’s ride.  “What he did was just incredible.  He won that race.  He sat back there and I watched the replay – and he’s last at the three-eighths pole – you just don’t do that.  He weaved his way through there and everybody knows that the rail’s the place to be, but everybody gets off of it.  I think he deserves a lot of credit, but that guy that trained him (Woolley), he did a great job with this horse.  This horse was ready and he trained him, and even though he vanned him here an it was like “Casey’s Shadow,” they got here and they won the biggest race.”

PIONEEROF THE NILE (2nd) – Trainer Bob Baffert was noncommittal about a run in the Preakness for Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile.

“He looks good this morning, but I want to give him a couple of days and see how he comes out of it,” Baffert said.

The Zayat Stables color bearer had his four-race win streak snapped Saturday when he finished 6 ¾ lengths behind Mine That Bird.

“I saw Garrett (jockey Garrett Gomez) at the three-eighths pole and he was loaded and at the quarter pole he was still loaded,” Baffert said. “I didn’t see anything coming and I thought ‘Mine!’ Then that horse (Mine That Bird) went by me and I was like ‘What happened?’ My horse was battling with the others (Musket Man and Papa Clem) … it was a shocker.

“If he had won, I thought he had a shot at the Triple Crown. He can get the distance and he runs his race every time, Maybe the ‘Bird’ is for real.”

MUSKET MAN (3rd) – Eric Fein and Vic Carlson’s Musket Man was scheduled to leave for Monmouth Park on Sunday.

“We will give it a few days,” trainer Derek Ryan said about making a decision on the Preakness. “I am sure the owners are looking at it.”

Musket Man now has a career record of five wins and two thirds in seven starts and Ryan was happy with the colt’s effort Saturday.

“I can’t complain. He had the two hole and I wish he could have stayed there, but he got bumped out of there,” Ryan said. “The rail was golden.  You need the right kind of horse for a race like this. He has great temperament. He never schooled in the paddock and he might have been the best one in there. He’s got class and (Oaks winner) Rachel Alexandra, she never went to the paddock or gate.”

PAPA CLEM (4th) – Trainer Gary Stute said Sunday morning that Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem would remain on the Triple Crown trail after his fourth-place finish Saturday behind Mine That Bird.

“With a little luck, I think he could have been second,” Stute said. “We will probably stay here a few days but we will go to Baltimore when there is a flight.  He may go back to the track here, but I want to get him to Pimlico and have a work over the track before the Preakness.”

Papa Clem was in a three-horse photo for second with Pioneerof the Nile and Musket Man, finishing a head in back of Musket Man after being bumped near the sixteenth pole by Pioneerof the Nile.

“I thought we might get put up,” said Stute, who noted Papa Clem came out of the race with “one little scratch.”

CHOCOLATE CANDY (5th) – Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was on a plane Sunday morning jetting back to California, but his right-hand man – Galen May – was keeping a watchful eye on his Kentucky Derby runner Chocolate Candy, who had finished fifth in the mile and a quarter run on a “sloppy” track Saturday.

“He was trying to bite me this morning, so you know he’s fine,” May noted.

The Candy Ride colt had taken his share of flying mud racing on the inside for most of the trip, a point both Hollendorfer and May said they thought affected the good-sized bay.

“It’s too bad he couldn’t have gotten clear to do some running,” May said, “but sometimes things work out that way.”

Chocolate Candy had gone off at odds of exactly 10-1 and had picked up a check for $60,000 for running fifth, beaten 13 lengths.

May said the horse had come back without any nicks or cuts and had no problem cleaning his feed tub Saturday night. He also noted that he was likely to head back to California shortly and train up to the Belmont Stakes on June 6.

“His breeding and style say he should like that mile and a half,” May said.

SUMMER BIRD (6th) – K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman’s Summer Bird was scheduled to ship Monday morning at 5 o’clock to Louisiana Downs, according to trainer Tim Ice.

“We have never thought about the Preakness; maybe the Belmont,” Ice said. “I have no interest at all in the Preakness because that track doesn’t suit his style of running.”

Ice said Summer Bird came out of the race in good order.

“He came back playing last night,” Ice said. “He galloped out second after the wire; the only one ahead of him was the other Birdstone (winner Mine That Bird).  I was happy with his race. It was only his fourth race and he can only improve. He got lots of experience yesterday. He beat some nice horses and it proved we were not totally out of our minds.”

JOIN IN THE DANCE (7th), DUNKIRK (11th), ADVICE (13th) – Trainer Todd Pletcher reported some minor wounds, but no major damage, to his heralded Kentucky Derby runner Dunkirk, while stating at the same time that his other two competitors – Advice and Join in the Dance – had come out of the eventful renewal none the worse for wear.

“Dunkirk took the worst of it,” the five-time Eclipse Award winner said. “He’s got his share of nicks and cuts and he also grabbed a quarter on his left hind (leg). I think someone had to do it to him during the running. Where it is, it isn’t likely he did it to himself.  He stumbled coming away from there, then he stumbled for several jumps just after they got running heading up the straight. Then he got caught in some of the jostling you always get in this race going through the stretch the first time. Add in the fact that that track was just what we didn’t want it to be – drying out and heavy – and it never allowed him to get a real grip on it. He just never got a chance to get in a rhythm.”

Dunkirk had gone off in Derby 135 at 5-1 and had finished 11th, beaten 19 lengths by 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird.

Pletcher said Dunkirk and his stablemate Take the Points would ship to his barn in New York at Belmont Park. Dunkirk’s next start was up in the air at the moment, but Take the Points, who was eligible to run in the Kentucky Derby but took a pass, would be prepared for a go in the May 16 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Both Advice and Join in the Dance returned to Barn 38 after their Derby adventures in good shape and both “would be staying in Kentucky for right now,” according to Pletcher.

Advice had gone off at 49-1 in the mile and a quarter race and had finished 13th, 21 lengths behind the winner. Join in the Dance had performed the best of the barn’s runners, setting the pace in the race into the stretch, then holding on to finish seventh, beaten just over 14 lengths, despite his 51-1 odds.

“Join in the Dance was still bouncing after the race,” the trainer said. “He’s such a high-energy horse and we were proud of how well he did yesterday. There’s a chance he could come back in the Preakness. I’ll have to talk to his owners and see what they want to do.”

Join in the Dance, a Sky Mesa colt, is owned by Jake Ballis, Reagan Swinbank and Orlando Magic pro basketball player Rashard Lewis.

REGAL RANSOM (8th), DESERT PARTY (14th) – Both of the Godolphin colts, Desert Party and Regal Ransom, were fine Sunday morning, said Henry Spiller, an assistant to trainer Rick Mettee.

The colts are scheduled to be shipped back to Belmont Park on Tuesday. They are not being pointed toward the Preakness.

Regal Ransom, winner of the UAE Derby in his final start before the Derby, attended the pace set by Join in the Dance in the opening mile of the race. The Distorted Humor colt, sent off at odds of 22-1, finished eighth, 14¾ lengths behind the winner, Mine That Bird.

