Blue Grass: Medal Count will give Derby prep a shot on short rest
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dale Romans hangs around enough horseplayers to know the nuances of the tote board, which is one reason the veteran trainer will be running Medal Count back on just seven days’ rest in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday.
“He’s the second choice,” said Romans, referring to a morning line that lists Medal Count at 9-2, behind only Bobby’s Kitten (3-1) on the Keeneland program. “That’s enough right there to run.”
Medal Count had been off the Kentucky Derby radar until breaking loose last Friday with a 1 1/4-length victory on the Keeneland opening-day card in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile Polytrack race. The Blue Grass is just a sixteenth of a mile farther over the same surface.
Romans said B. Wayne Hughes, whose Spendthrift Farm owns Medal Count, “told me to do what I want to do with the horse. I’m fully aware that it’s back quick, but we’ll monitor the horse very closely and determine whether he’s wanting to run right back.”
Medal Count, by Dynaformer, seemed to eliminate himself from Derby consideration when a no-threat fifth at 43-1 in the Feb. 22 Fountain of Youth, but Romans said he hasn’t given up.
“If we run Saturday, I like my chances,” said Romans. “I’ve always thought a lot of this colt. He really started turning the corner in Florida this winter. The Transylvania was a huge move forward for him, and if he’s as good as I think he is, I want to give him every chance to show it.”
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
Romans, a lifelong Louisville resident, won the Blue Grass in 2012 with Dullahan, one of numerous major wins during the trainer’s Eclipse Award-winning year. When 2014 began, Romans had at least two other Derby prospects in Smart Cover and Cleburne, but neither progressed as hoped.
“You always want to make the Derby if you can,” he said.