Carpe Diem looks settled in final pre-Derby work

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Multiple Grade 1 winner Carpe Diem, expected to be the third or fourth wagering choice for next week's Kentucky Derby, turned in his final major piece of work Saturday morning at Keeneland, breezing four furlongs in 48.60 seconds.

Carpe Diem originally was scheduled for his final work Sunday. However, with inclement weather looming in central Kentucky, the colt was among the first horses on the track Saturday morning when it opened at 5:30 a.m. and worked over a fast surface before the rain moved in.

With John Velazquez, who has the mount in the Derby, aboard, Carpe Diem, who worked solo, turned in opening splits of 13 and 25. Trainer Todd Pletcher, connected to Velazquez via walkie-talkie, instructed the rider to pick it up down the lane, and the colt galloped out in 1:01.20, 1:14.80, and 1:29.40, prompting Pletcher to intone into his radio, “That's perfect, Johnny.”

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In a work one week prior, Carpe Diem was a bit keen away from the pole, opening in 12 and 24 before finishing a half in 48 flat. He was more settled in his final breeze.

“Sometimes in the dark, he’ll be a little more settled,” Pletcher said. “[When he worked last Saturday], we were out here at 10:15 or whatever it was – a bit of a crowd there – and I think he was probably just a little bit excited about that. [Today, he was] very settled. Very good, progressive breeze, picked it up each eighth, finished very well, galloped out good, moving good. Got it in over a perfect surface.”

Keeneland installed a new dirt main track prior to the 2014 fall meet, and Carpe Diem has thrived over the surface, taking the Breeders’ Futurity last October and returning to win the Blue Grass Stakes in early April. Pletcher has been complimentary toward the surface, counting it as a factor in the decision to complete Carpe Diem's serious Derby preparations at Keeneland instead of Churchill Downs.

“I think over the last 10 or 15 years or whatever it’s been, since Funny Cide won the Derby without having a work over the track, it’s less and less important that horses breeze over the Churchill surface,” he said.

Carpe Diem is expected to van to Louisville to join Pletcher's other three Derby probables – Materiality, Itsaknockout, and Stanford – early next week.