Desert Party, who was bumped at the start, was forwardly placed, about three lengths behind the leaders, by jockey Ramon Dominguez for a mile. He dropped out of contention in the second turn and finished 14th.

WEST SIDE BERNIE (9th), ATOMIC RAIN (16th) – George and Lori Hall’s West Side Bernie and Atomic Rain were scheduled to return to Monmouth Park on Sunday after their Kentucky Derby efforts.

“They came out of the race fine,” Breen said. “We are going to regroup and see what happens, but we are not looking at anything in two weeks.”

GENERAL QUARTERS (10th) – Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy said that General Quarters came out of Derby 135 in good order, but with no plans to continue on to the Preakness.

“The only excuse I can find for him was that he was not getting over the ground good,” McCarthy said. “I think we will go ahead and regroup and see what direction to go in. The Northern Dancer (on June 13 at Churchill Downs) is a possibility.”

The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) winner raced in midpack most of the way around in splitting the field.

“He got bumped coming out of the gate and pushed to the inside, which is where we didn’t want to be,” McCarthy said. “He just wasn’t striding out like he usually does and one thing I learned yesterday is that I will keep him off wet tracks.  He is better than what he showed yesterday.”

HOLD ME BACK (12th) -- Elliott Walden, vice president and racing manger for WinStar Farm, said Sunday that Hold Me Back was fine and would be given a break. Walden wasn’t sure whether the colt would stay with trainer Bill Mott or be sent to the farm during his hiatus.

“He’s good,” Walden said. “He scoped good and looks like he came out of it OK. We’re going to regroup and go from there. He’s had a pretty solid six weeks.”

Hold Me Back won the Lane’s End (Grade II) on March 21 and finished second to General Quarters in the Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) on April 11.

In the Derby, he was squeezed at the start and pinched back. Jockey Kent Desormeaux quickly rode him into contention – they were two lengths off the pace after a mile – but he could not sustain his run in the stretch and finished 12th, beaten 20 ½ lengths.

MR. HOT STUFF (15th) – Things were quiet Sunday morning at Barn 41 where the 15th-place Derby finisher Mr. Hot Stuff had spent an uneventful Saturday night following his little-impact journey in the 135th Run for the Roses.

“He’s fine,” reported groom Martin Rodriguez. “He was OK after the race; no cuts or bruises. He ate all his food last night."

Rodriguez also reported that the dark Tiznow colt would be headed back to his Southern California base “in the next day or two.”

Mr. Hot Stuff, who went off at 28-1, was steadied, bumped and squeezed back at the start and never managed to make much headway on the “sloppy” racing strip. He was beaten 23 lengths.

NOWHERE TO HIDE (17th) – The Nick Zito-trained Nowhere To Hide wasn’t feeling any negative effects on the morning after his 17th-place Kentucky Derby finish.

“He came back perfect,’’ assistant trainer Stacy Prior said. “The jockey said after the race that he was just spinning his wheels out there.”

FRIESAN FIRE (18th) – Cindy Jones, the wife and assistant of trainer Larry Jones, reported that their Louisiana Derby winner was feeling reasonably well Sunday morning, considering that the 7-2 beaten favorite had suffered cuts in his left front foot while getting bumped shortly after the start of the Kentucky Derby.

“He grabbed his quarter. He’s got a pretty good cut on his quarter,” Jones said of Friesan Fire, who faded to 18th after his troubled start. “Mentally, he’s fine. He’s got a few cuts and scrapes, but we’ll get him healed. He ate up. He’s walking very well this morning. He’s not pulling, but he’s walking well. He did clean up (his feed tub) this morning.”

Friesan Fire, who was squeezed on both sides after bumping with Papa Clem out of the gate, got back into the race under Gabriel Saez but was hindered by traffic.

“I couldn’t see it at all. Larry said he got hit hard at the start. You can’t see anything. Larry said he couldn’t find racing room and everywhere he went sort of closed up on him,” Jones said. “I think he and Gabe had enough before the race was over with.”

Jones said the groom Corey York summed up the mood at Barn 45 perfectly.

“He said, ‘We’re very disappointed this morning, but we’re not heartbroken like last year,’ ” said Jones, whose stable was devastated by the death of Eight Belles, who suffered a fatal breakdown while pulling up from a sensational runner-up finish behind Big Brown in last year’s Derby.

FLYING PRIVATE (19th) – The D. Wayne Lukas-trained Flying Private was reported to have come out of his last-place finish in the Kentucky Derby in good order Sunday morning.

“The horse came back fine,” assistant trainer Gary Neece said. “He’s no worse for the wear.”

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.”

As the clock winds down to the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, use Churchill Downs as your one-stop location for all the latest details on training schedules, workouts and more.

ADVICE / DUNKIRK / JOIN IN THE DANCE – The Todd Pletcher Derby trio of Advice, Dunkirk and Join in the Dance were out early, exercised and back in Barn 38 before 7 a.m. Thursday, missing the rains that splashed down on Louisville a bit later in the morning.

Kevin Willey handled both Advice and Join in the Dance in their gallops, while Patti Barry was up for Dunkirk’s exercise.

“They all went about a mile and three eighths,” Pletcher said. “It’s all good.”

Just before 8 a.m., the trainer and his right-hand man, Mike McCarthy, each with a shank on one side, led Dunkirk from the barn to a patch of grass near Longfield Avenue for about 20 minutes of grazing. The tall colt with the distinctive white and pink facial markings, was feeling good and dove into the Kentucky grass with gusto, eliminating any need for lawn mowing in the general area of Barn 41.

Dunkirk will be making only the fourth start of his career in Saturday’s Derby 135. The $3.7 million yearling did not start as a 2-year-old. Advice has six starts under his belt, including a tally in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade II) April 18 at Keeneland. He started three times as a juvenile. Join in the Dance has been to the post eight times, five of them coming during his 2-year-old season.

Advice breaks from post four and will be ridden by Rene Douglas. Dunkirk will start from post 15 and be handled by Edgar Prado. Join in the Dance will leave from post nine with Chris DeCarlo aboard.

ATOMIC RAIN / WEST SIDE BERNIE – Both Atomic Rain and West Side Bernie went out before the break for easy one-mile gallops with trainer Kelly Breen aboard Thursday morning.

“They’re both doing fine,” Breen said. “Atomic Rain is doing quite well considering he worked in New Jersey on Tuesday and then sat on a van for 13 hours to get here yesterday. The way he’s acting, I don’t think the trip meant much to him.”

Breen had the No. 20 selection for West Side Bernie and the only spot in the gate left to him was No. 1. On the other hand, he had the No. 9 selection for Atomic Rain and took post 14 for the colt, who will be ridden by Joe Bravo.

“Atomic Rain is in a good spot,” said George Hall, who with wife Lori owns both colts. “It’s a good post for his style. West Side Bernie is in a tougher spot. Strategy is all up to Stew (jockey Stewart Elliott) when the gates open.”

Hall bought 20 yearlings at the 2007 Keeneland September sale, 10 fillies and 10 colts.

“It’s pretty amazing to have two starters in the Kentucky Derby from the 10 colts we got at the sale,” the owner said.

