Desormeaux won't push My Boy Jack after big Derby effort

Trainer Keith Desormeaux was hands-on Sunday morning, walking his standout 3-year-old My Boy Jack around the shed row and then holding him for his bath. He spoke with admiration for the colt who, he said, after a busy spring campaign and a major effort in the Kentucky Derby, will not run in the Preakness Stakes.

“This horse has got a heart of gold,” Desormeaux said. “I already had plenty of respect for him, but after yesterday, man. This horse, he is to be commended.”

My Boy Jack, a deep closer, was steadied when looking for room near the three-eighths pole, then was bumped and steadied again about a furlong later, leaving him 16th with a quarter-mile remaining. He closed with a flourish to finish fifth, seven lengths behind the victorious Justify.

“This is what we have to accept sometimes,” Desormeaux said of the trip in the big field. “He broke well and settled right where we wanted, just couldn't get through when he needed to.”

My Boy Jack emerged with some superficial cuts on his front legs that Desormeaux was not concerned about. The colt will fly to California on Tuesday, with plans to be determined after his early-season campaign included four preps in four different states prior to the Derby. The colt finished third in the Louisiana Derby six weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby and then, needing points to guarantee his spot in the starting gate, won the Lexington Stakes three weeks later.

“I'm not gonna do that to him,” Desormeaux said of the Preakness. “This was his third race in six weeks. If we were to run second, we might push him a little more, but there's no need to do that.”

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