Mr. Hot Stuff

Follow Churchill Downs all week for the latest information on your favorites for Kentucky Derby 135!

ADVICE / DUNKIRK / JOIN IN THE DANCE / TAKE THE POINTS – A trio of Todd Pletcher-trained Kentucky Derby “possibles” went through their final serious drills for the Saturday spectacular on Monday morning, putting a “put me in coach” spin on activities Pletcher’s Barn 38.

Pletcher took up a post in the grandstand and oversaw the activities, which began shortly after the renovation break ended at 8:30 a.m. (all times EDT) when Hall of Fame jockey-turned-jockey-agent-and-sometimes-exercise-rider Angel Cordero Jr. guided the Sky Mesa colt Join in the Dance through a five-furlong workout timed in 1:00.20.

Join in the Dance, stakes-placed and No. 21 on the Kentucky Derby “eligible” list based on graded stakes earnings starting out the day, has a good turn of foot and could be a solid forward factor in the full field if he gets to run.

“He’s an enthusiastic work horse, so it was good to see him settle and work well today,” Pletcher said afterward. “He should be ready now.”

Next from the Pletcher barn – just after 9 a.m. – came two other Derby candidates, the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade II) winner Advice and the gray Even the Score colt Take the Points.

Advice went off first with exercise rider Kevin Willey up and covered four furlongs in :47.20, then galloped out an extra furlong in 1:00. He is already solidly “in” the Derby lineup based on graded earnings, should his connections – the WinStar Farm crew of Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt – decide they’d like a third horse in Derby 135. The Kentucky farm already has Hold Me Back and Mr. Hot Stuff scheduled to run in the 10-furlong classic, so the thought of wheeling Advice back in two weeks off his Lexington tally has been debated.

“I got him (Advice) finishing up that work in :23 and 1,” Pletcher said. “It was a good move for him.”

Shortly after Advice took care of business, exercise rider Horacio De la Paz had Take the Points ready to ramble five-eighths and he was joined – once again – by the unstarted potential star (he’s by Storm Cat out of champion Serena’s Song) Schramsberg, with Cordero on board. The pair had worked in company last week and they went at it again with the unraced chestnut youngster starting out a length or two in front as they went by the five-furlong marker.

The gray colt – who sits at No. 22 on the Derby “eligible” list --  took dead aim on his “rival” around the turn and by the time he’d gone by the wire in 1:00.20, he was well clear and drawing out on the less-experienced colt, who was given a final time of 1:01.60.

“I was happy to see the work by Take the Points,” Pletcher said. “He picked up his workmate and went right on by. He looked good doing it.”

The trainer said decisions on who might – and might not – be entered in the Derby on Wednesday morning would be made Tuesday. Possible jockey assignments will be fixed then, too.

“We’ll see how they come out of these works tomorrow morning,” the trainer said. “We’re happy with the overall activity today and it sets us up for lots of possibilities.”

The final Pletcher Derby candidate – and one of the possible favorites for the race – Dunkirk, spent his Monday morning shipping to West Palm Beach Airport for a flight to Louisville. He was expected to join the Pletcher barn Monday afternoon.

CHOCOLATE CANDY – Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer made a beeline from Barn 42 to the clocker’s stand on the Churchill Downs backside Monday morning just before 8:30 a.m. and the end of the track’s renovation break. He got there in time to watch Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith backtrack his colt Chocolate Candy from the six-furlong gap to the eighth pole, then turn and ease on in to a five-furlong workout.

As the work began to unfold on the backstretch near the five-eighths pole, a two-horse collision near the finish line occurred and sent track sirens wailing. It also sent Hollendorfer – and everyone else at the track – into moments of high anxiety. Fortunately for the Chocolate Candy connections the unhappy incident did not disrupt their business and the tall, bay son of Candy Ride clipped off a drill of :59.20, galloping out an extra furlong in 1:12.80. (Clockers caught the early splits in :12, :23.60, :35.60 and :47.)

“We both saw the horses down,” Smith said afterward. “Luckily, it happened over by the outer rail. He (Chocolate Candy) just looked that way for a second, but he turned back and kept on going. We both were able to focus and complete what we had to do.”

A slightly shaken Hollendorfer was happy to have the work and the incident behind him.

“We were lucky we got to finish the work,” he said heading back to the barn. “So many things can happen. It is worrisome.

“I had told Mike ‘Just like Santa Anita’ (a reference to a :59.20 work turned in by the pair at the California track on April 12). He hit it right on. Now I think my horse has a chance to run well here. He can handle this track and now we know he can run well here. Handling the track is key and he’s show us he can.”

Smith had little doubt about that subject.

“Sure, he’ll handle this track,” the rider said. “He’ll handle anything. He’s a nice colt. His work today felt just like the one at Santa Anita. He’s ready to go.”

Chocolate Candy is a winner of four of nine starts and $532,500. He was bred by the late Sid Craig and his wife Jenny and currently races for the family’s Trust.

DESERT PARTY / REGAL RANSOM – Trainer Saeed bin Suroor watched his Kentucky Derby prospects jog a mile shortly after the track opened for training at 6 a.m.

The Godolphin duo turned in the two fastest five-furlong works Saturday morning: Regal Ransom in :59.20 and Desert Party in :59.60. Sunday morning they walked the shedrow at Barn 41.

“They came out of their work in good form. No problem,” bin Suroor said. “They are perfectly, sound, happy, fresh. No problems at all.”

The veteran trainer said the colts would gallop Tuesday morning. Both colts started their racing careers in the United States last year, spent the winter in Dubai and competed in the international race meet at Nad al Sheba race track. Regal Ransom, who had finished second to Desert Party in the first two races at Nad al Sheba, pulled off a bit of an upset in the UAE Derby on March 28, beating his stablemate by a half-length.

