Square Eddie

Churchill Downs is providing daily updates on your favorite contenders for the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.  Get the latest information below!

ADVICE / DUNKIRK / JOIN IN THE DANCE – It now appears trainer Todd Pletcher will start three horses in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby 135 – Advice, Dunkirk and Join in the Dance.

After consulting with the various owners of his four potential Derby starters, the five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer decided to go with three and drop one – that horse being Take the Points, who is owned by the Starlight Partners stable of Jack and Laurie Wolf.

“Around noon today Mr. Wolf and I had a discussion in which we weighed all the factors,” Pletcher said. “When we looked at it from all angles, we decided the best way to go with Take the Points was the Preakness. That race gives him two extra weeks, a shorter distance (mile and three-sixteenths) to work with and a track where we think his tactical style will work to best advantage. In the end, we just thought it was the right choice.”

The trainer also noted that he had finalized riding assignments for his three Derby horses, with Edgar Prado on Dunkirk, Rene Douglas on Advice and Chris DeCarlo on Join in the Dance.

Tuesday morning, Pletcher had sent his three workers from Monday – Advice (:47.20), Join in the Dance (1:00.20) and Take the Points (1:00.20) -- back to the track for easy jogs of a mile around the big oval.

Dunkirk, the $3.7 million yearling who flew in from Florida on Tuesday morning to bed down in Pletcher’s Barn 38, was once considered a possible outside-looking-in type on the graded stakes earnings’ list.  But now he is assured a spot in the starting field for the 10-furlong race, and is likely to be one of the solid betting interests.

ATOMIC RAIN / WEST SIDE BERNIE – The minute after he heard that Atomic Rain was a likely Kentucky Derby starter, trainer Kelly Breen had the colt put on a van at Monmouth Park in New Jersey and had him headed for Churchill Downs.

“They left Monmouth at 12:30, and it’s about a 13-hour trip,” Breen said, “so they should get here about two in the morning.”

Atomic Rain, a bay son of Smart Strike-Paradise Pond, by Cox’s Ridge, is owned by George and Lori Hall, who already have a Derby starter in West Side Bernie. Atomic Rain finished fourth when West Side Bernie was second to I Want Revenge in the Grade I Wood Memorial last out.

Atomic Rain has yet to win since breaking his maiden at Monmouth last June, but finished second to Old Fashioned in the Grade II Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct last November. This season at three, he was second, beaten a neck, in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park, ran seventh in the Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay, and then third in a Gulfstream allowance test before his Wood Memorial outing.

Breen said that Joe Bravo, who has been aboard Atomic Rain his past two starts, will have the mount in the Derby. Bravo had his first and only previous Derby mount in 2005, when he finished 16th aboard Spanish Chestnut.

West Side Bernie was out early Tuesday morning, taking a mile and a half gallop around the Churchill Downs oval with Breen aboard.

“We thought we’d beat the weather,” Breen said, “so we got him out early today. He’s doing fine, coming up to the race the right way.”

This will be Breen’s first Kentucky Derby, but his rider for West Side Bernie, Stewart Elliott, won the race aboard Smarty Jones in 2004. Elliott rode West Side Bernie for the first time in the colt’s most recent start, the Grade I Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 4.

The Bernstein colt closed ground in the stretch and finished second behind I Want Revenge in the nine-furlong Wood.

“Bernie ran really well that day,” Breen said. “He kicked it in late, maybe a little too late. The extra eighth of a mile in the Derby should be what he needs.”

CHOCOLATE CANDY – All was well with the Chocolate Candy crew at Barn 42 Tuesday morning. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, assistant trainer Galen May and exercise rider Lindsey Molina had nothing but good things to say about their colt, who had turned in a nifty :59.20 prep Monday morning in his final major exercise for Kentucky Derby 135.

“He came out of it good, ate up and just walked the shedrow this morning,” Hollendorfer said. “We’re all good.”

The veteran trainer, currently the nation’s sixth-leading conditioner with more than $2.2 million in earnings, will jog his Candy Ride colt Wednesday, gallop him Thursday and Friday, then walk him the morning of Kentucky Derby 135.

Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, who flew overnight from California to be aboard for the Monday work, once more will be in the tack when they “Run for the Roses.”

DESERT PARTY / REGAL RANSOM – Shortly before dawn and well before rain arrived, trainer Saeed bin Suroor sent the two Godolphin colts out to gallop a mile and a quarter.

Bin Suroor said the colts are happy, healthy and in good form.

After starting their careers in the United States last summer, the colts were sent to Dubai for the winter racing season. Desert Party beat Regal Ransom in the first two of the preps for the $2 million U.A.E. Derby, but Regal Ransom won the main event by a half-length.

“One week before the race, I told the boys in the stable, 'Listen, there might be a surprise in the UAE. Derby,’ ” bin Suroor said. “I was right.  At the same time, Desert Party, who is always happy and does everything you ask him in a professional way, wasn’t really happy when I saddled him for the race. He was really quiet before the race. I thought that wasn’t his day. I checked him for two days after the race and he was very quiet, but later it seemed that he was coming back really good to his form. Now he’s really a different animal.”