West Side Bernie, a son of Bernstein, was a $50,000 purchase, and Atomic Rain, by Smart Strike, cost $170,000.

“When Atomic Rain broke his maiden and then ran second in the Remsen as a 2-year-old, we expected a lot from him,” Hall said. “We’ve been disappointed in a number of his starts since then. But we still think he has a lot of talent, and will be able to show it.”

As a 3-year-old, Atomic Rain has run seventh in the Sam F. Davis (Grade III) and fourth in the Wood Memorial (Grade I). West Side Bernie was second in the Wood.

Hall said his wife Lori names all the horses, and West Side Bernie is all Broadway.

“He’s by Bernstein, so she immediately thought of Leonard Bernstein, who wrote ‘West Side Story,’ ” Hall said. “So that’s how Bernie got his name. They’re putting on a revival of ‘West Side Story’ now, and we’re involved in that as a fundraiser for the Hearing Center at New York University.”

CHOCOLATE CANDY – “Best morning I ever had with this horse.”

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was upbeat Thursday morning at Churchill Downs after overseeing business with his Kentucky Derby contender Chocolate Candy. The tall bay by Candy Ride went trackside shortly after 7 a.m. under regular exercise rider Lindsey Molina, stood in the gate briefly, then galloped a good mile and five-eighths before coming off the six-furlong gap looking like a happy horse.

“I messed him up yesterday and he didn’t like it,” the Northern California-based conditioner stated. “I got him out there when all those people were around (after the 8 a.m. renovation break) and he got a little hot. But today we put him back in his usual routine and he was back to his old self. I’m really pleased with how it went today. He galloped strong and he’s doing great.”

The late-running colt was bred by the late Sid Craig and his wife, Jenny, who is, of course, the weight-loss queen. He currently races in the silks of Craig Family Trust and Saturday will break from post 11 with Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith aboard.

Chocolate Candy will be making the 10th start of his career in Derby 135. Six of those outings came during his 2-year-old season.

DESERT PARTY / REGAL RANSOM – The Godolphin duo of Desert Party and Regal Ransom had a typical morning. Shortly after the track opened at 6 a.m. they were sent out to gallop what trainer Saeed bin Suroor said was a mile and three furlongs.

“They did it well,” bin Suroor said. “They’re in good form. Happy. Sound. Healthy. No problem at all with them.”

Bin Suroor said the colts schooled in the paddock before the seventh race Wednesday.

“Regal Ransom was sweating for about 10 minutes because he could see the horses racing and he got excited,” bin Suroor said. “But after that he was cool. Desert Party was fine.”

Bin Suroor said his colts are ready for the Derby.

"They are going into this race 110 percent fit," he said. "There is no excuse afterwards for fitness. I hope no excuses happen in the race.”

FLYING PRIVATE – Flying Private went to the Churchill Downs track for a morning gallop under exercise rider Taylor Carty on Thursday morning. The son of 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus has been rated at 50-1 in the morning line, but trainer D. Wayne Lukas hardly views him as a desperate longshot.

Flying Private, who will break from the No. 20 post position, has won only one of 10 starts, but his trainer knows what it takes to win the Kentucky Derby, having saddled four Derby winners: Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996) and Charismatic (1999).

“He’s as good as some of them I brought here, including some of them who’ve won,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “Charismatic went on to be Horse of the Year, but at this stage, I think he’s every bit as good as Charismatic, and I think he’s better than Grindstone.”

When questioned about his opinion on synthetic surfaces, Lukas said that the new surfaces such as Keeneland’s Polytrack don’t just pose problems to those horses who don’t run their best over it.

“I’m not a synthetic person. I think it’s caused a nightmare for the bettors. The very lifeblood of our industry is the gambling public, and I think they’ve been put at such a disadvantage trying to sort this thing out,” Lukas said. “I think it’ll run its course, and maybe in a couple years, they’ll dig them all up and get back to natural dirt.

“They have that Gamblers Anonymous for people who have that bad gambling habit. Polytrack will take care of that. They won’t need to worry about that anymore. People will quit gambling.”

FRIESAN FIRE – Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm’s Friesan Fire galloped a mile after the renovation break with trainer Larry Jones aboard Thursday morning.

“It was a successful morning,” Jones said. “We got out around there and came back home. He was much more relaxed this morning than yesterday when he was a little anxious after the day off.”

Friesan Fire, who worked five furlongs under jockey Gabriel Saez on Monday morning, walked Tuesday and enjoyed a “goof-off” day Wednesday.

“Apparently some people didn’t get the memo on what we did yesterday,” Jones said. “I turned on the news last night and they were talking about Larry Jones’ unorthodox training methods.

“I galloped him to the gate and then galloped back to the paddock and he maybe did five-eighths (of a mile) total. He enjoyed it out there. I just let him play around a little and have a good time. Horses don’t have to go out and gallop a mile and a half every day.”

The fourth choice on the morning line at 5-1, Friesan Fire will break from post position six under Saez in Kentucky Derby 135.

GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy’s Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) winner General Quarters jogged 1 1/2 miles Thursday morning under exercise rider Julie Sheets and was full of himself being led back to the barn by his 75-year-old trainer. Around a large gathering of well wishers, General Quarters enjoyed his bath and soaked in the surroundings.

“He likes people,” McCarthy said. “He sure enjoys the audience. That will help him Derby Day for sure, I’ll tell you that. A lot of people want to see him do well.”

The McCarthy stable handed out green General Quarters buttons to those who came by to visit the horse this morning, and among those who came by to check on the horse was Steve Bass, agent for General Quarters’ jockey Julien Leparoux and a former student of McCarthy’s in the Louisville school system.

HOLD ME BACK – Trainer Bill Mott sent WinStar Farm’s Hold Me Back out for a one-mile gallop Thursday morning.

“He had a good gallop,” Mott said. “We went early. The track was good. We went out before it was cut up. He went fine.”

Hold Me Back, the runner-up in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) following a victory in the Lane’s End (Grade II), will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.

Desormeaux is a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and will be seeking to become to the first rider to win back-to-back Derbys since Eddie Delahoussaye in 1982 and 1983.

I WANT REVENGE – I Want Revenge went to the track for some light exercise at Churchill Downs on Thursday morning, jogging in the chute, galloping once around and schooling in the paddock.

The son of Stephen Got Even was installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the 135th Run for the Roses, a turn of events that trainer Jeff Mullins couldn’t have envisioned while advising the colt’s breeder, David Lanzman, at the 2008 Barrett’s 2-year-olds-in-training sale. Lanzman had consigned I Want Revenge to the sale and considered buying him back when the bidding slowed.

“I was actually telling him to sell him. At that time, he was an ugly horse,” Mullins said. “He had a pot belly and long hair.”

Lanzman didn’t heed his trainer’s advice and bought back I Want Revenge for $95,000.

“If we all wanted to buy the same horse at a sale, then everybody would just try to buy the same horse and all the others would be bought back. I had a lot of people who loved the horse. The farm people are all here and they loved him. They told me he’s a racehorse,” Lanzman said. “We thought he was something. We signed the ticket and I handed it to Jeff. He looked at me and said, ‘I wouldn’t have bought him for one of my clients.’ ”

Lanzman would eventually sell a big chunk of I Want Revenge to IEAH Stables and Puglisi Racing while retaining control of the colt’s racing career. IEAH bloodstock agent Nick Sallusto subsequently sold “a minute share as a favor to Jeff Singer.”