“Both of these horses are much better than they were in Dubai,” bin Suroor said. “They each had three runs in Dubai. They handled the travel very well.”

Alan Garcia will ride Regal Ransom and Ramon Dominguez has the assignment on Desert Party in the Derby.

FLYING PRIVATE – Robert Baker and William Mack's Flying Private worked four furlongs in :47.40 after the renovation break Monday. Robby Albarado, who has the mount for Derby 135, was aboard for the move that featured fractions of  :23.80 for the quarter and :35.80 for three-eighths.

“He went well,” Albarado said. “It was just a maintenance work with company. Wayne (trainer D. Wayne Lukas) wanted to get a good finish and that's what we got.”

FRIESAN FIRE – Larry Jones had said he did not expect Friesan Fire to work as fast in his final Derby drill as Hard Spun did two years ago.

He was right. Friesan Fire worked bullet five furlongs in :57.80 with jockey Gabriel Saez up. Hard Spun had worked in :57.60 under Jockey Mario Pino on the Monday of Derby Week.

“A fifth of a second off,” Jones said, adding with a laugh, “that’s good, people would have said I worked him too fast.”

Working immediately after the renovation break over a “fast” track, Friesan Fire reeled off fractions of :11.20, :22.20, :33.60, :45.20 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.

“I was very happy with it,” Jones said. “Gabe said he thought he went in about a minute. If I could have written the perfect script, I would have had him gallop out in 1:12, but he has been watching those tents every day (on the backside) and I wanted to put the blinkers on to keep him more focused.”

Jones, whose horses have run second in the past two editions of the Kentucky Derby, was asked if he felt the Derby gods might smile on him this year.

“I feel blessed to have run in the past two Kentucky Derbys and have horses run well,” Jones said referring to Hard Spun and Eight Belles. “If the gods want to smile on me, I’m gonna grin from ear to ear.”

Jones said Friesan Fire would walk Tuesday, jog Wednesday and then gallop up to Derby 135.

“Wednesday is going to be an easy day,” Jones said. “He may go to the paddock and the gate and walk around and see some folks. We’re fine (after this work); he wasn’t blowing at all when he came back.”

Friesan Fire is owned by Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm, the same partnership that owns Kodiak Kowboy who worked five furlongs in :59.80 immediately after Friesan Fire as a prep for a run in Saturday’s Grade II Churchill Downs. Saez was aboard Kodiak Kowboy and also worked Just Jenda, owned by Jones’ wife Cindy, a half-mile in :48 in preparation for the Eight Belles on Saturday.

GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy looked on as his Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) winner turned in a second straight spirited gallop mid-track under exercise rider Julie Sheets. McCarthy said he won’t change plans with his one-horse stable and continue to just gallop General Quarters up to Derby 135.

“He’s a strong galloper, maybe too strong sometimes,” McCarthy said moments after this morning’s 1 1/2-mile exercise.

General Quarters does not have the prettiest conformation or stride, especially in the right-front foot, which is why he sold for just $20,000 as a yearling. But, as McCarthy noted, “It does not affect him when he gallops or runs, there’s no doubt about that. You have to do something corrective when they are a baby, or just live with it. He’s always had it and always will.”

One area where McCarthy won’t have to worry about his horse is familiarity with Churchill Downs. McCarthy said because General Quarters has raced, trained and stabled here in the past, “He knows his way around. There’s no need to school him in between races in the paddock or do too much with him at this point.”

HOLD ME BACK – Typically, horses spend a day away from the track the morning after a timed workout. Not WinStar Farm’s Hold Me Back, who needed more action than a stroll around trainer Bill Mott’s shedrow.

Sunday morning, the Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) runner-up worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 under Hall of Fame jockey and three-time Kentucky Derby-winner Kent Desormeaux. At 6:55 a.m. Monday, Mott led the colt and assistant trainer Kenny McCarthy to the track, where they galloped a mile.

“He doesn’t like to walk,” Mott said. “He’d rather train. He’s full of energy and gets anxious. He wants to get out and do a little something.”

I WANT REVENGE – One day before he’s scheduled for his final tune-up for the Kentucky Derby, I Want Revenge jogged a mile and galloped a mile under exercise rider Joe Deegan at Churchill Downs on Monday morning.

“I think he’s just peaking now,” trainer Jeff Mullins said. “He looks just as good as he did in New York, maybe a little better. For as much traveling as he’s done for a young horse, he hasn’t missed a beat. I don’t think he’s ever come out of his feed tub one time.”

Mullins will send the Kentucky-bred colt to the track Tuesday morning right after the renovation break, although he said he hadn’t decided whether the workout will be four or five furlongs.

While getting his morning bath following his exercise Monday morning, I Want Revenge looked like the picture of health, except for a few minor abrasions on his left knee.

“He got cast in his stall the night before his first work here,” said Mullins, whose colt has worked the two previous Tuesdays at Churchill Downs. “You can see the scapes on his head and everywhere else.”

I Want Revenge will be ridden by 19-year-old Joe Talamo, who guided him from last to first with a heads-up ride in the eventful Wood Memorial (Grade I) at Aqueduct in his final prep.

“He definitely moved up a couple notches in my book, that’s for sure. I knew he was a good rider, but to tell you the truth, I didn’t realize he was that young,” Mullins said. “I thought he was 20-something years old. To show that kind of confidence and patience, it’s pretty strong for a guy that age.”

Although the son of Stephen Got Even settled nicely in the back of the pack after a very slow start, Mullins isn’t so sure that his Wood Memorial winner necessarily showed a new dimension with his deep-closing effort at Aqueduct.

