Kentucky Derby now has Watch Me Go as nominee

Watch Me Go, the Tampa Bay Derby winner, was not an original nominee to the Triple Crown for a $600 fee in January. But his trainer, Kathleen O'Connell, said he was nominated for the late fee of $6,000 on Sunday.

KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS: Track all the 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail

"None of us are getting any younger, and who knows if we'll ever have another chance," O'Connell said.

O'Connell said Watch Me go "came out of the race great."

"I loved that he handled the media well on Saturday," she said. "We saddled next to Brethren and there were all sorts of people and cameras around and my horse was poised and relaxed. Shows that he has a very good mind, which is very important."

O'Connell said Watch Me Go will make his next start in early April, possibly in the Florida Derby. In the meantime, he will remain stabled at Tampa.

"He loves the surface and to train here," she said.

Premier Pegasus also came out of his San Felipe Victory at Santa Anita well, according to Myong Kwon Cho, his breeder, owner, and trainer. Cho on Monday called Premier Pegasus's performance "incredible." The margin of victory, 7 3/4 lengths over runner-up Jaycito, was the largest in the history of the San Felipe.

While the Grade 1, $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 9 remains the most likely next start for Premier Pegasus, Cho - who has just 10 horses - also has another promising 3-year-old, Riveting Reason, and said he does not want them to run against one another.

"I'm not sure which one I'm going to run in the Santa Anita Derby, because I have two horses," Cho said. He said he would choose another race, out of town, for whichever colt does not run in the Santa Anita Derby, but said he had not sorted through all his options yet.

Both Jaycito and Bench Points, who finished third in the San Felipe, will come back in the Santa Anita Derby, their connections said on Sunday.

In other Derby developments:

◗ Trainer Steve Asmussen on Monday said that Silver Medallion, in whom a majority interest was sold last week, would make his next start in either the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 26 at Fair Grounds or the Santa Anita Derby. Asmussen described the chances as being "75-25" in favor of the Louisiana Derby. Silver Medallion, the winner of the El Camino Real Derby in his last start, worked six furlongs in 1:12.80 on Monday morning at Santa Anita.

- additional reporting by Mike Welsch