Kentucky Derby: Yakteen going by his own book preparing Practical Move, Reincarnate
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When it comes to Practical Move’s preparation for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, trainer Tim Yakteen is utilizing the less-is-more approach.
On Wednesday, three days out from Kentucky Derby 149, Practical Move simply jogged one mile around Churchill’s main track. It was at least the second time Practical Move just jogged after arriving from Southern California on Saturday.
“I got to train my horses the way I think they respond well,” Yakteen said. “I thought he ran super in the San Felipe. He trained light during that time, trained similar going into the Santa Anita Derby as well. We tried a couple of different things, and it seems like he responded both races. That’s my thinking on that.”
Due to an extremely wet winter in California and with rules that limited training on days when the track was sealed, all horses based at Santa Anita were subject to days when they couldn’t train. There were certainly days leading up to the San Felipe on March 4 when horses couldn’t train. Practical Move won the Grade 2 San Felipe by 2 1/2 lengths.
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Practical Move came back four weeks later to win the Santa Anita Derby by a nose to establish himself as Southern California’s top Kentucky Derby prospect.
Yakteen said Practical Move was scheduled to gallop and visit the starting gate on Thursday morning.
Conversely, Reincarnate, Yakteen’s other Kentucky Derby starter, galloped about 1 3/8 miles early Wednesday morning, his regular training regimen. Reincarnate also missed some training time this winter and shipped twice to Oaklawn Park, where he finished third in both the Grade 2 Rebel and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby.
Yakteen said Practical Move and Reincarnate are different horses and he is training them differently.
“I completely am and I have,” he said.
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