“That happened by accident. Sometimes you might not be able to make him do that,” he said. “He’s a strong-minded horse. If he breaks without any trouble, I don’t think you’re going to be able to wrangle him back.”

MINE THAT BIRD – Expected to be Canada’s first champion 2-year-old in the Kentucky Derby starting gate since Talkin Man in 1995, Mine That Bird drilled five furlongs in 1:02 flat Monday morning under jockey Calvin Borel. Churchill Downs clockers had the son of Birdstone galloping out an additional furlong in :13.20.

Mine That Bird was ponied to the five-eighths pole easily and broke off slowly for Borel, asked to run through the lane at trainer Chip Woolley’s instructions. Fractions were :13, :25.40, :37.40, :49.80 and 1:02 for the official clocking.

“Things went super,” Woolley said afterward. “I’m really happy with my horse. It’s pretty much exactly what I wanted – he started slower and finished up super-strong. He came back to the barn really playing. That’s as good as you are ever going to see him feeling. He’s not an animated horse.”

Mine That Bird will walk the shedrow Tuesday and “lope” up to the race the rest of the week. Woolley said his colt may school in the starting gate Wednesday, but will not be schooling in the paddock during racing days this week.

Monday’s exercise was delayed approximately 40 minutes because of an on-track accident that temporarily forced the track’s closure. Woolley said Mine That Bird was just about to be bandaged and ready to go out when the closure announcement was made.

“Luckily we weren’t all the way ready at the time,” he said. “It’s unfortunate for the horses and horsemen involved any time something like this happens. We just had to be patient.”

It was a big morning for Borel, who also worked Kentucky Oaks favorite Rachel Alexandra just moments before being hustled to the Woolley barn via golf cart to partner with his Derby 135 mount.

MR. HOT STUFF – WinStar Farm’s Mr. Hot Stuff was airborne from California on Monday, a day after drilling five furlongs in 1:00.40 at Santa Anita.

The stretch-running full brother to Travers Stakes (Grade I) winner Colonel John is trained by Eoin Harty, who shipped successfully to Kentucky on Sunday after overseeing the work.

Harty confirmed that the Eastern-based rider John Velazquez has taken the call on Mr. Hot Stuff for Derby 135.  Velazquez had been scheduled to ride Florida Derby (GI) winner Quality Road in the Kentucky Derby, but became available after that colt’s foot concerns took him out of Derby consideration on Monday morning.

NOTE: The plane carrying Mr. Hot Stuff from California was scheduled to arrive in Louisville at approximately 5 p.m., and the colt is expected to arrive on the grounds around 6 p.m.

MUSKET MAN – Illinois Derby (Grade II) winner Musket Man had another easy day Monday, and trainer Derek Ryan said the colt’s work is done until Saturday.

“He galloped an easy mile and a half today,” Ryan said, “and then he went to the gate to school at 7 a.m. That’s really it for him. He’ll just gallop up to the race now.”

Musket Man, a colt by Yonaguska–Fortesque, by Fortunate Prospect, had his last serious breeze for the Derby on Saturday, going five furlongs in 1:01.60 with jockey Eibar Coa aboard.

He is coming off back-to-back victories in the Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) and the Illinois Derby and has only lost once in six career starts, a third-place finish in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (Grade III) at Tampa Bay in February.

Ryan bought the colt as a yearling in 2007 at Keeneland because he had trained Musket Man’s half-sister, a filly named Casablanca Babe.

“I gave $20,000 for her as a 2-year-old,” Ryan said. “She ended up getting claimed for $50,000, but she was a remarkable mare. She won on everything – dirt, mud, turf, synthetics – anything.

“So when I saw this colt in the book, I went to the sale to buy him. He’s turned out to be a runner like his sister.”

Casablanca Babe won 12 of her 46 career starts and earned more than $200,000.

PAPA CLEM – One of the potential Derby 135 pace players walked the shedrow Monday morning for the second straight day as scheduled. Papa Clem will return to the track Tuesday morning and will blow out on Thursday with a “quarter-mile breeze, maybe let him go out three-eighths,” trainer Gary Stute said.

“He came out of Saturday’s work perfect; his legs were ice cold,” Stute said. “When I work him alone like that, it takes nothing out of him. He’s really one who needs to see another horse to get serious. He’s never been one to impress you training, so we’ll find out Saturday for sure how he’s handling the track, honestly.”
With the defection of Quality Road Monday morning, the Derby’s pace scenario softened somewhat, which could benefit horses with solid early foot like Papa Clem.

“He can be up there or sit off the pace like we found out in Arkansas,” Stute said. “He pretty much runs his :47-and-change for the half. If it’s slow, that will put him up there. If it’s fast, he’ll be a few lengths off it. I wouldn’t mind a post somewhere in that 6-7-8 range.”

Stute will be making his Kentucky Derby debut, but he carries on a family legacy. His father, Mel, ran Snow Chief in the 1986 Derby. After an 11th-place finish in Louisville, Snow Chief rebounded to win the Preakness. The younger Stute will have family support this week.

“My mom and dad are coming in this week, and dad has Kitty in the Bag running Thursday in the 2-year-old stakes ($100,000 Kentucky Juvenile),” Stute said. “It figures to be an exciting week for all of us.”

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Regular exercise rider Joe Steiner guided Pioneerof  the Nile through a five-furlong work in 1:01 moments after the track reopened at 8:30 a.m. following the renovation break.

Trainer Bob Baffert watched the work from the front side of the track and, as is his custom, was in touch with the rider via radio. Pioneerof the Nile, owned by Zayat Stables, cruised through fractions of  :11.80. :23.80, :36 and :48.60. He was allowed to gallop out a long way and was timed in 1:13.40 for the six furlongs.