MINE THAT BIRD – Mine That Bird, the 2008 Canadian champion 2-year-old, galloped two miles Thursday around 7:30 a.m. and gave New Mexico-based trainer Chip Woolley reason for optimism, despite a 50-1 morning-line assignment at Wednesday’s post position draw.

“He went super and really got over the ground well today,” Woolley said. “I’m trying to keep a level keel as Saturday approaches. It’s been exciting from Day One, and I’m just happy to be here. His (morning) line was right what I figured, which is fine with me. Besides, I’ve never bet a horse I’ve run in my entire life. I don’t ever want anyone to worry about that kind of stuff with me.”

Woolley said he will gallop Mine That Bird again Friday and then probably “backtrack” him on raceday morning and let him jog a bit.

Calvin Borel, winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby aboard Street Sense, will have the mount Saturday.

MR. HOT STUFF – The Tiznow colt Mr. Hot Stuff galloped smartly Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, covering a mile and a half under exercise rider Paul Turner. Bowing his neck and grabbing the bit, the dark WinStar Farm homebred looked a picture when he went through his exercises shortly after 7 o’clock.

Half of the WinStar connections – Bill Casner, along with his wife Susan – looked on alongside their trainer, Eoin Harty.

“He’s more relaxed today,” the trainer said. “Today’s Day 3 (his third day at Churchill Downs since coming in from California) and he’s got it figured out now. He knows what’s going on.”

The conditioner said that he had paddocked Mr. Hot Stuff on Wednesday afternoon and would again Thursday during the races.

“He doesn’t need to go to the gate,” he said. “He’s fine in there.”

Mr. Hot Stuff will be making the eighth start of his career Saturday and will break from post three under John Velazquez. Three of his starts came during his 2-year-old campaign.

MUSKET MAN – The Yonaguska colt Musket Man was out early for a mile-and-a-half gallop Thursday morning as he eases into the Kentucky Derby.

“He’s doing fine,” trainer Derek Ryan said of his charge, who has won five of six lifetime starts and comes into the Kentucky Derby off consecutive victories in the Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) and the Illinois Derby (Grade II).

Ryan had selection No.18 and few options left at the post position draw, and took post two for Musket Man.

“Strategy will be all up to the jockey (Eibar Coa),” Ryan said. “But I expect he’ll be somewhere behind the leaders in the second tier heading into the first turn.

“I don’t want him on the lead. He does his best when he has some horses to run at. I usually work him in company because he needs a target to do his best.”

Musket Man showed speed in his first three races, all sprints, but always sat off the pace before making a late move. In the Tampa Bay Derby, he got into a world of trouble early, and had to make a big wide run to get up. In the Illinois Derby, he gained command on the stretch turn and held stoutly to the wire.

“He’s got a high cruising speed,” Ryan said, “but the great thing about him is that he also has a real kick for an eighth of a mile.”

NOWHERE TO HIDE – Trainer Nick Zito’s eleventh-hour Derby 135 entrant met jockey Shaun Bridgmohan for the first time Thursday with a quarter-mile blowout down the lane in :25.20. Nowhere to Hide tugged hard for more as Bridgmohan worked overtime to get him pulled up, even midway down the backstretch.

“Shaun just got familiar with the horse this morning,” Zito said. “That’s all I wanted. The good thing is that he didn’t want to pull up.”

The two-time Derby-winning trainer and his owner, Len Riggio of My Meadowview Farm, have been accused of a case of Derby fever, but Zito reasoned that horse racing is the ultimate game of chance.

“No one has a lock on this game – no one,” he said matter-of-factly.  “He ran fourth three races in a row – the Risen Star, the Tampa Bay Derby and the Illinois Derby – and if he ran fourth in the Kentucky Derby, it would be all right by me,” Zito said. “We’ve been trying to get him here all along; we’ve taken him all over the country.”

PAPA CLEM – Arkansas Derby (Grade II) winner Papa Clem blew out three furlongs in :34 flat Thursday just before 7 a.m. with Derby 135 jockey Rafael Bejarano in the saddle.

In a true Stute family tradition, trainer Gary Stute said Papa Clem was now officially “Melvinized,” a term trainer Bob Baffert coined for the fast blowout works typically given by Stute’s father, Mel. The elder Stute was on hand to watch his son’s horse prepare for Saturday’s Run for the Roses and gave a smile of approval. It also brought good vibes to the younger Stute.

“You see me smiling, don’t you?” Gary Stute said. “If he gets beat, it’s all my fault.”

“He was so comfortable,” Bejarano said of the work, which drew splits of :11.20, :22.40 and a gallop-out of :47.20. “I didn’t have to push him or nothing. Past the wire, I just let him gallop out strong and stay up in the saddle.”

Thursday’s workout for Papa Clem perhaps stemmed the tide of a few unimpressive moves from the son of Smart Strike.

“Everyone has been criticizing his works,” Stute said, and then admitted, “I would have been worried if he didn’t work well today.”

Papa Clem will walk the shedrow for the next two days, Friday and race day. Stute indicated that if Papa Clem had worked slower this morning, he might have brought him to the track Saturday morning, but now feels they are ready to go.

PIONEEROF THE NILE – With owner Ahmed Zayat and trainer Bob Baffert watching from the gap closest  to the five-eighths pole, Pioneerof the Nile galloped about a mile and a half right after the track reopened at 8:30 a.m. following the renovation break.

The Santa Anita Derby (Grade I) winner stood patiently for several minutes while people snapped photos before walking onto the track.

Baffert said the Empire Maker colt was moving toward the race according to plan.

“Everything  is smooth and he looks good out there on the track,” Baffert said. “He’s been very relaxed. My whole mission was to get him here, keep the weight on him and keep his mind relaxed. He was getting a little racy on me at Santa Anita. I didn’t put any fast works into him, just decent works into him.

“He’s fit. He looks really fantastic, flesh-wise. His mind is great. He’s been handling everything. I want him to go up there and be a gentleman. I want him to walk into the gate. I don’t want him to get stirred up. So far, I haven’t seen that here. I’m really happy with that.”

Garrett Gomez will ride Pioneerof the Nile in the Kentucky Derby. Baffert used the fifth choice in the post position draw to select post 16.

SUMMER BIRD – Summer Bird, a lightly raced son of Birdstone, is one of the most relaxed horses on the Churchill Downs backside coming into the Kentucky Derby. Thursday morning the chestnut colt was lying down in his stall taking a nap at 7 o’clock because he wasn’t scheduled to go to the track until 8:30, after the break.

“He woke up early, ate up all his breakfast and then went back to sleep,” trainer Tim Ice said. “He is a very calm horse.”

Out on the track after the break, Summer Bird schooled in the gate, and then galloped one mile under jockey Chris Rosier.

Ice had selection No. 14 and chose post 17 for Summer Bird, who made his first start on March 1, broke his maiden on March 19, and finished third in the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) on April 11.

