Shug McGaughey tried to get back to the Kentucky Derby, but injuries to Top Billing and Honor Code precluded the Hall of Fame trainer from following up on what he accomplished last year with Orb.
Wicked Strong, the Wood Memorial winner, returned to the work tab Thursday, breezing four furlongs in 49.60 seconds over the Belmont Park training track on a sunny but chilly morning.
There is no disputing that there have been 51 Kentucky Derby winners since 1962, and not one of them had his or her roots in California.
Trainer Allen Jerkens doesn’t have a Kentucky Derby horse, but he does have a big rooting interest in the race: Wicked Strong, who is trained by Allen’s son, Jimmy, and rallied to beat Samraat and Social Inclusion in the Wood Memorial.
Wednesday was a good morning for Social Inclusion, who worked a sharp three furlongs here in 35.04 seconds over a muddy track. Social Inclusion also moved a step closer to earning a place in the Kentucky Derby field.
With the final round of races worth 170 qualifying points having been run, the Derby Watch list is now entirely points driven. Newcomers to the list this week are Dance With Fate and Medal Count, who ran one-two in the Blue Grass Stakes, and Danza, the upset winner of the Arkansas Derby.
Constitution, the undefeated winner of the Florida Derby, will miss the Kentucky Derby and the rest of the Triple Crown because of a shin fracture, Elliott Walden, president of co-owner WinStar Farm, said Wednesday.
Ricardo Santana Jr. will have the mount on Tapiture if he runs in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday.
Trainer Jose Garoffalo confirmed Tuesday that Rafael Bejarano will ride Wildcat Red in the Kentucky Derby. Bejarano will be the sixth different jockey to be aboard the Fountain of Youth Stakes winner and Florida Derby runner-up in as many starts.
The chairman of The Jockey Club released a statement Monday calling for trainers of horses entered in the Triple Crown events to make the horses’ veterinary records publicly available beginning 14 days before each of the three races.
