Copper Bullet points to Pat Day Mile; Principe Guilherme gets break

NEW ORLEANS – Trainer Steve Asmussen has a number of top 3-year-olds this year, but had to hit the reset button with two of them, Copper Bullet and Principe Guilherme. Both will miss the Kentucky Derby, but Copper Bullet is back in a regular work pattern here at Fair Grounds, while Principe Guilherme is getting some time off and should be back for the summer.

Copper Bullet worked five furlongs on Thursday in 1:01.60, his fourth work this month and the third consecutive one six days apart. Asmussen on Friday said the Grade 3, $300,000 Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, May 5, is a realistic comeback spot for Copper Bullet.

“We gave up the Derby dream owing to timing and weather,” Asmussen said at his barn. “It just didn’t happen. The most likely scenario is the Pat Day Mile. It’s someplace he’s run well, and he has plenty of time to get ready.”

Copper Bullet won twice in four starts last year, including a maiden race at Churchill. He has not raced since winning the Saratoga Special on Aug. 13.

Principe Guilherme is getting some time off at the farm of owner and breeder Three Chimneys Farm after finishing seventh in last month’s Risen Star here. Principe Guilherme won his first two starts and was second in the Lecomte prior to the Risen Star.

Asmussen said that following the Risen Star, noted veterinarian Larry Bramlage discovered bone bruising.

“He has way too much talent to have not run better,” Asmussen said. “The Lecomte was okay, but the Risen Star was disappointing, so we sent him in for a checkup.

“There should be no trouble at all having him back for the summer. I’m not expecting him to need much downtime. It’s just a situation where we knew what he was capable of, and we didn’t want to make things worse by pretending he was okay. It’s better to stop before they make you stop.”