2012 Kentucky Derby: Daddy Long Legs hits track for first time

If one were to judge the chances of Aidan O’Brien-trained overseas shippers by the way they looked during their first morning training session at a new venue, one would think they never won.

Almost without fail, the animals sweat profusely and don’t, to most observers, look good at all. Last summer at Arlington Park, for instance, Cape Blanco and Treasure Beach came off the track on a morning only mildly hot absolutely dripping with sweat following moderate exercise. A few days later, Cape Blanco won the Arlington Million, Treasure Beach the Secretariat.

So, while there are many reasons to doubt the O’Brien-trained Daddy Long Legs in the Kentucky – his 12th-place finish here last fall in the BC Juvenile, the dreaded one hole on Saturday - the fact that he sweated heavily Friday morning when seeing the racetrack for the first time since arriving here early Wednesday morning probably is not one of them.

“It’s his first day out there and he’s fresh,” said O’Brien assistant T.J. Comerford, who will saddle Daddy Long Legs on Saturday since O’Brien is attending the English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. “He did do his trot around there. I wouldn’t worry about (the sweating).”