Bin Suroor said his colts have flourished in the month since their most recent race.

“When they were in Dubai they improved all the time, but since the last race they look much better than ever,” bin Suroor said. “We come here with some confidence. We’re looking to see our horses run a big race.”

This is the fifth time that Godolphin – the racing operation headed by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum – sent horses to Louisville for America’s biggest race. The top finish was a sixth by China Visit in 2000.

“This is the hardest race in the world,” bin Suroor said, “and the best race in the world, a mile and a quarter for 3-year-olds. It’s hard to win. You need a special horse. Tough. Class. Speed. Everything in one horse.
 “We tried coming from Dubai four times. Now, I think we have better horses than what we saw in Dubai. We’re trying this year and it looks to me that our horses are doing much, much better than ever.”

FLYING PRIVATE – Robert Baker and William Mack's Flying Private walked the shedrow at D. Wayne Lukas' Barn 44 a day after working a half mile in :47.40. Robby Albarado, who has the mount for Derby 135, had been aboard for the work.

This colt has been compared to Charismatic, Lukas' Derby winner in 1999, in that he figures to be a longshot on Saturday. Charismatic won at odds of 31-1.

Lukas pointed out that in addition to Charismatic, his Thunder Gulch in 1995 was a 24-1 longshot.

“Flying Private’s strength is his pedigree and he's truly a mile-and-a-quarter horse,” said Lukas, whose other Derby winners were Winning Colors in 1988 and Grindstone in 1996.

FRIESAN FIRE – It wasn’t Derby Fever that had the attention of Friesan Fire on Tuesday morning at Barn 45.

“He was on his toes before he knew Zenyatta was here,” trainer Larry Jones said referring to the arrival of the undefeated champion mare who is housed seven stalls down from Friesan Fire. “He is quite taken with her.”

Friesan Fire, worked five furlongs in :57.80 on Monday under jockey Gabriel Saez, walked the shedrow Tuesday and will return to the track Wednesday.

“Wednesday will be a goof-off day,” Jones said. “He will go to the gate, paddock, jog and maybe ‘lope’ around there, whatever he wants to do for about 20 minutes.”

Jones said that the Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm colt never has had problems with either the gate or paddock.

“I just want to stand him in the gate,” Jones said. “At the Fair Grounds (for the Louisiana Derby), he was on the outside and loaded last and they sprung the latch. I just don’t want him to think it is like that all the time.”

In the Louisiana Derby, Friesan Fire romped by 7 ¼ lengths on a sealed, sloppy track. With rain in the forecast for the rest of the week, the chance for an off track remains a possibility.

“We are not hoping for rain. We want a fast track,” Jones said. “We know we are OK because he ran well at the Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Derby. Churchill Downs gets very good when it is wet. If it rains, we won’t spend the day panicking.”

GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner/trainer Tom McCarthy sent Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) winner General Quarters out for a mile and half gallop under regular exercise rider Julie Sheets before the renovation break Tuesday morning.

“He’s doing good, couldn’t be any better,” McCarthy said as a steady rain beat down on Barn 37.

General Quarters never has raced on an off track, but McCarthy does not think it will be a problem for the son of Sky Mesa.

“Whenever he gallops on an off track, Julie says he just floats over it,” McCarthy said. “He was here all last summer when there was a lot of rain and handled it fine.”

Julien Leparoux, who will ride General Quarters in Derby 135, stopped by the barn and had a five-minute chat with McCarthy. Leparoux has not been aboard General Quarters, who was ridden in the Blue Grass by Eibar Coa.

HOLD ME BACK – WinStar Farm’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) runner-up Hold Me Back jogged a mile Tuesday morning. He turned in his final breeze Sunday.

Hold Me Back has picked up all three of his career victories on synthetic surfaces and his only off-the-board result was on the dirt in the Remsen at Aqueduct. Trainer Bill Mott said the colt moves beautifully over the dirt in training and that it is too early to say he prefers one surface to another.

“We’re not about to say our horse can’t run on the dirt just off one race,” Mott said.  “We’re going to give him the chance on Saturday and then we’ll see.”

Kent Desormeaux has the riding assignment on Saturday.

I WANT REVENGE – Just after the renovation break and minutes before torrential rains fell at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning, I Want Revenge took good advantage of a fresh and fast race track during a four-furlong workout in :47.20 under jockey Joe Talamo.

The Wood Memorial (Grade I) winner turned in fractions of :11.40, :23.20 and :35.40 during his final serious prep for a start in the Kentucky Derby.

“We got a great race track today, and we got to let him do what he normally does. I think we accomplished what we wanted to do today,” trainer Jeff Mullins said. “We just wanted to see him moving forward and into the work and happy. He worked this morning like he normally does.”

