Kentucky Derby: Falling Sky gallops briskly

Falling Sky displayed a bit of eagerness during his Tuesday morning training session, galloping at a brisk clip under exercise rider Cassie Garcea. Trainer John Terranova would have been surprised if he hadn’t.

“He’s into it. He likes to move along but he’s comfortable doing it. That’s him,” Terranova said. “He covers the ground fantastic. He’s really a nice horse, I just don’t know about the distance. He’s going to give his all for us.”

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Said Garcea: “He’s naturally a speedy horse and it certainly comes out in his morning training. I just try to keep him happy and comfortable and try not to get in his way.”

Falling Sky won the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on the front end in February and attended the early pace in the Tampa Bay Derby, where he finished third behind next out Grade 1 winners Verrazano and Java’s War.

Falling Sky set the pace in the Arkansas Derby – his first race at 1 1/8 miles – but faded to fourth, beaten five lengths by Overanalyze.
“He hasn’t caught that track that he can really bounce over,” Terranova said. “A track like that could carry him a little more, possibly.”

Falling Sky is a son of 2004 Kentucky Derby runner-up Lion Heart and his broodmare sire is Sea Hero, winner of the 1993 Kentucky Derby, which was run in the slop.