“He went really nice,” Baffert said. “There was a lot of wind. He left the half-mile pole, went five-eighths and he galloped out pretty strong all the way around there. He was moving really well and looked comfortable over the track.”

Pioneerof the Nile has won all four of his starts on synthetic surfaces in California since being moved to Baffert’s care late last year. The son of 2004 Kentucky Derby runner-up Empire Maker has trained well on dirt, but the Derby will be his debut on dirt.

“He’s got a long stride as it is, but he really moves better over the dirt, I think,” Baffert said. “His stride is just tremendous.”

Baffert was pleased with the way the colt performed in his final breeze before the Derby.

“He did it pretty effortlessly,” Baffert said. “I think he wanted to go a little faster; I wouldn’t let him. I was really happy with the work. I’m really excited about the work.”

Steiner gave the Santa Anita Derby winner high marks, too.

“It was a comfortable, smooth move,” Steiner said. “He just kind of coasted around there and we let him gallop out on his own. He felt perfect.”

Steiner, who has been a jockey for nearly 25 years, said he likes the way the colt is approaching the race.

“Mentally, he’s focused, he’s confident, he’s calm,” Steiner said. “The way you want a horse to act, he’s shown everything. He’s like a dream to gallop. He’s very kind.  I think the key at this point is being focused and confident. He’s handling all the media and all that stuff around him. It doesn’t faze him. And physically, he’s right on. With the combination of the two, now it’s up to luck.”

Steiner said Pioneerof the Nile feels the same way to him on the dirt track at Churchill Downs and the synthetic surfaces in California. The Derby will be Pioneerof the Nile’s first race on dirt.  “You couldn’t ask a horse to be doing any better than this.” Steiner said.

QUALITY ROAD – Trainer Jimmy Jerkens canceled his Kentucky Derby plans for Quality Road on Monday morning, reporting that the quarter crack in the right front hoof of his Florida Derby winner was still too sensitive to go forward with a scheduled workout at Belmont Park.

“It’s devastating,” said Jerkens, who had planned a six-furlong workout over the Belmont training track. “I don’t know if you can get another horse in the Derby with his credentials.”

The quarter crack had been patched by hoof specialist Ian McKinlay on Sunday morning before Quality Road was sent to the track for a 1¾-mile gallop. However, his Kentucky Derby future became tenuous when a tinge of blood was detected in the hoof upon his return to the barn.

“He’s really sensitive on the quarter. It’s not terribly bad, but it’s not right,”  Jerkens said. “Even if we could work him tomorrow, it’s hard to fathom that he can get sound enough to work and come out of it good.”

Quality Road had previously developed a quarter crack in his right rear leg at Gulfstream Park, but it was successfully patched and has not hindered his training.

Jerkens said that future plans for the son of Elusive Quality, who has won three of four starts, are on hold until he and McKinlay can successfully treat the half-inch crack in wall of the right front foot.

“We’ve got to get it right. I don’t know how long it will take,” he said. “We’ll re-patch it, but we can’t do that until all the soreness is out of it. This crack is a lot different than the other one (in the right rear). It’s a lot more sensitive.”

NYRA notes writer Jenny Kellner contributed to this report.

SQUARE EDDIE – The chestnut charger Square Eddie limited his fancy footwork to a walk around the shedrow at Barn 17 Monday morning following his four-furlong drill in :50.20 on Sunday.

“Quiet day; all’s good,” exercise rider Tony Romero said.

Trainer Doug O’Neill was an early visitor to the barn to check on his charge and he had noted that the horse was scheduled to go back to the track Tuesday for a light jog.

Romero confirmed that the Smart Strike colt would once again ship to Keeneland Monday afternoon to continue his “swimming” routine, using the pool and treadmill at a Lexington facility. The Square Eddie connections have attributed a fair share of their runner’s fitness and recovery from a small fracture suffered in California in February to his additional regular exercise in various pools.

SUMMER BIRD – Summer Bird, a son of 2004 Belmont Stakes (GI) winner Birdstone was out right after the track reopened at 8:30 Monday morning. He galloped a mile and a half around the Churchill Downs strip with jockey Chris Rosier aboard, and then went to school in the paddock. He was in the paddock when an accident occurred near the finish line, and he stayed there for 30 minutes until the track was clear.

“He had already finished his gallop and was in the paddock when the track was closed,” trainer Tim Ice said. “He was out of harm's way, and I told Chris just to stay there until everything was clear.  He’s doing great, and he’ll just gallop up to the race. He’ll school in the gate on Thursday.”

Summer Bird had his final breeze – six furlongs in 1:15.80 – at Churchill Downs on Friday.  The colt was bred by his owners, the husband-wife team of Drs K.K. and V. Devi Jayaraman. They had a Derby starter in 1989, when Irish Actor ran seventh behind Sunday Silence.

“We got to the Derby after being in the business six or seven years, and we thought how easy it was,” Dr. K.K. Jayaraman said with a smile.  “It only took us 20 years to get back here.”

The Jayaramans raced Summer Bird’s dam, the Summer Squall mare Hong Kong Squall. Although she failed to win in nine career starts, Hong Kong Squall has produced five starters and five winners in five years.

“She hasn’t missed a season,” Dr. Jayaraman said. “She has a 2-year-old by Jump Start who hasn’t run yet, a yearling by Johar, and she’s due to foal on May 11 from a cover to Friends Lake.

“When she does foal, she’ll be bred back to Birdstone. She’s been wonderful to us.”