The workout was the fastest of 49 recorded at the distance. Managing partner David Lanzman’s homebred colt galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.80.

“Like Dave was saying to his kids: This is the final hurdle before the big show. But we have four more hurdles to go until Saturday,” Mullins said. “Every day you have to wake up and hope that he’s in good health and stays that way until Saturday.”

Talamo also expressed satisfaction with the tune-up.

“I’m pretty confident, especially today. Like Jeff said, I feel like we accomplished pretty much what we wanted to do,” said Talamo, a 19-year-old Louisiana native who had worked I Want Revenge at Churchill Downs twice prior to Tuesday’s bullet move. “We caught a real good race track today. The last couple of times, it was a little deep because of rain the day before. But it was great. He finished up real well; just the way we wanted him to.”

The Southern California-based jockey had gained a world of confidence in I Want Revenge during their eventful journey in the Wood Memorial, in which he broke dead last and was blocked behind a wall of horses in mid-stretch before jetting through a hole on his way to a courageous victory.

“From the Gotham and even before that, we knew he was a pretty good horse. Obviously, in the Wood, that answered a lot of questions for everyone. To overcome a trip like that is just incredible,” Talamo said. “He’s so mature for his age. It’s hard to explain. He does everything so easily.

“He’s definitely one that has a few gears on him, which helps in a race like the Derby, because there’s a lot of stop and go – hopefully not, but it does happen. But he’s definitely one of the contenders.”

Preparing for his first ride in the Derby, Talamo has sought out the advice of several prominent jockeys, past and present.

“I’ve talked to a few guys, Gary Stevens, Robby Albarado, Jerry Bailey, that’s just to name a few. They’ve all pretty much given me the same advice: Don’t cry when ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ comes on,” Talamo said.

Talamo will particularly take Stevens’ words to the starting gate with him for his initial Derby experience.

“He said just keep both feet on both sides and your mind in the middle,” Talamo said.

Mullins said I Want Revenge would walk the shedrow Wednesday, jog a mile and gallop a mile on both Thursday and Friday, and jog a mile on Saturday.

MINE THAT BIRD – Trainer Chip Woolley was feeling philosophical at Barn 42. His Kentucky Derby colt, Mine That Bird, had come out of his final work for the race Monday in good fashion and had merely walked the shedrow Tuesday. The Birdstone colt had “eaten up” and was a happy camper, and so was his conditioner.

“It’s down to racin’ luck and what happens,” the 45-year-old native of New Mexico said, sounding like a man who realized he’d done all the heavy lifting and that much of what would happen next would be in the hands of the racing gods.

“I’m just so tickled that me and my horse and my owners are now going to be part of the history of the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “We’re going to do it and they won’t ever be able to take that away from us.

“I just wanted my horse to be ready to give the best effort of his life, and I believe we’re there. He’s never been better and now we’re going to see just what he can do. When the race is done we’ll know where we’re at with him. But we’re going in ready to give it our best and we can’t ask for more than that.”

Calvin Borel, who won the 2007 Derby on Street Sense, worked Mine That Bird Monday in 1:02 and has the call on Saturday.

MR. HOT STUFF – Owned by WinStar Farm, Mr. Hot Stuff made his first appearance on the Churchill Downs racing strip Tuesday morning at 7, beating the rains that hit the area by getting in both a leg-stretching of a mile and one half under exercise rider Paul Turner and a quick bath back at Barn 41 before the skies opened.

Half of the WinStar connection ownership connection, Bill Casner, looked on trackside with trainer Eoin Harty as their handsome, near-black youngster went through his exercise.

Mr. Hot Stuff, of course, is a full brother to another WinStar runner, the more-heralded Colonel John, who last year – like his brother – came from California for the race. Circumstances this time are a bit different, however. Colonel John was one of the “buzz” horses for the 2008 Derby, finally going off the second-betting choice. Little brother Mr. Hot Stuff comes to town with a much lower-key resume and figures to be one of the outsiders in Derby 135.

John Velazquez has the call on Mr. Hot Stuff for the Saturday classic.

MUSKET MAN – Musket Man was out early Tuesday morning. With exercise rider Salvador Dominguez aboard, Musket Man schooled at the gate and then galloped a mile and a half around the fast main track.

“He just stood in the gate a while,” trainer Derek Ryan said after bicycling back to Barn 41 behind Musket Man. “He’ll gallop up to the race now.”

Musket Man, who has won the mile and a sixteenth Tampa Bay Derby (Grade III) and the mile and an eighth Illinois Derby (Grade II) in his past two starts, has already breezed twice at Churchill Downs since he got to Kentucky two weeks ago. He went six furlongs in 1:13 flat on April 18, and then five furlongs in 1:01.60 last Saturday with jockey Eibar Coa aboard. The Derby will be his fifth start of the year.

There have been questions about Musket Man getting the Derby distance with what is essentially sprint breeding, but his half-sister, whom Ryan also trained, won short and long on dry and muddy tracks, on turf and synthetics.