“Better 17 than post three,” Ice said. “I expect him to be mid-pack early, and make his way over toward the inside before the first turn. I think he’ll run well.”

Follow your Kentucky Derby 135 favorites on www.churchilldowns.com, and get the rundown on how the contenders are training up to the first Saturday in May!

ADVICE / DUNKIRK / JOIN IN THE DANCE – Two of the three Todd Pletcher Kentucky Derby hopefuls galloped Friday morning at Churchill Downs.

Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) runner-up Join in the Dance galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Kevin Willey. With $90,000 in graded earnings, Join in the Dance would need one defection for the list of possible Kentucky Derby starters to gain a spot in the starting gate.

Willey was out in the next set on WinStar Farm’s Advice, galloping a mile and a half. Advice won the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade II) last Saturday.

Dunkirk, owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, is stabled at Palm Meadows in Florida and scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Tuesday, the same day as Pletcher. Edgar Prado has the mount on Dunkirk.

CHOCOLATE CANDY – El Camino Real Derby (Grade III) winner Chocolate Candy visited the paddock and galloped a mile and half under exercise rider Lindsey Molina shortly after the track opened for training at 6 a.m.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is scheduled back in Louisville on Saturday to saddle Rendezvous in the Derby Trial (Grade III). Chocolate Candy, owned by the Sid and Jenny Craig Trust, is scheduled to work Monday or Tuesday.  Mike Smith has the Derby riding assignment.

DESERT PARTY / REGAL RANSOM – The Godolphin duo of Desert Party and Regal Ransom galloped a mile and a quarter each before the renovation break with exercise rider Bob Chapman handling both activities.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor said both colts would work Saturday morning with Regal Ransom going out at 6 a.m. and Desert Party after the break at 8:30. Chapman will handle both five-furlong works.

Ramon Dominguez will ride Desert Party in Kentucky Derby 135 and Regal Ransom will be piloted by Alan Garcia.

FLAT OUT – Oxbow Racing’s Flat Out had an easy day and just walked the shedrow in Barn 48.  Trainer Charles “Scooter” Dickey still has not named a jockey and has not yet decided when Flat Out will work next.

Flat Out is 22nd on the graded earnings list and needs a couple of defections to make the field for Derby 135.

FLYING PRIVATE – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Flying Private galloped an unspecified distance according to trainer D. Wayne Lukas.  Lukas says how far he went “doesn’t matter.”  Exercise rider Taylor Carty was aboard.

Flying Private is scheduled to work unday or Monday according to Lukas. Robby Albarado has the Derby riding assignment.

FRIESAN FIRE – Louisiana Derby (Grade II) winner Friesan Fire arrived at Churchill Downs shortly after 3 p.m. (EDT) following a van ride from Lexington’s Keeneland Race Course.

Trained by Larry Jones for Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm, Friesan Fire is scheduled to be ridden in the Kentucky Derby 135 by Gabriel Saez.  Friesan Fire will be stabled in Barn 45.

GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner-trainer Tom McCarthy reported all was well with General Quarters on Friday morning, a day after the colt worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 under exercise rider Julie Sheets.

Julien Leparoux, who has ridden in the past two Kentucky Derbies, has the call on General Quarters.

HOLD ME BACK – WinStar Farm’s Hold Me Back galloped a mile and a half under assistant trainer Kenny McCarthy before the renovation break Friday morning.

“And Twinkie had a good gallop, too, if anyone is asking,” trainer Bill Mott said with a chuckle, referring to his pony.

Mott is looking at Sunday or Monday as the final work for Hold Me Back, who will attempt to make Kent Desormeaux the first jockey in 26 years to ride back-to-back Kentucky Derby winners. Eddie Delahoussaye last turned the trick in 1982-83 with Gato Del Sol and Sunny’s Halo.

I WANT REVENGE – Wood Memorial (Grade I) winner I Want Revenge started the day with a paddock schooling session and then galloped a mile and a half under Joe Deegan.

Owned by IEAH Stables, David Lanzman and Puglisi Racing, I Want Revenge is scheduled to have his third work at Churchill Downs on Tuesday with jockey Joe Talamo slated to be aboard as he has been for the first two.

Trainer Jeff Mullins is scheduled to return to Louisville from his Southern California base on Saturday.

MINE THAT BIRD – Double Eagle Ranch and Bueno Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird jogged a half-mile and then galloped a mile and half before the renovation break under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.

“He looked sharp this morning,” trainer Chip Woolley said. “He will work Monday morning, a little after the break, around 8:50.”

Calvin Borel will have a get-acquainted session that morning on Mine That Bird, who comes into the Kentucky Derby off a fourth-place finish in the March 29 Sunland Derby.

MUSKET MAN – Eric Fein and Vic Carlson’s Musket Man galloped a mile and five-eighths under Salvador Dominguez early Friday morning and was scheduled for his final pre-Derby work on Saturday.

“When (Eibar) Coa gets here in the morning, we’ll work,” trainer Derek Ryan said.

Coa was aboard for Musket Man’s victory in the Grade II Illinois Derby on April 4 in his most recent start.

PAPA CLEM – Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem galloped a mile and a half before the renovation break under exercise rider Mundo Gonzalez. Gonzalez is scheduled to be aboard for Papa Clem’s work Saturday morning.

“Mundo gallops for me in California and I was thinking that if we do good here and go on to Pimlico, I’d like to have my regular guy who gets on him,” trainer Gary Stute said.

Stute got an extra starter to watch over on Thursday when Kitty in the Bag arrived from Southern California to run in next Thursday’s Kentucky Juvenile (Grade III), the first graded stakes race of the year for 2-year-olds. Stute’s father, veteran California trainer Mel Stute, trains Kitty in the Bag, who won her debut by 3-1/4 lengths going two furlongs at Santa Anita on April 1.

“Dad’s coming in Sunday,” Stute said.

Mel Stute has trained two Kentucky Derby starters: Bold ‘n Rulling, who ran sixth in 1980 and Snow Chief, who ran in 11th in 1986 and came back two weeks later to win the Preakness (Grade I).  Rafael Bejarano has the riding assignment on Papa Clem.

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile galloped a mile and a half after the renovation break with exercise rider George Alvarez up.

Trainer Bob Baffert has Monday penciled in as the next work day for Pioneerof the Nile, who will be ridden in the Derby by Garrett Gomez.

SQUARE EDDIE – J. Paul Reddam’s Square Eddie was on the track before 7 a.m. Friday for a mile and a half gallop under exercise rider Tony Romero.

Leandro Mora, assistant to trainer Doug O’Neill, was asked how the gallop looked to him.

“Pretty damn good,” Mora said with a smile.

Corey Nakatani is scheduled to ride Square Eddie, who is slated to have his final pre-Derby work Sunday with O’Neill expected to be on hand.

“We are working all three that morning,” Mora said, alluding to Claimboxdotcom, O’Neill and Sarno’s Informed, a candidate for next Friday’s Grade III Alysheba, and Reddam and Mark Schlesinger’s Modification, who is nominated to next Friday’s Grade II Louisville Distaff and the Grade I Humana Distaff scheduled for Derby Day.