WEST SIDE BERNIE – With trainer Kelly Breen aboard, West Side Bernie galloped a mile and three-eighths around the Churchill Downs oval Monday morning.

“He felt great out there,” Breen said. “The work (a half-mile in :48.20 on Saturday) set him up right for the race.”

This is Breen’s first Derby experience, but his rider Saturday will be Stewart Elliott, who won the Run for the Roses aboard Smarty Jones in 2004.

“Stew and I had dinner the other night,” Breen said, “and we started talking about what post we would want if we had this pick or that pick. I had some ideas, but Stew came up with some interesting stuff.  I think I’ve run the race a thousand times in my head to figure out what the best post will be. The draw will be interesting.”

West Side Bernie ran well to be third in the Holy Bull Stakes (Grade III) at Gulfstream Park in January, but then threw in a clunker when sixth in the Lanes End (Grade II) at Turfway Park in March.

“He just didn’t fire in that race, for whatever reason,” Breen said. “We knew we wanted to run in the Derby, and we wanted another race for him, so we settled on the Wood Memorial.”

In that Grade I event at Aqueduct on April 4, West Side Bernie made a big run around the turn and finished second, a length and a half behind I Want Revenge.

“Now everybody is giving me statistics,” Breen said. “Like the fact that both Monarchos and Funny Cide finished second in the Wood before they won the Derby.

“All I know is that you need the best horse, or the luckiest horse, to win the Derby. I hope that’s us.”

WIN WILLY – Win Willy, a son of Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos, came out on the track after the break Monday morning for his final serious work and was timed in 1:02.40 for five furlongs over the fast main track.

With exercise rider Eli Lopez aboard, Win Willy cruised through splits of :13.20, :25.60 and :37.80, and galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.60.

“He looked good, went along nice and smooth,” trainer Mac Robertson said. “It looked like he finished strong, which is what I wanted to see.”

Robertson said he deliberately used his regular exercise rider, who weighs 140 pounds, rather than jockey Cliff Berry because that particular plan had worked before with Win Willy.

“Coming into the Rebel (Grade II on March 14 at Oaklawn Park), Eli breezed him three times, in what looked like slow times,” Robertson said. “He went three-quarters in 1:15 4/5, then a half in :50, and a half in :51 2/5.  But that set him up perfectly for the race, and he won big (by 2 1/4, going away).  Then, coming into the Arkansas Derby, I had the jockey up in the breezes. It was just different for the horse. With Cliff up, he breezed a half in :48 2/5, and then a bullet half in :48 flat just before the race. And then, of course, he ran fourth in the race.  So I just thought I’d go back to what worked for us earlier in the year, and had Eli breeze him at Oaklawn last week (a half in :51.20) and then again today.  We’ve done all we can do, and now he’s gonna belong in there, or he isn’t.”

Keep tabs on your favorite Kentucky Derby 135 contender through Churchill Downs, as we offer daily updates on the training, workouts, and preparations of all the Derby hopefuls!

ADVICE / DUNKIRK / JOIN IN THE DANCE – At Churchill Downs, assistant trainer Mike McCarthy had two of trainer Todd Pletcher’s candidates for the 135th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) out for exercise early on a beautiful morning beneath the Twin Spires.

With the first set, shortly after the track opened at 6 a.m., Join in the Dance and exercise rider Kevin Willey took a mile and three-eighths tour of oval, galloping along in the dark with only a few other Thoroughbreds joining them on the mile oval.

At about 6:30, Willey switched tack to Advice and took him roughly the same distance. They had more company on the big strip for their leg-stretching just as daylight began to arrive on the scene.

Pletcher was scheduled to fly from Florida on Sunday and oversee Derby preparations for Join in the Dance and Advice, which will include works for each on Monday. Advice is slated to work a half-mile and Join in the Dance will breeze five furlongs.

Meanwhile, at Palm Meadows training center in Florida, another Pletcher charge – this one being the $3.7 million dollar yearling sales purchase Dunkirk – went back to the track for a light jog following his five-furlong drill in 1:01.05 on Saturday.

“He came out of that work in great shape,” Pletcher said. “His energy level was good this morning and we’re pleased with where he is.”

Dunkirk will ship to Louisville by air Monday.

Pletcher also will work Take the Points five furlongs after the break Monday. The Even the Score colt has $85,000 in graded stakes earnings and would need a couple of defections from the list of Kentucky Derby probables to secure a starting gate slot.

CHOCOLATE CANDY – Chocolate Candy ambled to the racetrack Sunday morning at 7 o’clock under exercise rider Lindsey Molina, stopping along the way to take in the scene, eyes bright and ears pricking.

“He’ll get there, one of these days,” stable overseer Galen May said with a smile, knowing that his big, easy-going son of Candy Ride liked to take his time about going about his business.

Chocolate Candy did, in fact, make it to the track in fairly short order and go for a good gallop of a mile and a half. Molina nodded when he walked off into the six-furlong gap. “He’s doing good,” she said.

May noted that trainer Jerry Hollendorfer would be in from his Northern California headquarters later Sunday and would no doubt be at the barn early Monday morning to call the shots for Chocolate Candy’s final major work heading toward Kentucky Derby 135 on Saturday.

“He’ll probably go out early,” May said. “Jerry likes to get things done as soon as he can.”

May, who for 31 years ran the testing barns at the Northern California tracks before “retiring” in 2003 and signing on as Hollendorfer’s “head traveling lad,” noted that this was his fourth trip to the Derby in that role.

“Eye of the Tiger (fifth in 2003) was my best finish so far,” May said. “But this colt – he’s special. He might be able to do better."

