Kent Desormeaux has 30 years of Kentucky Derby memories
This being 2018, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux can celebrate several Kentucky Derby anniversaries.
Marty McGeeApr 30, 2018
This being 2018, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux can celebrate several Kentucky Derby anniversaries.
He rode back on his pony after overseeing the training of his horses, just as he's done for decades, the only concession to age being that he used a stepstool to help him dismount when he reached his barn at Churchill Downs.
It was the calm after the storm on a crisp and clear Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. The racetrack was nearly deserted during the special session reserved for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders following two whirlwind days during which the majority of the horses stabled locally turned in their final preps for those races.
Trainer Bill Mott was the center of attention in a media scrum Sunday, talking about his participation in Saturday’s 144th Kentucky Derby after the 3-year-old Hofburg worked a half-mile in 48.03 seconds over the main track.
Ten horses, six for the Derby and four for the Oaks, turned in their final major preps for next weekend's races on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, nine of them in rapid fire beginning with a sharp move from Good Magic.
Working at 7:45 a.m. under Victor Espinoza, Bolt d’Oro completed a half-mile in 48.20 seconds and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.40 on Saturday at Santa Anita.
The third start was the charm for Good Magic as a 2-year-old, and the way he trained Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, it looks as though the third start as a 3-year-old for last year’s champion juvenile male will be his best this year.
Following almost a week of relative inactivity, the action picked up appreciably Friday on the Kentucky Derby/Oaks watch at Churchill Downs. Eleven prospective starters – five for the Derby and six for the Oaks – worked on a clear, crisp morning, beginning shortly after the racetrack opened at 5:15 and continuing until after the second renovation break nearly four hours later.
After months of flying all over the country to ride top prospects for the Kentucky Derby, jockey Javier Castellano has wound up right where he started, choosing to ride Audible, whom he rode to victory in the Holy Bull back in January, as Castellano tries to win the Derby for the first time in his highly decorated career.
Justify, the unbeaten favorite for the Kentucky Derby, will ship to Churchill Downs in peak condition after a strong seven-furlong workout Friday at Santa Anita.