“She just liked to win, and he’s the same,” Ryan said. “I’ve been hearing about his distance ‘limitations’ since his first start last October. Well, so far he’s won at six and seven furlongs, a mile and a sixteenth, and a mile and an eighth. I think he’ll handle another furlong.”

Musket Man is owned by the partnership of Eric Fein and Vic Carlson, and they’ve watched the $15,000 yearling purchase win five of six career starts and earn $572,600 since he debuted on Oct. 25 at Belmont.

PAPA CLEM – Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Mundo Gonzalez before the renovation break and before the rain Tuesday morning.

“He will gallop Wednesday and Thursday I’ll breeze him,” trainer Gary Stute said. “Rafael (jockey Bejarano) is supposed to be here to work him. He’ll blowout a good quarter down the lane and out to the seven-eighths.”

Papa Clem’s lone race on an off track was a runner-up finish to Friesan Fire in the Grade II Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds  and Stute would prefer not to see an off track on Saturday.

“I’d rather not see an off track because Friesan Fire beat me so easy,” Stute said of Papa Clem finishing 7 1/4 lengths back. “The first time he sees something, he is a little hesitant. It should help him for this time if it rains.”

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Trainer Bob Baffert said the Empire Maker colt owned by Zayat Stables came out of a fine work in fine shape.

Pioneerof the Nile breezed five furlongs in 1:01 Monday morning. Tuesday was a quiet morning.

“He walked the shedrow today and will jog tomorrow,” Baffert said. “He looks fantastic.”

Garrett Gomez has the riding assignment on Saturday.

SQUARE EDDIE – Kentucky Derby 135 lost a candidate Tuesday morning when trainer Doug O’Neill said that the Smart Strike colt Square Eddie had been withdrawn from consideration for the race.

“We thought he’d come out of his work (:50.20) Sunday in good shape,” O’Neill said at Barn 17 on Tuesday morning, “but then Monday we felt some heat in his left front shin. We called Dr. (Mark) Cheney and took some X-rays. The X-rays didn’t show anything, but that heat is there and Dr. Cheney said it might be best not to take any chances; that we were probably looking at a sign of possible problems.

“In the end, we decided to err on the side of caution. Mr. (Paul) Reddam said ‘Do what’s in the best interests of Eddie,’ and that’s what we’ve done.”

Square Eddie had suffered a small fracture in his left front leg following a workout in February in California and had been backed off training and racing until he returned to action April 18 at Keeneland in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade II), where he made a swooping move to the front in the stretch, but then fell back to finish third.

The Canadian-bred now will be shipped back to California “either next Monday or Tuesday,” according to O’Neill.

“We’re just on chill mode with him now,” he said. “There’s no real plan from here; we’ll let him tell us how he’s doing and when we can start back with him.”

SUMMER BIRD – Trainer Tim Ice braved the approaching storm Tuesday morning and took Summer Bird to the track when the track reopened at 8:30 a.m. The Birdstone colt was still galloping under jockey Chris Rosier when the rain came pelting down.

“It didn’t bother him a bit,” Ice said. “He trained all winter down at Oaklawn and it rained a lot there, too. I thought he trained well here today, and I’m very happy with the way he’s coming up to the race.”

Summer Bird, who has had just three career starts – all on a fast track – has a pedigree that says he’ll run on any surface.

“He trained as good on wet tracks as dry tracks in Arkansas,” Ice said, “maybe even better. I don’t think track condition will affect him at all.”

Summer Bird made his first start March 1, broke his maiden March 19, and then ran third behind Papa Clem in the Grade II Arkansas Derby on April 11. The money he earned in that race, shot him right into the top 20 on the earnings list and guaranteed him a Derby berth.

This will be the 34-year-old trainer’s first Derby, and first Grade I stakes runner. A former assistant to Morris Nicks, Cole Norman and Keith Desormeaux, Ice went out on his own less than a year ago, in late May of 2008. But he’s been around the track most of his life.

“I first went to the track when I was 13, with my stepfather Frank Rapp,” Ice said. “He took me to Waterford Park (now Mountaineer in Chester, W.Va.) where he trained a couple of horses. Not long after that, we moved to Louisiana where I grew up near Louisiana Downs.”

Ice still lives in Bossier City, La., with his wife Heather.

WIN WILLY – One day after his final Kentucky Derby breeze, Win Willy just walked under the shedrow in Barn 45 for trainer Mac Robertson.

The colt by Derby winner Monarchos was credited with a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.40 on Monday with exercise rider Eli Lopez aboard.

“I’m not certain the time is right,” Robertson said, “because he was out there with a bunch of other Derby horses when the accident happened and there was a lot of confusion. But the time doesn’t really matter.  He went along nice and even the whole way, and I was very happy with the way he finished up the work, he looked really strong galloping out. I was very happy with the way he came back and cooled out. He’s doing great today.”

Robertson, one of several first-time Derby trainers, said he’ll be leading the rain dance party this week.