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

Henry Spiller, an assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor, said both colts came out of their works well and would return to the track to jog in the morning with Regal Ransom going out first at 6 o’clock and followed soon after by Desert Party.

The duo posted the fastest works of 30 at the distance on Saturday with Regal Ransom going in :59.20 and Desert Party in :59.60. Exercise rider Bob Chapman handled both works.

Both colts broke their maidens in their first attempts with Regal Ransom debuting at Saratoga and Desert Party at Arlington Park. Alan Garcia, who rode Regal Ransom in his first two starts and partnered him again to victory in the UAE Derby (Grade II), has the Derby riding assignment on that colt. Ramon Dominguez will get a leg up for the first time on Desert Party in Derby 135.

FLAT OUT – Oxbow Racing’s Flat Out has been injured and is off the Kentucky Derby trail.

Trainer Charles “Scooter” Dickey said a precautionary exam performed at Lexington’s Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Equine Clinic on Saturday revealed a stress fracture in the colt’s shoulder.  Flat Out, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes this January at Oaklawn Park, will be sidelined “about four months,” Dickey said.

Flat Out stood 22nd on the graded earnings list and would’ve needed a couple of defections to make the field for Derby 135.

FLYING PRIVATE – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Flying Private galloped under exercise rider Taylor Carty.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has enlisted the services of Robby Albarado for Kentucky Derby 135, said Flying Private will work “Monday or Tuesday.”

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

Jones plans to work Friesan Fire five furlongs on Monday after the renovation break with jockey Gabriel Saez up.

“We just want him to go out and come back good,” Jones said when asked what he was looking for on Monday. “I’d just like to see him get over the track without a lot of effort.”

Friesan Fire will work in blinkers in the morning.

“He’s looking around now and the last two days he has not been focused,” Jones said. “Hopefully the blinkers will help.”

Friesan Fire’s final works before his three races at Fair Grounds this year ran the gamut, but the end result was always the same: a stakes victory.

“His work before the LeComte (:48.60 for a half, second-best of 69) was the first time Gabe got on him,” Jones said. “Before the Risen Star (1:04.40 for five furlongs), people thought it was too slow and before the Louisiana derby (:58.20 for five furlongs), people thought it was too fast.”

Jones is following a similar pattern with Friesan Fire as he did two years ago with Hard Spun, who would finish second to Street Sense in Derby 133. Hard Spun worked a mile at Keeneland in 1:42.40 on April 23 before shipping to Churchill Downs and then worked five furlongs in :57.60  on April 30. Friesan Fire worked a mile in 1:39.60 at Keeneland on April 19.

“I think he’ll work well, but not like Hard Spun did,” Jones said. “They are different types of horses. I just don’t want him going in 1:04 after seven weeks off.”

Immediately after the Friesan Fire work tomorrow, Jones and Saez will return to the track to work Kodiak Kowboy for Vinery and Fox Hill. Winner of the Grade I Carter in his most recent start on April 4, Kodiak is being pointed to Saturday’s $250,000 Churchill Downs (Grade II) at seven furlongs.
     
GENERAL QUARTERS – Former Louisville high school principal Tom McCarthy, owner/trainer of this year’s Toyota Blue Grass (Grade I) winner, did not hand out any demerits or discipline Sunday, but rather waited patiently for exercise rider Julie Sheets to arrive at Barn 37. General Quarters, however, was not as patient, pulling McCarthy’s son, Tom, around the barn with high energy and eventually going back into his stall before teaming with Sheets and heading to the track.

General Quarters showed much more spark than in recent days, but relaxed nicely as he was hand led to the track by the elder McCarthy. Once into his 1 ½-mile gallop, it was clear that the son of Sky Mesa was feeling fresh. Said McCarthy as his colt cruised by, “He’s full of himself today. Easy Julie!”

“We only gave him a lackadaisical five-eighths work to keep some fire in the tank,” McCarthy said trackside, referring to last week’s workout, which was intended to be the horse’s last before the Derby. “Apparently, there’s plenty of gas still in there.”

If General Quarters remains this fresh, McCarthy said that he could give the colt a blowout later this week “if we need to take the edge off.”

Julien Leparoux will have the mount in the Derby. His first time getting a leg up on General Quarters will be when they call for “riders up.”

“That’s nothing new,” McCarthy said. “Julien rides a lot of horses that way. We’ll go over a few things right before the race.”

HOLD ME BACK – WinStar Farm’s Hold Me Back closed out his serious training for Kentucky Derby 135 by working five furlongs in company in 1:01.60 under three-time Kentucky Derby-winning rider Kent Desormeaux.

Working before 7 a.m., Hold Me Back reeled off fractions of :13,:25.20, :37.20 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.80 while working in company with Flying Warrior. The move was the 13th-fastest of 24 at the distance over a track rated as “fast.”

Hold Me Back broke off about a length and half behind Flying Warrior at the five-eighths pole, caught up to his workmate at the head of the stretch and moved by before the eighth pole.

“I thought the work was very good,” trainer Bill Mott said. “He was under a hold the whole way and finished well on his own. He appeared to handle the track very well and that is a good sign. Kent said he still wanted to gallop out after a mile.”

Hold Me Back’s lone race on a dirt track resulted in a fifth-place finish in the Grade II Remsen at Aqueduct to close out his 2-year-old campaign.

“He had trained well there, but he just didn’t show up that day,” Mott said. “He was immature at the time and I am willing to give him the benefit of doubt. He trained well on dirt before and has since.”

I WANT REVENGE – Wood Memorial (Grade I) winner I Want Revenge stayed on edge with a two-mile open gallop around the fast main track Sunday morning. Regular exercise rider Joe Deegan was aboard. I Want Revenge was scheduled to school in the paddock before the first race Sunday.

