2024 Kentucky Derby Clocker: Fierceness makes first appearance on Churchill Downs track

Churchill Downs
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 48 degrees
Track: Fast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tuesday, predictably, turned out to be pretty uneventful morning at Churchill Downs when it came to monitoring preparations for the upcoming Kentucky Derby and Oaks, with the main news of the day, for both races, coming out of South Florida at Gulfstream Park.

The big story at Churchill Downs was the first local sighting of likely Derby favorite Fierceness, who galloped an easy mile while looking none the worse for wear from his brilliant five-furlong work last Friday morning at Palm Beach Downs. The Florida Derby winner is slated to have his final Derby work here Friday, weather permitting.

Other Derby contenders on the track here for the first time Tuesday included Florida Derby runner-up Catalytic and Tampa Bay Derby winner Domestic Product, both of whom also shipped in from South Florida and will have their last Derby preps over the weekend.

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Domestic Product showed the way for his more fancied stablemate Sierra Leone, who galloped a short distance behind and once again left a very favorable impression cruising a routine 1 1/2 miles.

Forever Young had regular rider Ryusei Sakai aboard while accompanied once again by a “workmate” from the barn of trainer Dale Romans while galloping during the regular Derby/Oaks window immediately after the first renovation break. The U.A.E. Derby winner is scheduled to work Wednesday, although his connections will be keeping a close eye on the weather overnight and track conditions in the morning. Forecasters were predicting a 60 percent to 80 percent chance of rain in the Louisville area after 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Resilience, who worked Monday, and his Oaks-bound stablemate Just F Y I, who did likewise, were back on the track jogging once around the mile oval Tuesday morning.

At Gulfstream Park on Tuesday, Florida Derby third-place finisher Grand Mo the First breezed six furlongs in 1:16.48 under regular rider Emisael Jaramillo, posting early splits of 25.84 seconds and 51.15 over what has been a bit of a tiring surface of late before easing up a mile in 1:44.

Trainer Victor Barboza said he was pleased with the progress his horse has made since the Florida Derby.

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“It was a very good breeze, he galloped out well, and Jaramillo fits the horse nicely, which is very important to me,” said Barboza, who will send out his first Kentucky Derby starter a week from Saturday. “He will ship Thursday, walk Friday, and go back to the track to gallop on Saturday. This was his final breeze.”

A short while earlier, trainer Michael Yates watched his Kentucky Oaks hopeful Fiona’s Magic breeze five furlongs in 1:01.41 after leaving the three-quarter pole in an open gallop, cruising along easily during the early stages before being set down to finish from the eighth pole to the wire. The work was her first since a disappointing performance in the Gulfstream Oaks after which it was discovered she had a respiratory infection for which she was treated with antibiotics, forcing her to miss approximately a week of training.

“I thought she went well. I just wanted to let her finish up the last part of it, she did it nicely and scoped clean after the work,” Yates said. “I think if she gets to run her race and has some racing luck I don’t see any reason why she can’t be competitive.”

Yates is still searching for a rider for Fiona’s Magic after learning that his first choice, Tyler Gaffalione, who was aboard for her game half-length victory over Into Champagne in the Grade 2 Davona Dale, was committed elsewhere for the Oaks.

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