Trainer Eoin Harty said Sunday morning at Hollywood Park that Anthony’s Cross will not ship from California to run in the Kentucky Derby, owing to concerns regarding a temperature the colt had in recent days.
After Uncle Mo worked in company with stablemate Stay Thirsty on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, Mike Repole, who owns both colts, vowed that Uncle Mo would return to the position he held for months prior to the Wood, as the favorite for next Saturday’s 137th Kentucky Derby. “If he’s not going off the favorite, I’ll make him the favorite,” said Repole, who has been known to play a little at the windows.
Trainer Kathleen O’Connell confirmed Sunday morning that jockey Rafael Bejarano will have the mount in the 137th Kentucky Derby on longshot Watch Me Go.
While horsemen in Kentucky had to navigate through the muddy waters that was the Churchill Downs main track Sunday morning, trainer Graham Motion was able to bask in the sunshine and dry conditions in northeast Maryland as he watched Toby’s Corner work six furlongs in 1:15 over the Tapeta surface at the Fair Hill Training Center in preparation for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
Heavy early morning rains turned the racetrack to a sea of slop but abated long enough for three Kentucky Derby candidates, including Uncle Mo, to get in their scheduled works during the special Derby-Oaks training session at Churchill Downs on Sunday.
No Kentucky Derby winner has finished worse than fourth in his previous start since Iron Liege was fifth in the Derby Trial in 1957. Four hopefuls for the 137th Derby will try to buck that long-standing trend by rebounding in a big way Saturday at Churchill Downs – including Santiva, who comes into the race after finishing ninth as the favorite in the Blue Grass Stakes.
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Dialed In, the Florida Derby winner and likely favorite for the May 7 Kentucky Derby, and Soldat, the Fountain of Youth Stakes winner, both arrived at Churchill Downs around 2 p.m. Eastern time Saturday.
Whatever apprehension owner Barry Irwin and trainer Graham Motion had about running Animal Kingdom in next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby was alleviated Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, when Animal Kingdom, who heretofore has raced exclusively on grass and Polytrack, worked sharply over the dirt.
Spiral winner Animal Kingdom led a trio of prospective Kentucky Derby starters who worked over a fast track during a chaotic 15 minutes after the renovation break at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Sunland Derby winner Twice the Appeal was the only potential Kentucky Derby starter to work before the renovation break at Churchill Downs on Saturday, breezing six furlongs in 1:15.62 seconds under jockey Calvin Borel.