“I hope it rains and keeps on raining,” the trainer said. “I hope it rains so much they think about canceling the races, but they can’t because it’s Derby Day.”

Win Willy, whose pedigree drips with off-track form, shows just one start over a track other than fast. That was the Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 14, a race he won by more than two lengths going away. The track was officially listed as “good” that day.

“I don’t know what they called it, but I called it muddy,” Robertson said. “Deep muddy. And my horse just loved it. That’s why I’m hoping for a wet track, because I know some of the others won’t like it a bit.”

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.

How is your favorite contender for Kentucky Derby 135 training up to the big race?  Read on...

ADVICE / JOIN IN THE DANCE / DUNKIRK – Mike McCarthy, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, said that Advice, winner of last Saturday’s Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade II) and Join in the Dance, fifth-place finisher in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I), would ship to Churchill Downs from Keeneland on Wednesday and would be on the track to train Thursday morning.

Advice is owned by WinStar Farm and tentatively scheduled to work on April 27. Join in the Dance, stands 21st on the list of graded-stakes money won and would need a defection from the prospective field to secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.

Pletcher’s third Kentucky Derby hopeful Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s Dunkirk, is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs from Palm Meadows on April 28. Pletcher is scheduled in the same day. Edgar Prado has the mount on Dunkirk.

CHOCOLATE CANDY – The Sid and Jenny Craig Trust’s Chocolate Candy walked the shedrow at Barn 42 a day after working a mile in 1:42.

Galen May, assistant to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, said the colt would return to the track in the morning. Hollendorfer is scheduled to return to Louisville on Saturday and Chocolate Candy is slated for his final pre-Derby work on Monday or Tuesday.

DESERT PARTY / REGAL RANSOM – Both of the Godolphin hopefuls for Kentucky Derby 135 went about their business before the renovation break on Wednesday.

With exercise rider Bob Chapman handling both colts, Regal Ransom galloped a mile and a quarter and then Desert Party visited the starting gate and galloped a mile and a half.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor is scheduled to be in Louisville on Saturday when the final works for the colts are scheduled. A decision from Sheikh Mohammed on which horses jockeys Ramon Dominguez and Alan Garcia will ride is expected Thursday.

FLAT OUT – Oxbow Racing’s Flat Out was “good and frisky” Wednesday morning according to trainer Charles “Scooter” Dickey. Flat Out had worked five furlongs in 1:03.80 on Tuesday.

FLYING PRIVATE – Robert Baker and William Mack’s Flying Private walked the shedrow at Barn 44 a day after working five furlongs in 1:01.20 for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Robby Albarado, who was aboard for the work, has the riding assignment in Kentucky Derby 135.

FRIESAN FIRE – Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm’s Friesan Fire, winner of three consecutive graded stakes at Fair Grounds, is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs from keeneland on Friday afternoon.
Trained by Larry Jones and scheduled to be ridden by Gabriel Saez, Friesan Fire will be housed in Barn 45 with Monday, April 27 slated as his work day.

GENERAL QUARTERS – Owner-trainer Tom McCarthy sent General Quarters out for a mile and a half gallop before the renovation break with exercise rider Julie Sheets in the saddle.

McCarthy plans to work his Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I) winner five furlongs in the morning at 7 o’clock (all times EDT) with Sheets aboard. 

Julien Leparoux will ride the Sky Mesa colt in Derby 135.

HOLD ME BACK – WinStar Farm’s Hold Me Back is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Wednesday from Keeneland.

Trained by Bill Mott, Hold Me Back will be stabled in Barn 19.

Kent Desormeaux, who rode Hold Me Back to a victory in the Lane’s End (Grade II) and a runner-up finish in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (Grade I), has the Derby riding assignment.

I WANT REVENGE – IEAH Stables, David Lanzman and Puglisi Racing’s I Want Revenge walked the shedrow at Barn 24 a day after working five furlongs in 1:01.60.

Bobby Troeger, assistant to trainer Jeff Mullins, said I Want Revenge would return to the track Thursday morning. Mullins is scheduled to return to Louisville on Saturday with I Want Revenge having his final pre-Derby work on Tuesday.

MINE THAT BIRD – Double Eagle Ranch and Bueno Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird, a midnight arrival at Churchill Downs, backtracked once around with exercise rider Charlie Figueroa up before the renovation break Wednesday morning.

Trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. said that Mine That Bird would gallop the next four days and then work Monday morning with jockey Calvin Borel getting aboard for the first time.

“I just wanted him to get the kinks out from the trip this morning,” Woolley said.

Fourth in the Sunland Derby in his most recent start, Mine That Bird worked five furlongs in 1:01 at Sunland Park on Sunday before beginning his journey by van the next day to Louisville.

Woolley, a former quarter horse trainer, is hobbling around on crutches, the result of a motorcycle mishap.