SUMMER BIRD – K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman’s Summer Bird, working after the renovation break with jockey Chris Rosier up, worked six furlongs in 1:15.80 from the five-eighths pole to the seven-eighths.

Summer Bird stood quietly in the six-furlong gap waiting for the track to reopen. The chestnut son of Birdstone then went about his business with Churchill Downs clockers recording fractions of :12.80, :25.20, :37.20, :49.40, 1:02.60 and out seven furlongs in 1:29.60 over a track rated as “fast”.

“I am happy as I can be with it,” Rosier said. “He was relaxed and calm all the way through.”

Trainer Tim Ice, who will heading to Lone Star Park on Saturday with Rosier and coming back Sunday, liked the work.

“I got him in 1:15 and 3, but he doesn’t work much by himself,” Ice said. “He needs something in front of him.

“He is a deep closer and he picked it up nice and galloped out strong. He gets better the longer he goes.”

Ice said Summer Bird would walk Saturday, jog Sunday morning and gallop into the race “with a two-minute clip down the lane on Wednesday, which is the same thing he did before the Arkansas Derby.” Summer Bird ran third in the Arkansas Derby, coming from 15 lengths back to finish 1 ¼ lengths behind Papa Clem in only his third start.

“We expected good things out of him, but didn’t expect as much of a jump right off the bat,” said Ice, who has saddled horses at Churchill Downs before as an assistant. “It’s a whole new experience having one for yourself for the Derby. There is no other race like it.”

WEST SIDE BERNIE – George and Lori Hall’s West Side Bernie galloped a mile and five-eighths before the renovation break with trainer Kelly Breen up.

Breen plans to work West Side Bernie after the break Saturday morning and hoes to have jockey Stewart Elliott aboard for the work.

WIN WILLY – Jer-Mar Stable’s Win Willy walked the shedrow at Barn 45, a day after arriving from Oaklawn Park where he finished fourth in the Grade II Arkansas Derby in his most recent start.

Cliff Berry is scheduled to ride Win Willy in the Derby for trainer Mac Robertson.

Bo Hirsch’s homebred Papa Clem, winner of the Arkansas Derby (Grade II), breezed an easy five furlongs in the rain on Sunday in the Kentucky Derby (GI) contender’s first serious training move over the track at Churchill Downs.

Jockey Miguel Mena was in the saddle for the move, which was planned for seven furlongs, but received an official five-furlong clocking of 1:04.60.  A steady rain was falling as the colt work over a “good” track and was timed in fractions of :12.40 and :38.60.  He galloped out six furlongs in 1:19.

The breeze ranked 25th out of 28 at the five-furlong distance, but trainer Gary Stute said he was more worried about how much ground Papa Clem actually covered than the time it took to complete the move.

“I didn’t care I just wanted to get seven-eighths in him,” said Stute.  “It was a little slower than I probably originally wanted.  This was just for him to get a feel of the track.  I think I had him in 1:30-and-change for seven-eighths.”

Stute said Papa Clem would have one more work before the May 2 “Run for the Roses.”  Saturday is the most likely day for that move.

Although the Arkansas Derby was the first stakes victory for Papa Clem, the son of Smart Strike had competed well through the winter against California-based stars Pioneerof the Nile and I Want Revenge. Papa Clem finished between those two in the Robert B. Lewis (GII) over the synthetic Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita on Feb. 7.  His only lopsided loss was a runner-up finish to Derby contender Friesan Fire in the Louisiana Derby (GII) at Fair Grounds, where he finished 7 ¼ lengths back off the winner over a sloppy track.

“I definitely think I’ve got a shot,” Stute said. “I don’t think I’m just coming in here to run.”

The Arkansas Derby victory improved Papa Clem’s career record to 2-2-0 in six races with earnings of $790,940.

There was one other work by a possible Derby contender on Sunday at Churchill Downs as Starlight Partners’ Take the Points breezed four furlongs in :47:40 over a “good” track for trainer Todd Pletcher. 
The gray son of Even the Score worked with a stablemate as he covered the distance in fractions of :12 and :23 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.80. Horacio De Paz was aboard Take the Points, who worked over a “good” track just after the renovation break.

“He went very well, but I’m not sure where he is going yet,” said Mike McCarthy, assistant to Pletcher.

Take the Points has accrued $85,000 in graded stakes earnings, which may not be enough to secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate that is limited to 20 horses.  Preference is given to entrants with the highest earnings total in graded stakes races.

The workmate for the Sham (GIII) runner-up was Schramsberg, a unstarted 3-year-old by Storm Cat out of Serena’s Song.  The colts finished on even terms and their work times tied as the fastest of 43 moves at the distance.

It was a quiet morning for other Kentucky Derby contenders on the grounds.  Here is a rundown of their morning activity:

CHOCOLATE CANDY – The Sid and Jenny Craig Trust’s Chocolate Candy galloped a mile and a half shortly after the track opened for training at 6 a.m. Sunday with exercise rider Lindsey Molina up.
Galen May, who has been an assistant to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer since 2002, said Hollendorfer would be in Louisville on Monday night with a work scheduled for Tuesday for Chocolate Candy, runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby (Grade I) in his most recent start and the winner of the El Camino Real Derby (GIII).
Mike Smith, winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby on Giacomo, will ride the homebred son of Candy Ride in Kentucky Derby 135.  Smith is scheduled to be aboard Chocolate Candy for Tuesday’s work at Churchill Downs.

DESERT PARTY/REGAL RANSOM – The Godolphin duo of Desert Party and Regal Ransom walked the shedrow at Barn 41 a day after turning in five-furlong works on Saturday.

“They are both doing well and should go back to the track to jog on Monday,” said Henry Spiller, deputizing at the barn for Rick Mettee who is scheduled back in Louisville on Wednesday. Mettee is an assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor.

Regal Ransom was timed in :59.80 for his work and Desert Party was clocked in 1:00.20. Exercise rider Bob Chapman was aboard for both works.

FLAT OUT – Oxbow Racing’s Flat Out, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park, galloped 1 ¾ miles Sunday under exercise rider Walter Aguilar.

Trainer Charles “Scooter” Dickey said the son of Flatter continues to do well, but he has not determined when Flat Out would work again.

FLYING PRIVATE – Grand Slam Farm LLC’s Flying Private galloped Sunday morning with exercise rider Taylor Carty up.

Fifth in the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) in his most recent start, Flying Private’s work schedule is flexible according to trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

“We are pretty much not under the gun here with him because he just ran (on April 11),” Lukas said. “It will depend on the weather, but we have some time to work with.”

The Derby riding assignment for Flying Private has not been finalized by Lukas.

GENERAL QUARTERS – Tom McCarthy’s General Quarters galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Julie Sheets.

Winner of the Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) at Keeneland in his most recent start, General Quarters will have a new rider in the Kentucky Derby in Julien Leparoux.  However, McCarthy said when General Quarters works next, Sheets will be aboard.

“He will probably work Thursday or Friday, depending on what the weather does this week,” McCarthy said. “But Julie would handle the work.”

