LEXINGTON, Ky. – Owner Mike Repole is fond of saying that pressure is a privilege. For the last two years, Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher have had the privilege of having the favorite for the Kentucky Derby. In 2023, Forte, the morning-line favorite, was scratched the morning of the race due to a foot issue. Last year, Fierceness finished 15th in the Derby. This year, Repole and Pletcher are back in the Derby with Grande, the Grade 2 Wood Memorial runner-up who will likely be a mid-range price in the 20-horse Derby field on May 3. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. “Less pressure is a better privilege,” Repole quipped. “Never been more relaxed, grateful, and happier being in the Derby versus the last two.” “It’s certainly a different feeling when you come with Fierceness or Forte, likely favorites, but you’re still excited about it and hoping to make all the right decisions to put the horse in the best position to do his best,” Pletcher said. In a bit of an unorthodox move for him, Pletcher positioned Grande at Keeneland for the last week. On Friday morning, Grande had his final pre-Derby breeze, working five furlongs in 1:00.51, according to Daily Racing Form. Grande, with John Velazquez up, worked outside the 3-year-old maiden winner Valentinian, going his first three furlongs in 37.29 seconds and completing his final quarter in 23.22. He galloped out seven furlongs in 1:27.19. “Thought it was good,” Pletcher said. “Moving well, kind of got what we wanted in terms of a good solid workout without appearing as we overdid it.” Pletcher opted for just one work in between the Wood and the Derby. He opted to work at Keeneland because he felt that track handles potential wet weather better than Churchill Downs. Keeneland’s track was fast for Grande’s work, which occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m., about 10 minutes before the skies opened up, making the track a sea of slop for Friday’s closing-day card. Horses entered in the Kentucky Derby and Oaks are required to be on the Churchill Downs grounds by 11 a.m. Saturday. So, if Pletcher didn’t want to work at Churchill, it was imperative to get the work in on Friday. Grande shipped to Churchill later Friday afternoon. “I feel good about getting the work in on the track that we were hoping to get it in on as opposed to either working on an off track there this morning or waiting ’til tomorrow and possibly having a wet track then,” Pletcher said. “Sort of a coin toss whether to breeze him twice or once; felt like with the ship [from New York] we’d go with one good five-eighths eight days out. Hopefully, that’s the right decision, who knows? We’ve lost it many different ways.” Pletcher has participated in 24 Kentucky Derbies, running a record 65 horses in it since 2000. He won the race in 2010 with Super Saver and in 2017 with Always Dreaming. Grande, a son of Curlin, comes in with just three races under his belt. He won his maiden going a mile in January and a first-level allowance going 1 1/8 miles in late February. In both of those races, he stalked the pace from second. In the Wood Memorial, Grande was farther off the pace as he was five wide around the first turn, six wide down the backstretch, three wide at the three-eighths pole, and four wide in the stretch under Dylan Davis. Still, he persevered to the wire, getting beat 3 1/2 lengths by Rodriguez while finishing a clear second. “In a perfect world, maybe we’d have one more start under his belt with a thorough dirt schooling, but it’s the way it’s played out,” Pletcher said. “I do think he got a lot of experience in the Wood, a pretty rough trip especially in the first turn. Thought he ran pretty well to do what he did, to still finish with his legs underneath him after losing all the ground that he lost.” Grande may not be the Derby favorite, but since the favorite hasn’t won since Justify in 2018, that may not be such a bad thing. “I think you preferably come with the best horse,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully, he proves to be that.” Built out; Neoequos in As expected, the connections of Built have opted to run in the Pat Day Mile, which puts Neoequos, third-place finisher in the Florida Derby, into the Kentucky Derby field. Render Judgment, next on the Derby qualifying points list, will not be entered in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Kenny McPeek said Friday, meaning Baeza will be first on the also-eligible list, provided there were no defections Saturday. Flavien Prat will be named on both Neoequos and Baeza, with Baeza listed as first call. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.