“He went really well this morning,” said trainer Jeff Mullins, who arrived on the Derby scene Saturday night from California. “We plan to breeze him on Tuesday, either a half or five-eighths, I haven’t decided yet.”

The colt by Stephen Got Even, who will be one of the favorites on Saturday, has breezed the last two Tuesdays at Churchill Downs, getting a half-mile in :50 flat on April 14, and five furlongs in 1:01.60 on April 21.

I Want Revenge, owned by the partnership of David Lanzman, IEAH Stables, Charles Winner and Puglisi Racing, has won his past two starts, the Grade III Gotham and Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. Joe Talamo, who has been aboard in all the colt’s victories, has the mount Saturday.

MINE THAT BIRD – With his final major Kentucky Derby 135 workout looming Monday morning, Mine That Bird turned in an easy 1 ¾ miles Sunday, jogging a quarter-mile and “loping about a mile and a half,” trainer Chip Woolley said. Mine That Bird, last year’s Sovereign Award winner as Canada’s top juvenile colt, is scheduled to work at 8:50 a.m., but that time could be pushed back a few minutes given the busy schedule of jockey Calvin Borel.

“He’s working the big mare (Oaks favorite Rachel Alexandra) at 8:30 and then my horse at 8:50,” Woolley said. “We’ll work five-eighths and I want to see him finish. I’d like to see something in about a minute-and-one (fifth); something that won’t kill him, but show he’s sharp. The main part of the work I want to see is how he does down the lane.”

Woolley is among a sizable list of Kentucky Derby rookie trainers this year, but they follow great company in recent history. Five of the past six Derbies have been won by trainers making their debut in the race (Barclay Tagg, John Servis, John Shirreffs, Michael Matz and Rick Dutrow).

MR. HOT STUFF – WinStar Farm’s Mr. Hot Stuff worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 over the synthetic Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita on Sunday morning and will board an airplane for Churchill Downs on Monday with Kentucky Derby plans on his agenda.

Trainer Eoin Harty oversaw his charge’s drill in California and termed it “a nice, easy move.”

“We didn’t ask him to do too much today,” the transplanted Irishman said. “He just went about it in good fashion and finished up well. He’ll fly tomorrow.”

The brother to Colonel John, the sixth-place finisher in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, will be stabled in Barn 41.
Harty, who was flying to Louisville himself Sunday, said rider plans still have not been finalized for Mr. Hot Stuff.

“We’re still working on it,” he said. “We’ll have one by Wednesday morning.”

Entries for Kentucky Derby 135 will close at 10 a.m. on Wednesday with the order of post position selection starting at 12:04 p.m. and the actual post position selections beginning at 12:15 p.m.

MUSKET MAN – The day after working five furlongs in 1:01.60, Musket Man had an easy morning Sunday, walking under the Barn 41 shedrow.

Trainer Derek Ryan said he will bring Musket Man up to the Derby with daily gallops, and has scheduled a session at the gate for Wednesday.

This is the first Derby for Ryan, who trains primarily at Monmouth Park in New Jersey during the summer and Tampa Bay Downs in the winter. Musket Man came into prominence by winning the Pasco Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) this winter, and then added to his resume by taking the Illinois Derby (Grade II) at Hawthorne in his most recent start on April 4. The colt has won five of six career starts.

This will be the third Derby mount for jockey Eibar Coa, who finished fifth on Eye Of The Tiger in 2004, and fourth on Tale of Ekati last year.

Eric Fein, who owns the horse in partnership with Vic Carlson, has a starter in the Derby for the second straight year. He made the big show last year with Big Truck, who finished 18th.

PAPA CLEM – No news was good news around the barn of the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) winner, one day after he worked seven furlongs in 1:29.20. The Gary Stute trainee was given an easy morning walking the shedrow and is scheduled to walk for a second straight day Monday before returning to the track Tuesday.

Rafael Bejarano will ride Papa Clem on Saturday in search of his first Derby score. A leading jockey in California and Kentucky, Bejarano’s best Triple Crown race finish was his second-place run aboard Andromeda’s Hero in the 2005 Belmont Stakes.

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Santa Anita Derby (Grade I) winner Pioneerof the Nile was out early on the racetrack Sunday for a mile and a half gallop under exercise rider George Alvarez.

“He went good,” Alvarez said enthusiastically afterward. “He’s doing really well. He couldn’t be doing any better. I gallop him in California, too, and this is the best he’s felt."

Pioneerof the Nile, an Empire Maker colt, will partner with two-time Eclipse Award winner Garrett Gomez in Derby 135 and is scheduled for his final major breeze Monday morning.

QUALITY ROAD – “Tinges” of blood appeared twice on the pesky right-front quarter crack of potential Kentucky Derby favorite Quality Road on Sunday morning as trainer Jimmy Jerkens, hoof specialist Ian McKinlay and owner Edward Evans continue to race against the clock. All in all, it was an eventful Belmont Park morning for the Florida Derby (Grade I) winner, who galloped 1 ¾ miles after McKinlay outfitted him with an acrylic patch and drain.

After galloping sound and going over the ground well under exercise rider Juan Moreno, Quality Road returned to the Jerkens barn with a “tinge” of blood seeping from the newly patched quarter crack.

“Everything had been stabilized,” McKinlay said. “When I changed the wires today, the crack opened up a bit during the process. A bit of sensitive tissue was aggravated. Hopefully tomorrow when he breezes there won’t be a tinge of blood.”

