Normandy Invasion was one of three potential Kentucky Derby starters to work prior to the renovation break Saturday at Churchill Downs, a session that also included breezes from all four of trainer Todd Pletcher’s prospective Oaks runners led by Dreaming of Julia.
Trainer Shug McGaughey altered Florida Derby winner Orb’s training schedule on Friday, sending him out during the Derby/Oaks training session at Churchill Downs instead of at 6 a.m. as he had the previous two days
Although he worked Friday in a conventional bit at Churchill Downs, Vyjack has done all his training locally in a hackamore, a head piece that does not contain a bit but has a special type of noseband that helps a rider exert a little more control over a horse.
With Kentucky Derby Day just more than a week away and rain in the forecast for the weekend, workout activity began to pick up at Churchill Downs on Friday. Three potential Derby starters, including the once-beaten Vyjack, breezed during the special session following the renovation break, with at least a half-dozen more works now on the schedule for Saturday.
Perhaps the best of the four workouts that took place during the special Derby/Oaks training session here at Churchill Downs on Friday was turned in by the 3-year-old filly Rose to Gold.
Chip Woolley, John Servis, and Michael Matz recall the week leading up to the day their horses won the Kentucky Derby.
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With rain predicted to fall this weekend at Churchill Downs, workouts for several contenders for the May 4 Kentucky Derby are being adjusted.
Countdown to the Crown is Jeremy Plonk's weekly comprehensive handicapper’s scouting report of the 3-year-old scene. This week, let’s stack up the Derby 139 cast and see if their famous forerunners can help us see into their futures.
My task on Thursday was going through the Kentucky Derby prospects and assigning them into five running-style categories in an effort to get a feel for the pace of Derby.
Jockey John Velazquez, who fractured a rib in a spill at Aqueduct on April 7, said everything is on schedule for him to return to the saddle next Wednesday, four days before he is to ride Verrazano in the Kentucky Derby on May 4.