I WANT REVENGE – David Lanzman and IEAH Stables’ I Want Revenge jogged a mile and galloped a mile under Joe Deegan early Sunday morning.

Winner of the Wood Memorial (Grade I) and Gotham (Grade III) in his past two starts, I Want Revenge is scheduled to have his second Churchill Downs work on Tuesday with jockey Joe Talamo coming in from California for the work.

MUSKET MAN – Eric Fein and Vic Carlson’s Illinois Derby (GII) and Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) winner Musket Man walked the shedrow a day after working six furlongs in 1:13 under jockey Eibar Coa.

“It was a good work and I think Eibar was more impressed with the work than the race (in Illinois),” trainer Derek Ryan said. “If it keeps raining like this, I may just shedrow him tomorrow or he’ll jog.”

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile, riding a four-race win streak, galloped Sunday morning under exercise rider George Alverez.

“All of my horses galloped good this morning and we got out there before the heavy rain,” said trainer Bob Baffert, who has eight other horses here in addition to Pioneerof the Nile.

Winner of the Santa Anita Derby (Grade I) in his most recent start, Pioneerof the Nile worked a half-mile at Santa Anita in :46.20 on Wednesday, a day before shipping to Louisville. Baffert said the colt’s next work this week would depend on the weather.

WEST SIDE BERNIE – George and Lori Hall’s West Side Bernie galloped a mile and seven-eighths with trainer Kelly Breen up Sunday morning.

Breen has not finalized a work schedule for West Side Bernie, one of six horses Breen has stabled here. No trainer has served as the exercise rider for a Derby winner since Don Combs got on Dust Commander in 1970 and Johnny Longden the year before on Majestic Prince.

KENTUCKY OAKS 135 NOTES
Sunday, April 19, 2009

L & M Partners, LLC’s Rachel Alexandra, the likely favorite for the 135th running of the Kentucky Oaks (GI) on Friday, May 1, returned to the track on Sunday to highlight an easy morning for the handful of Oaks candidates stabled at Churchill Downs.

BE FAIR – Thomas Van Meter and Charles Kidder’s Be Fair galloped Sunday morning at Churchill Downs with exercise rider Omar Golon up for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time winner of America’s premier race for 3-year-old fillies.

Be Fair finished fourth over a synthetic Polytrack surface in the April 4 Ashland Stakes (Grade I) at Keeneland in her most recent start.

GABBY’S GOLDEN GIRL – Arnold Zetcher LLC’s Gabby’s Golden Girl, 13-length winner of the Sunland Park Oaks on March 29, galloped Sunday morning with exercise rider George Alverez up for trainer Bob Baffert.

NAN – J. Paul Reddam’s Nan, fifth in her most recent start in the Ashland Stakes, galloped a mile and a quarter under exercise rider Jose Castanon. The daughter of High Yield is trained by Craig Dollase.

RACHEL ALEXANDRA – L and M Partners, LLC’s probable Kentucky Oaks favorite Rachel Alexandra returned to the track Sunday morning before the renovation break to gallop a mile and a half under exercise rider Rudy Gallegos.

The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro had worked five furlongs in :59.40 on Thursday with jockey Calvin Borel up.

“Today was her first day back and she went well,” said trainer Hal Wiggins, who has Rachel Alexandra’s final work penciled in for April 27.

Rachel Alexandra will bring a string of four consecutive stakes victories into the May 1 Kentucky Oaks that includes the Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs, the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park, the Fair Grounds Oaks (GII) and the Fantasy (GII) at Oaklawn.

Godolphin’s pair of contenders for the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) – Desert Party and Regal Ransom – turned in sharp works Saturday in their first serious training at Churchill Downs, while Illinois Derby (GII) winner Musket Man worked a strong six furlongs under Derby jockey Eibar Coa.

UAE Derby (GII) winner Regal Ransom turned in one of the best works of the day as he zipped five furlongs over a “fast” track in :59.80 under exercise rider Bob Chapman.  The son of Distorted Humor worked shortly after the track opened for training on the perfect spring morning and carved out fractions of :12/60, :24.20, :35.80 and :48 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.

    Desert Party, winner of last fall’s Sanford (GII) at Saratoga and the UAE 2000 Guineas and runner-up to Regal Ransom in the UAE Derby at Nad Al Sheba, worked just after the mid-session break for track maintenance and breezed five furlongs in 1:00.20.  Chapman was aboard as the son of Street Cry covered the distance in fractions of :12.20, :24.40, :37 and :48.80 and galloped out strongly with six furlongs in 1:13.20.

    “Both of them seemed to grab the track really good,” said Rick Mettee, assistant to Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor.  “This is the first these two have worked over a dirt track since last fall.  Of course they ran over the dirt at Nad Al Sheba, but that’s one reason why Saeed wanted to get them in here earlier.  They’ve been training at the (synthetic) Tapeta track over at Al Quoz and then before they got there they trained over the conventional Polytrack at Keeneland.”\

    Desert Party had some unexpected company on the track as he encountered Nowhere to Hide, the Nick Zito-trained fourth-place finisher in the Risen Star (GIII), Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) and Illinois Derby (GIII), at the head of the stretch and quickly blew past that colt as he split Zito’s colt on the rail and a galloper to the outside.

    “He had some competition there turning for home and that kind of spurred him on a little bit,” said Mettee.  “He grabbed the track fine and galloped out good and we’re really happy with that. He probably isn’t as a good a work horse as the other.  The track might not have been quite as fast as it was early.  That’s what my rider said.”

    Mettee said there has still been no formal decision as to whether both colts will run in the 135th Kentucky Derby on May 2, but said today’s efforts by Regal Ransom and Desert Party could accelerate that decision.

    “I think we wanted to kind of get past this hurdle and see how both of them were doing,” he said.  “Both of them worked good before we left – both of them worked sharp halves.  So this was the next step.  Saeed and Shiekh Mohammed will go over that, and it probably won’t be that long before they make a decision.”

    Mettee said Regal Ransom and Desert Party would have one more work in the days leading up to the Derby.

    “We’re kind of ahead of the game now, so we could go anywhere from Saturday to Tuesday of next week,” he said.  “Depending the weather and the track, we’d just wait and see.”

    Desert Party has a career record of 4-1-0 in six races and has earned $688,467.  Regal Ransom’s record stands at 2-2-0 in five races with earnings of $1,297,200.

    Meanwhile, Eric Fein and Vic Carlson’s Musket Man, the winner of the Illinois Derby (GIII) and Tampa Bay Derby, breezed six furlongs in the company of a stablemate for trainer Derek Ryan.  Coa guided the son of Yonaguska through the distance in 1:13 just after the break for track maintenance.

    Musket Man pulled away from his workmate, the 3-year-old colt Bull Toccet, at the top of the stretch and was about four lengths clear at the finish.  Bull Toccet covered the distance in 1:13.80.

    The work started at the 5 ½ furlong pole and finished up at the 7 ½ pole, and clockers caught Musket Man through his final quarter mile in :24.40.