“I’ve got a plate and 12 screws in there,” Woolley said of his right leg that sustained multiple fractures. “I was riding my chopper and hit some gravel and took a spill. I’ve been on crutches for two months and have another two months to go.”

Woolley attended the Kentucky Derby as a spectator in the 1980s.

“I said I would never come back to the Derby unless I had a horse,” Woolley said. “I left the decision to the owners (about the Derby) and I was really hoping they would come.

“You dream all your life of getting here and I will make that walk (with the horses to the paddock for the Derby).”

MR. HOT STUFF – WinStar Farm’s Mr. Hot Stuff is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs from his Southern California base Monday, April 27.

Trained by Eoin Harty, Mr. Hot Stuff worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 at Santa Anita on Monday and is scheduled to work again on Sunday, April 26 at the Southern California track before he heads to Kentucky.

MUSKET MAN – Eric Fein and Vic Carlson’s Musket Man galloped a mile and five-eighths shortly after the track opened at 6 a.m. Wednesday with exercise rider Salvador Dominguez up.

Trained by Derek Ryan, Musket Man is scheduled to work Saturday.

PAPA CLEM – Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem galloped a mile and a half before the renovation break with exercise rider Nate Quinonez up.

Rafael Bejarano, who rode Papa Clem to victory in the Arkansas Derby (Grade II) has the Kentucky Derby assignment. Trained by Papa Clem is scheduled to work Saturday.

PIONEEROF THE NILE – Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile walked the shedrow at Barn 33 on Wednesday morning, a day after working five furlongs in 1:00.80.

“He is doing great this morning,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He will jog in the morning and stand in the gate."  Garrett Gomez has the mount on Pioneerof the Nile.

QUALITY ROAD – Edward P. Evans’ Quality Road, winner of the Fountain of Youth (Grade II) and Florida Derby (Grade I), is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on April 28.

SQUARE EDDIE – J. Paul Reddam’s Square Eddie, a Tuesday afternoon arrival at Churchill Downs, made his first appearance on the Churchill Downs track, jogging once around accompanied by a pony shortly before 7 a.m.

Exercise rider Tony Romero was aboard Square Eddie, who arrived from Keeneland on Tuesday afternoon. Leandro Mora is overseeing Square Eddie’s preparation for trainer Doug O’Neill, who is scheduled to come to Louisville on Sunday.

“Square Eddie will gallop in the morning and will work Saturday or Sunday,” Mora said.

Corey Nakatini has accepted the mount on Square Eddie, who ran third in last Saturday’s Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade II) at Keeneland.

SUMMER BIRD – K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman’s Summer Bird arrived at Churchill Downs at 4:30 Wednesday morning after an all-out van ride from Oaklawn Park and set up shop in Barn 42, Stall 11.

After the renovation break, trainer Tim Ice led the son of Birdstone to the track to jog a mile under jockey Chris Rosier.

“We left Hot Springs about 3 yesterday afternoon, so it took us 12 ½ hours,” Ice said. “He is going to work Friday after the break. He will go six furlongs and the owners will be here.”

A former assistant to Cole Norman and Morris Nicks, Ice is no stranger to Churchill Downs.

“The last time I was here was 2003 with Beau’s Town for the Aristides,” Ice said. “We just got nipped at the wire by a Steve Asmussen horse, Mountain General.

“It is pretty exciting to be here and pretty exciting to have a Derby horse in my first year of training.”

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

Breen plans to work the Wood Memorial (Grade I) runner-up on Saturday.

WIN WILLY – Jer-Mar Stable’s Win Willy, winner of the Grade II Rebel at Oaklawn Park on March 14 and most recently fourth in the Arkansas Derby (Grade II), is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Thursday.

Trained by Mac Robertson and scheduled to be ridden by Cliff Berry, Win Willy will be stabled in Barn 45.

J Paul Reddam’s Square Eddie, who started the year near the top of almost anyone’s list of contenders for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), makes a late return to the road to Churchill Downs when he faces 10 rivals in Keeneland’s $300,000 Coolmore Lexington (GII).

The 1 1/16-mile race on the synthetic Polytrack surface will be the first start for Square Eddie since January.  Twelve 3-year-olds were entered in the Coolmore Lexington, but Team Valor’s Barry Irwin was unhappy with the outside post draw by Hull and said that colt would scratch and run in next week’s Derby Trial (GIII) at Churchill Downs.

The Doug O’Neill-trained Square Eddie won last fall’s Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (GI) at Keeneland before he turned in a strong runner-up finish behind eventual 2-year-old champion Midshipman in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) over the Pro-Rid surface at Santa Anita.  Square Eddie opened the year with a runner-up finish to the then-unknown The Pamplemousse in Santa Anita’s San Rafael (GII).

But Square Eddie went to the sidelines with sore left front shin and his chance to run in the Kentucky Derby appeared slim as he was out of training for a month.  But he bounced back quickly and Square Eddie comes into the Coolmore Lexington off a pair of strong six-furlong works at Hollywood Park.

