LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It was a whirlwind, albeit successful, 12 hours for trainer Steve Asmussen. On Saturday afternoon, Asmussen was at Oaklawn Park, where he watched Valentine Candy win the Bachelor Stakes, the 3-year-old’s fourth stakes win of the meet. Asmussen jumped in his car for the eight-hour drive to Churchill Downs during which time he was kept apprised of his stable winning four races at Lone Star Park in Texas and then a victory by Zeitlos in the Roxelana Stakes, the latter being the opening-night feature at Churchill Downs. Asmussen arrived in Kentucky around 3:30 a.m. Sunday and two hours later was at Churchill to watch Track Phantom put in his final workout before Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Track Phantom, the Grade 3 Lecomte winner who most recently finished fourth in the Louisiana Derby, worked five furlongs in 1:00.08, per Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch. Track Phantom worked in company with the maiden filly Mugen, sitting just off of her and finishing a head back of her at the wire. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.74. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2024: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more It was a more significant move than is typically done by Asmussen less than a week out from a major race. The Hall of Fame trainer noted how fast the track is, pointing to the fact Zeitlos “who on a good day goes 1:10” Asmussen said, ran six furlongs in 1:09.01 six hours earlier in the Roxelana. Sunday’s move was Track Phantom’s third work since the Louisiana Derby, all done in blinkers, equipment he will wear for the first time in the Derby. Asmussen added blinkers after he felt the horse “noticed something” and broke stride a little in the Louisiana Derby. “He’s handled really nicely with the blinkers,” Asmussen said. “His work a week ago, he was a little aggressive going into the turn, but he came right back to him and today he was just smooth as glass.” Asmussen, the all-time leader in wins with 10,486, is still in search of his first Kentucky Derby victory. He has started 25 horses in 17 Derbies from 2001-23. Track Phantom, who was the favorite in the Louisiana Derby, is listed as a 20-1 shot in the Kentucky Derby. “He was in everybody’s top 5 until the Louisiana Derby and I think he can do better than that,” Asmussen said. “I think his strength is how efficient he moves and the rhythm of it, when he broke stride a bit [in Louisiana Derby] he was unable to get back into it. Watching how the racetrack played [Saturday], it’s considerably faster than the track he came off of, which should suit him.” Asmussen was not the only man on the move Sunday. Trainer Phil D’Amato left Churchill to head back to his base in Southern California shortly after he watched his Kentucky Derby contender Stronghold work five furlongs in in 59.78 seconds, per Welsch’s watch. Stronghold, the Santa Anita Derby winner, tracked stablemate Motorious - a graded stakes-winning turf sprinter - and finished up in 24.07 seconds before galloping out in 1:13.51 under jockey Joe Talamo. “I couldn’t have drawn it up any better, just something steady, even, keep the energy tank full,” D’Amato said. “Fifty-nine-and-four with Joe sitting like a statue, I thought that was perfect.” “He’s ultra-fit too, he barely took a sip of water when I was watching him cool out,” D’Amato added. D’Amato said he was going back to California to watch a bevy of workers Monday at Santa Anita. There were three other Derby workers on Sunday morning. Resilience, the Wood Memorial winner, went a half-mile by himself in 49.16 seconds, his third work in 10 days since arriving at Churchill. Florida Derby runner-up Catalytic went a half-mile in 48.12 seconds under his new rider Jose Ortiz. He went in company with the For Some Reason, a 3-year-old gelding who won for maiden $12,500 claiming. Just Steel, the Arkansas Derby runner-up, went a half-mile in 50.43 seconds, a little slower than trainer D. Wayne Lukas wanted. Lukas said his exercise rider Brianne Culp may have overcompensated for going too fast Saturday on Oaks contender Lemon Muffin. “It’s not a big deal,” Lukas said. “If you’re going to err, err on the [slow] side, not on the fast side. The fast side gets you in a turbulator and ice boots.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.