    “I was pretty happy the way he worked,” said Coa.  “He just sat next to that horse all the way to the eighth pole and when I asked him he really finished up good.  That was what we were looking for today, and he did it the way we wanted to.”

    It was the first work over the track for Musket Man since his arrival at the track on April 5, the day after his victory in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Park.  

    “It went very well – it couldn’t have been a better work,” said trainer Derek Ryan.   “I always work him in company.  Every work he’s ever had has been in company, because he’s a little bit laid-back on his own and we needed to get a good work in him.”

    Musket Man has won five of six career starts with earnings of $572,600.

BAFFERT RETURNS TO THE CHURCHILL FOR DERBY – Three-time Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert was back at Barn 33 on Saturday to oversee the training of Zayat Stable’s Pioneerof the Nile in the two weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby.

    The son of Empire Maker galloped Saturday morning following the break for track maintenance with Baffert looking on.  Baffert last participated in the Kentucky Derby when he saddled three horses in 2006.

    “It’s good to be back,” said Baffert. “You miss having a good horse for it.  But if you don’t have the right horse, you don’t miss it.  It’s not the same – it doesn’t get the juices flowing.  This time, coming here with a horse like this, I feel like I have a good chance to win it, so it’s exciting when you know you have a good horse.”

    Pioneerof the Nile has won four consecutive stakes races, including the Santa Anita Derby in his most recent outing on April 4.  Baffert’s colt has yet to run on traditional dirt – all of his previous races have been on turf or synthetic courses – but Baffert is encouraged that horses that he had beaten in California – such as Wood Memorial (GI) winner I Want Revenge and Arkansas Derby (GII) winner Papa Clem – traveled East and performed well on dirt courses.

    “It’s good that horses that left town to get away from him did well,” he said.  “This horse is improving and I think he should move up on the dirt, but you never know.”

    Baffert said Pioneerof the Nile would work Tuesday or Wednesday.

SUNDAY WORKS – Trainer Gary Stute said Bo Hirsch’s homebred Papa Clem, winner of the Arkansas Derby (GII), would work seven furlongs at Churchill Downs on Sunday.  

    Stute, who was traveling to Louisville on Saturday, said the colt would work close to the break for track maintenance.  

    Also scheduled to work on Sunday is Starlight Partners’ Take the Points, the runner-up in the Sham (GIII) who could enter the Kentucky Derby picture if there are defections from the list of possible starters over the next few days.  Take the Points is trained by Todd Pletcher.

 

After spending the winter on synthetic surfaces in California, Zayat Stables Pioneerof the Nile and the Sid and Jenny Craig Trust’s Chocolate Candy got a feel for the traditional dirt track at Churchill Downs on Friday as they began their first full day at the home of the Kentucky Derby.

    The Bob Baffert-trained Pioneerof the Nile, whose win in the Santa Anita Derby (GI) marked his fourth straight stakes victory, and Chocolate Candy, the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby, both jogged over a “fast” surface after the mid-session break for track maintenance on Friday.  

    The two horses arrived at Churchill Downs early Thursday afternoon.  Chocolate Candy is scheduled to work on Tuesday, April 28 at Churchill Downs with new jockey Mike Smith in the saddle.  Smith, who won the 2005 Kentucky Derby aboard Giacomo, piloted the homebred Candy Ride colt in his last work before his departure from California.  Hollendorfer will accompany Smith to Kentucky for the work.

    Trainer Bob Baffert is scheduled to arrive in Louisville Friday evening and will be at Barn 33 on Saturday to supervise the training of Pioneerof the Nile and Kentucky Oaks (GI) hopeful Gabby’s Golden Gal.

Four Kentucky Derby contenders are scheduled to work at Churchill Downs over the weekend:

• Godolphin’s pair of Kentucky Derby hopefuls will work on Saturday.  UAE Derby winner Regal Ransom is scheduled to work as soon as the track opens at 6 a.m. (all times EDT), while UAE 2000 Guineas winner Desert Party will work just after the maintenance break around 8:30 a.m.
• Illinois Derby (GII) and Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) winner Musket Man will work just after the break with jockey Eibar Coa up.
•  Arkansas Derby (GII) winner Papa Clem will work seven furlongs on Sunday, according to trainer Gary Stute.

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time winner of both the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, has arrived on the scene with Kentucky Derby hopeful Flying Private and Oaks candidate Be Fair.  Lukas said Flying Private would work “Monday or Tuesday,” and was leaning toward the latter.  Be Fair is set for a Sunday breeze.

    Wood Memorial (GI) winner I Want Revenge is scheduled for a Tuesday work.  

    Three other Kentucky Derby contenders are on the grounds at Churchill Downs.  Toyota Blue Grass (GI) winner General Quarters, Wood Memorial (GI) runner-up West Side Bernie and Smarty Jones winner Flat Out all galloped on Friday.

Bo Hirsch’s homebred Papa Clem, winner of the $1 million Arkansas Derby (Grade II) on April 11 at Oaklawn Park, arrived at Churchill Downs late Tuesday afternoon to continue his preparation for the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI).

    Papa Clem flew from Arkansas to Lexington, Ky., then traveled just over an hour by van to Churchill Downs.  He arrived at the Louisville track at 5:30 p.m. (all times EDT) and took up residence in Barn 10A, which houses horses trained by Cody Autrey.

    The Gary Stute-trained Papa Clem was ridden by former Churchill Downs leading rider Rafael Bejarano when the son of Smart Strike won the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby on April 11.  The victory was his first stakes triumph and improved his record to 2-2-0 in six races and lifted his earnings to $790,940.

    The arrival of Papa Clem raises the number of likely Kentucky Derby contenders on the grounds to seven.  The others are Wood Memorial (GI) winner I Want Revenge; Toyota Blue Grass (GI) winner General Quarters; Illinois Derby (GII) winner Musket Man; and Regal Ransom and Desert Party, Godolphin’s 1-2 finishers in the $2 million UAE Derby (GII).

    Seven horses trained by three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert – headed by Kentucky Oaks (GI) candidate Gabby’s Golden Gal and multiple stakes winner Indian Blessing – arrived at Churchill Downs on Tuesday afternoon.  The Baffert horses settled into Barn 33, the trainer’s tradition spot under the Twin Spires.  Baffert’s Kentucky Derby contender, Zayat Stable’s Santa Anita Derby (GI) winner Pioneerof the Nile, is scheduled to arrive at the Louisville track on Thursday, April 16.

    Gabby’s Golden Gal, a 13-length winner of the Sunland Park Oaks, joins likely favorite Rachel Alexandra as the only Kentucky Oaks candidates on the grounds.  Indian Blessing, runner-up to Big City Man in the $2 million Golden Shaheen at Dubai’s Nad Al Sheba on March 28, is set to run in the Humana Distaff (GI) on Kentucky Derby Day.

    The Baffert group also included 3-year-olds Mythical Power and Turk.  Both are nominated to the $100,000-added Derby Trial (GIII) on April 25, the opening day of the track’s Spring Meet.  Diamond Tags, a 3-year-old filly nominated to the $100,000 Eight Belles (GIII) on Kentucky Derby Day, is also settling in at the Baffert barn.