Hovdey: Longshots looking for a Hollywood ending
If it is late April, it is the time of year when rank longshots and abject no-hopers come out of the woodwork to clutter the Kentucky Derby field with their unreasonable dreams.
Jay HovdeyApr 24, 2014
If it is late April, it is the time of year when rank longshots and abject no-hopers come out of the woodwork to clutter the Kentucky Derby field with their unreasonable dreams.
With a slew of final prerace workouts still to come, all was quiet on the Kentucky Derby front Thursday at Churchill Downs, where overnight rain into Friday morning was expected to keep local activity light until Saturday.
California Chrome jogged and galloped nearly two miles and was schooled in the starting gate at Los Alamitos on Thursday.
Stewart Elliott had no great expectations about coming back to Kentucky. He’d probably get to ride a few, enjoy the sights of springtime and the festive crowds, sign some memorabilia, and maybe even bask in the nostalgia of his career pinnacle.
The folks who were here in 1875 probably wouldn’t recognize Churchill Downs anymore. Not only were their beloved Twin Spires dwarfed by a massive remodeling almost 10 years ago, but lights have been installed, including some on the inner perimeter of a turf course, no less.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert entered two horses in the Derby Trial on the opening-night program Saturday at Churchill Downs, either of whom would be a decisive favorite if he ran.
Social Inclusion, currently 24th on the points list and running out of time in his quest to qualify for the Kentucky Derby field, worked three furlongs in 34.41 seconds and galloped out a half-mile in 47.63 Thursday morning at Gulfstream Park.
Chitu was entered on Wednesday in the Derby Trial on Saturday night at Churchill Downs, but will scratch from that race, work Sunday at Churchill Downs, and be pointed to the Kentucky Derby on May 3, trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday afternoon.
Two Kentucky Derby hopefuls worked after the renovation break, General a Rod, as expected, and Hoppertunity. Hoppertunity, runner-up behind California Chrome in the Santa Anita Derby, was easily the most impressive of the pair.
If we just looked at that race the first Saturday in May as a horse race and not the Kentucky Derby, the 2014 outcome would appear rather obvious.