Asmussen happily hoarse after winning weekend

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Steve Asmussen had a raspy voice Monday at Churchill Downs, the result of all the hooting and hollering he did on Kentucky Derby weekend.

“I’ve told everybody I cracked it on Friday and broke it on Saturday,” said the 53-year-old Hall of Fame trainer.

Asmussen was celebrating with one winner after another, including a remarkable three Grade 1 victories with She’s a Julie in the La Troienne, Mia Mischief in the Humana Distaff, and Mitole in the Churchill Downs. He also won the last race on Oaks Day with a first-time starter named Hallawallah, then swept the last two races after the Derby with Limonite and Rotation. As an aside, his stable also accounted for five wins on the final two cards (Friday and Saturday) of the Oaklawn Park meet.

“We couldn’t have asked for a much better weekend,” said Asmussen.

She’s a Julie, so named as a tribute to Asmussen’s wife, a cancer survivor, most likely runs back in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis, part of the June 15 Stephen Foster night card that serves as the traditional highlight of the post-Derby segment of the 38-day Churchill spring meet. She’s likely to face Elate in that 1 1/8-mile race.

“The mare really brings out the emotions for us,” said Asmussen. “The level that she has attained and earned is really gratifying for us all.”

Mitole, who earned his fifth straight triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure (106), has drawn raves from virtually every corner of the industry. The 4-year-old colt could run back in the True North on June 7 at Belmont, or even stretch out in the Metropolitan Mile the following day, said Asmussen.

“To have him 100 percent physically ready on a day that mattered, and for him to show his brilliance and put it all together the way he did, it just meant so much to us all,” he said, adding he will “very strongly” consider the Met Mile on the Belmont Stakes Day card.

Mia Mischief could race once before targeting the Honorable Miss and Ballerina at Saratoga, he said.

Lady Apple, third in the Kentucky Oaks, “has run really hard,” he said.

“The Fantasy-Oaks timeline was really tight, so I might back off on her a little,” Asmussen said. “There’s no telling how good she might end up with time. For now, I think we should space her races considerably.”

Memorable, a 2-year-old Uncle Mo colt who won at first asking here Thursday, will target the Tremont on Belmont weekend. Limonite likely goes in the Matt Winn on Foster night. As for Long Range Toddy, who was elevated to 16th on the controversial disqualification of Maximum Security in the Kentucky Derby, “We’ve just got to get him back on a dry track,” Asmussen said.

This was the second huge Derby weekend in a row for Asmussen. Last year, he became just the second trainer in North American racing history to attain the 8,000-win mark when Lookin At Lee won on the Derby undercard.

As of Monday, Asmussen had run his career total to 8,425, second only to the 9,445 compiled by the late Dale Baird. Without skipping a beat, Asmussen knew precisely where he stood.

“That’s 1,020 to tie and 1,021 to be No. 1,” he said.