“Three months ago, I would not have been surprised to be here; two months ago, yes,”
said O’Neill.  “His past two works have been exceptional, signaling to us that he is ready to get back at it.”

Edgar Prado will ride Square Eddie, who will carry co-high weight of 123 pounds with El Crespo, winner of the Palm Beach (GIII) on the Gulfstream Park turf.  They are the only graded stakes winners in the field.
O’Neill hopes that Square Eddie will run well enough in his return to racing to earn at trip to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby in two weeks.

“I would want to see a really good effort and have him come out of it in good shape,” O’Neill said. “Then we would huddle with Team Reddam.”

The field for the Coolmore Lexington, from the rail out, includes: Jeranimo (Brice Blanc, 117 pounds), Omniscient (Robby Albarado, 117), Pitched Perfectly (Alan Garcia, 117), Brave Victory (John Velazquez, 117), His Greatness (Rene Douglas, 117), Masala (Eibar Coa, 117), Conservative (Kent Desormeaux, 117), Square Eddie (Prado, 123), El Crespo (Javier Castellano, 123), Parade Clown (Julien Leparoux, 117), and Advice (Garrett Gomez, 117).

The race will be telecast from 5-6 p.m. (all times EDT) on ESPN2.

OLD FASHIONED UNDERGOES SURGERY, RETIRED FROM RACING – Fox Hill Farm’s Old Fashioned, at one time the early favorite for Kentucky Derby 135, was retired from racing this week after undergoing knee surgery.  

The Larry Jones-trained son of Unbridled’s Song suffered a slab fracture in a runner-up finish to Papa Clem in last Saturday’s Arkansas Derby.  He underwent surgery this week at Rood & Riddle equine hospital near Lexington.   

Old Fashioned won his first four races, a string that included easy wins in the Remsen (GII) and Southwest Stakes (GIII).  He suffered his first loss in a runner-up finish to Win Willy in the Rebel (GIII) at Oaklawn Park, and followed that effort with his run in the Arkansas Derby.
    
I WANT REVENGE WORKS AT CHURCHILL DOWNS – Wood Memorial (GI) winner I Want Revenge, who could be the betting favorite in the May 2 Kentucky Derby, got a feel for the Churchill Downs track on Tuesday when the colt worked an easy four furlongs  for trainer Jeff Mullins.

The son of Stephen Got Even covered the distance in :50 over a muddy surface under 19-year-old jockey Joe Talamo, who flew in from California for the move.

“I think it was pretty much what we wanted,” said Talamo.  “He didn’t really need much coming out of his last race and he’s plenty fit.  He handled it great.  Actually, for all the rain we had I thought it felt pretty good.”

“He just needed to do enough to keep himself safe,” said Mullins.  “He’s been tearing the barn down and we had to do something with him.  If they get to feeling too good, they might get themselves hurt.”

Several Kentucky Derby contenders entered the grounds at Churchill Downs this week, including Thursday’s arrival of Pioneerof the Nile and Chocolate Candy, the 1-2 finishers in the Santa Anita Derby (GI).  Papa Clem made the trip from Oaklawn Park to Churchill Downs on Tuesday.  Other Kentucky Derby contenders at Churchill Downs include Toyota Blue Grass (GI) winner General Quarters; Illinois Derby (GII) winner Musket Man; Wood Memorial (GI) runner-up West Side Bernie; the Dubai-based duo of Regal Ransom and Desert Party, the 1-2 finishers in the $2 million UAE Derby (GII); and Churchill Downs-based Flat Out, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn.

Before his departure for Kentucky, Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile turned in an impressive four-furlong work on Wednesday at Santa Anita.  The Bob Baffert-trained son of Empire Maker covered the distance in :46.20 – the fastest of 29 moves at the distance.

“I didn’t think he went that fast,” said Baffert.  “It’s probably the best he’s ever worked.

MAFAAZ CHANGES BARNS, WILL NOT RUN IN DERBY 135 – Mafaaz, winner of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Britain’s Kempton Park, will remain in the United States but will not compete in the Kentucky Derby.

The win at Kempton earned Mafaaz a first-ever guaranteed spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, but his status for the Derby became cloudy after he finished eighth to General Quarters in the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland.  Late in the week the colt was moved from the care of British trainer John Gosden to Kiaran McLaughlin, but his new trainer said Thursday that plans were uncertain for Mafaaz, but the colt would not run in the Kentucky Derby.

Bo Hirsch's Papa Clem proved again that California-based 3-year-olds are at home anywhere in the country when he rallied from fifth and wore down Fox Hill Farm's favored Old Fashioned to win Saturday's 73rd running of the $1 million Arkansas Derby (Grade II) before a crowd of 55,193 at Oaklawn Park.

With the victory, Papa Clem punched his ticket to the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) at Churchill Downs on May 2.  Jockey Rafael Bejarano was aboard the winner for trainer Gary Stute, and Papa Clem covered 1 1/8-miles in 1:49 over a "fast" track.  Summer Bird finished third and Rebel (GIII) winner Win Willy was fourth.

