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Though Sovereignty came out of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby victory in good shape - save a superficial scrape on his right front pastern - he is far from definite to move on to Pimlico and pursue the Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes in two weeks, his connections said Sunday morning.
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It would have been easy for Journalism's connections to make excuses after his second-place finish as the 3-1 favorite in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. After all, not only had Journalism never competed over a wet racetrack prior to the race, he’d never even stepped foot on an "off" track at any point in his career before the walkover for the Derby.
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Trainer Bill Mott didn’t have to wait 22 minutes for this Kentucky Derby victory. And the decades-long quest for Kentucky Derby success is over for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.
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Journalism was the mild favorite Friday evening in early wagering on the Kentucky Derby, but will-pays for the Oaks-Derby double suggest Journalism will go to post a shorter price than that.
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It was Derby déjà vu all over again for Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher. Grande, the Wood Memorial runner-up, was scratched from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby by Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation veterinarians due to a cracked heel on his right front foot.
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So far, only two colts have finished in front of Journalism, the favorite for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. One of them, Smooth Cruisein, won an allowance race at Santa Anita last Saturday in a career-best effort that has left trainer Karen Headley and co-owner Marsha Naify hopeful he can become a stakes winner in coming months.
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The plaques listing the names of his six Kentucky Derby winners, three Kentucky Oaks winners, and a few other Grade 1 victors are back on the wall outside of Bob Baffert's barn 33 at Churchill Downs. Perhaps more importantly, Baffert himself is back, holding court in front of those plaques, which includes the names of American Pharoah and Justify, his two Triple Crown winners.
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A confluence of storylines will come together Saturday when the Kentucky Derby, the greatest two minutes in sports, will be run for the 151st time at Churchill Downs.
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The heavy lifting is done. Now it’s time to just get all the Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses through the next several days healthy and happy. That about sums up training hours Wednesday at Churchill, a relatively uneventful morning for the stars of the weekend’s two main events, the majority of whom put in routine gallops with a couple also doing a little schooling in the paddock along the way.
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Nik Juarez will ride in his first Kentucky Derby on Saturday when he climbs aboard American Promise. The guys around him know the ropes pretty well.
