Bravazo headed for Kentucky Derby

Bravazo emerged from his eighth-place finish Saturday in the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds in good physical condition and will advance to the Kentucky Derby, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said on Tuesday.

Bravazo returned to his Oaklawn Park base Sunday. He was the 2.90-1 second choice for the Louisiana Derby following his nose win in the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds in February, for which he earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 93. In the Louisiana Derby, he raced in contention early under Gary Stevens before ending up 21 1/4 lengths behind winner Noble Indy.

“We were in great position and Gary had to check him a couple of times and that just really got us in trouble,” Lukas said. “We ended up wide, and that really killed us.”

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Lukas said Bravazo is scheduled to return to the track Wednesday.

“He came out of the race in good order, real good,” he said Tuesday. “Our plans right now are to go straight to the Derby. We’ve got quite a big window of time here, so it’s kind of a challenge to train the horse to go a mile and quarter – you know, I’m not Charlie Whittingham!”

Lukas, who is a four-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, said Bravazo would likely train at Oaklawn until the final week of the meet, which ends April 14. From there, the horse will ship to the Lukas barn at Churchill Downs. Bravazo won a maiden special weight last September at Churchill and later finished second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. He has a total of 54 points for the Kentucky Derby to rank fourth in the standings administered by Churchill.

Lukas said no decisions have been made on a rider for the Kentucky Derby as he first has to discuss the topic with Brad Kelley of Calumet.

The Lukas-trained Sporting Chance, the winner of last year’s Grade 1 Hopeful, worked Tuesday at Oaklawn. He went five-eighths by himself in 59.20 seconds, the fastest move of eight at the distance. The work was Sporting Chance’s first since finishing fifth in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel on March 17 at Oaklawn.

Lukas said the next start for the horse is to be determined. Sporting Chance has two points for the Kentucky Derby for his third-place finish in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest in his 3-year-old debut in February at Oaklawn. He races for Robert Baker and William Mack.

“I’m putting a lot of things in the hopper here,” Lukas said of prep options for Sporting Chance, a son of Tiznow. “We definitely are going to have to pick a race where we have an opportunity to get points for the Derby. Whatever we do, it will be in his best interest to try to get him to the Derby. I really want a Derby horse for Mr. Mack and Mr. Baker.”