It appeared immediately after the race that both Papa Clem and Old Fashioned would head to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby, but plans for the latter changed later when the son of Unbridled's Song was lame as he cooled out after the race.  The onetime Kentucky Derby favorite was found to have suffered a non-displaced slab-fracture of the right knee.

Trainer Larry Jones said the injury would require surgery and is not considered life-threatening, but Old Fashioned's racing career appears to be over.

"He's going back with our horses to Kentucky and we'll look to have him surgically treated once we get there," Jones said.  "Horses with that kind of injury sometimes come back, but rarely at the level at which he competed."

Jones, the trainer of the last two runners-up in the Kentucky Derby in Hard Spun and the ill-fated Eight Belles, still has a Kentucky Derby contender in his barn in Vinery and Fox Hill's Louisiana Derby (GII) winner Friesan Fire.  He said Old Fashioned was scheduled to be taken to Lexington's Rood and Riddle equine hospital for further examination and surgery.

Meanwhile, Stute - the son of veteran California trainer Mel Stute - is making plans for his first Kentucky Derby starter.  Stute's father won the 1986 Preakness (GI) with Snow Chief.

"Up until today, the Preakness was the happiest day of my life," Stute said.  "He (Papa Clem) just doesn't want to get beat.  He has a ton of heart."

Papa Clem, who is scheduled to travel to Churchill Downs on Tuesday, had finished second in his two previous starts to Friesan Fire in the Louisiana Derby and Pioneerof the Nile in Santa Anita's Robert B. Lewis (GII).

Trainer Tim Ice said third-place finisher would not be pointed to the Kentucky Derby, and would likely be pointed toward the Lone Star Derby (GIII) and Belmont Stakes (GI).

Trainer Mac Robertson said a Derby bid was "possible" for Win Willy.

"We'll see in about a week how he's doing and how the rest are doing," Robertson told Daily Racing Form.

KENTUCKY/GENERAL QUARTERS SURPRISES IN TOYOTA BLUE GRASS - Owner-trainer Tom McCarthy has trained horses off and on for most of his life, but never has the 72-year-old former school teacher and high school principal enjoyed a moment like Saturday's victory by 14-1 shot General Quarters in the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland.

McCarthy had claimed the son of Sky Mesa out of his career debut last May at Churchill Downs for $20,000.  General Quarters earned $465,000 for his first-place finish in the Blue Grass, in which he defeated favorite and runner-up Hold Me Back by 1 ½ lengths under jockey Eibar Coa.  Massone, the only 3-year-old in the field of 11 not nominated to the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown, was third, and Terrain closed to be fourth.

"I can't tell you what was going through my mind," said McCarthy. "I don't think there's a word that describes it.  I felt a sense of euphoria, a sense of well-being.  It's hard to describe.  It's a feeling I've never had in my life."

McCarthy had been a principal at three Louisville area high schools, but always dabbled with horses.  He has won a relative handful of races, none of which possessed anything close to the prestige and value of the Blue Grass.

The victory by General Quarters improved his career record to 3-3-1 in 11 races and pushed his lifetime earnings to $641,735.

Hall of Fame Trainer Bill Mott said runner-up Hold Me Back would go on to the Kentucky Derby, while trainer Al Stall Jr. said no decision had been made on Terrain's Derby status.

Previously unbeaten Charitable Man finished seventh in the race, one spot ahead of British-based Mafaaz, the winner of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes who already has a guaranteed spot in the Churchill Downs starting gate on Derby Day.  Trainer John Gosden said after the race that he was unsure of the colt's status for a Kentucky Derby bid.

Square Eddie To Return in Coolmore Lexington - J. Paul Reddam's Square Eddie, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) and winner of Keeneland's Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (GI), is set to return to the Lexington track and the Kentucky Derby trail with a run in next Saturday's $300,000 Coolmore Lexington (GII).

Square Eddie worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 on Saturday over the synthetic surface at Hollywood Park and is scheduled to ship to Kentucky on Tuesday.  He has been away from competition since January because of a cannon bone injury.

Godolphin Horses Clear Quarantine - Two Kentucky Derby contenders for Dubai-based Godolphin - Desert Party and Regal Ransom - cleared quarantine at Churchill Downs on Saturday and moved into Barn 41, where they will continue to train toward the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby.

The colts are the first Godolphin horses to attempt the Derby since 2002.

CALIFORNIA/SMITH GETS TEST DRIVE ON CHOCOLATE CANDY - Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Mike Smith had a "get acquainted" session on Sunday with Chocolate Candy, the runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby (GI) who will be his ride in this year's renewal of the "Run for the Roses" on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

Smith was in the saddle as Jenny Craig's homebred son of Candy Ride worked five furlongs in :59.20 over the Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita.  Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Chocolate Candy would travel to Kentucky on Tuesday and work twice at Churchill Downs.