The Quality Road camp will press on toward Monday’s scheduled workout over the Belmont training track. If the son of Elusive Quality is to travel to Churchill Downs on Tuesday and be entered in the Run for the Roses on Wednesday, he’ll have to pass Monday’s 9:20 a.m. test with flying colors. The six-furlong breeze will determine his Derby fate.

“He has to work to our liking and come out of it perfect,” Jerkens said. “If he takes one bad step anywhere, forget it. I would have liked to have seen no blood (this morning), but it didn’t surprise me because he was still tender.”

“It’s not a soundness issue,” McKinlay said, adding, “He is well on the mend. This is live tissue; we’re not changing a flat tire. There are a lot of judgment calls.”

Quality Road’s original right-hind quarter-crack patch has held perfectly and has not been problematic. Still, the latest set-back looms over his Derby 135 .

“I’m optimistic it’s going to work out,” Evans said.
-- NYRA notes writer Jenny Kellner contributed to this report.
 
SQUARE EDDIE – Following a mile and one-half gallop around the big Churchill Downs oval, Square Eddie put it in drive for exercise rider Tony Romero and drilled four furlongs in :50.20 Sunday morning.  The son of Smart Strike broke off  at the three-eighths pole and finishing up at the seven-eighths, with a solid gallop-out around the clubhouse turn.

The move was accomplished shortly after the morning renovation break at approximately 8:30 with trainer Doug O’Neill, along with his brother Dennis, in the grandstand overseeing the exercise. The O’Neills arrived Saturday evening and are signed on to stay through Derby 135 on Saturday.

Clockers timed the move with the following early splits -- :12.80, :25, :37.60 – then a gallop-out time 1:03.20.

“I thought it was an awesome work,” Doug O’Neill said afterward. “We’re very pleased with it. We know we’re asking a lot of this horse, but we think he’s up to it. Obviously, when you want a horse to come back in two weeks (off his third-place finish in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 18) following a three-month break in his racing schedule (his prior start was the San Rafael at Santa Anita on Jan. 17) to run in a race as tough as the Kentucky Derby, you’re asking a lot. The only way you could do that is to think you’ve got a ‘super’ horse. And in our minds that’s what he is – a ‘super’ horse.”

The trainer indicated that Square Eddie would get a day off tomorrow and merely walk the shedrow, followed by a jog day Tuesday, gallop days Wednesday and Thursday, then jogs on Friday and Saturday as his final preparations for the Run for the Roses.

Corey Nakatani will get a leg up on Square Eddie in Derby 135 next Saturday, the first time he’s handled the Canadian-bred, who’ll be making the ninth start of his career and first on a pure-dirt surface.

SUMMER BIRD – Summer Bird, a son of 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone, jogged two miles around the Churchill strip Sunday morning with jockey Chris Rosier aboard.

Trainer Tim Ice was on hand to supervise the exercise after traveling to Lone Star Park Saturday to saddle runners in two stakes. Affirmed Truth ran third in the Richland Stakes, while Catmantoo finished out of the money in the Texas Mile, both with Rozier aboard.

This is the first Derby experience for Ice, a 34-year-old Ohio native who went out on his own just this year after serving as assistant to Morris Nicks, Cole Norman and Keith Desormeaux.

“To make it here to the Derby in my first year as a trainer is extraordinary,” Ice said Sunday while watching Summer Bird graze behind the barn. “Just extraordinary. I’m thrilled to be here.”

Summer Bird, a good-looking chestnut, has had just three lifetime starts, his only win in maiden company at Oaklawn Park on March 19. He went right from that race into the Grade II Arkansas Derby, where he finished a fast-closing third behind Papa Clem and Old Fashioned.

Summer Bird’s final breeze, six furlongs in 1:15 4/5 on Friday, was dismissed by some observers as too slow, but the trainer was satisfied.

“He got what he needed out of the work,” Ice said. “He’s looking and acting really well. I look for him to run good Saturday. He won’t disappoint me no matter what he does.”

The colt was bred by his owners, the husband-wife team of Drs. K.K. and V. Devi Jayaraman. They had a Derby starter in 1989, when Irish Actor ran seventh behind Sunday Silence.

WEST SIDE BERNIE – West Side Bernie who had his final Derby breeze on Saturday, just walked under the shedrow Sunday morning.

“He cooled out well, and he’s got the right demeanor today,” said trainer Kelly Breen, who is experiencing his first Derby. “He ate good, and he’s acting good. That’s all I can ask.”

The son of Bernstein, a $50,000 yearling purchase by Breen on behalf of George and Lori Hall, breezed a half-mile in :48.20 Saturday with jockey Stewart Elliott aboard. In his most recent start, West Side Bernie ran second to I Want Revenge in the Grade I Wood Memorial.

WIN WILLY – Win Willy, a red-roan son of Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos, had a busy Sunday morning, schooling at the gate and then galloping a mile and a half around the Churchill Downs oval.

Trainer Mac Robertson, who will be participating in his first Derby, is still at Canterbury Downs, bedding down a large string of horses that will race there this summer. His wife, Cyndi, a veterinarian, was on hand Sunday to supervise preparations with the aid of groom Luis Moldonado and exercise rider Elias Lopez.

“Mac will work him either Monday or Tuesday,” Cyndi said. “Whatever day he gets here, the horse will have his final breeze.”

Win Willy took the Grade II Rebel at Oaklawn Park, with Old Fashioned more than two lengths behind, but then finished fourth behind that rival in the Arkansas Derby. He has not worked yet at Churchill Downs since shipping in from Arkansas.

The colt is owned by Jerome and Marlene Myers, who campaign as the Jer-Mar Stable, and was a $25,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland.

The 35-year-old Robertson got his start on the racetrack working for his father, trainer Hugh Robertson, who campaigns at the Chicago-area tracks.