At Old Friends resides a celebrity, the horse who now reigns as the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner. Now age 28, Silver Charm is celebrating the silver anniversary of his Derby victory, which occurred 25 years ago, and 64 miles away, at Churchill Downs.
Tim Yakteen had been to the Kentucky Derby before, back when he was an assistant trainer to Charlie Whittingham, but never before like this. As would often happen in years past with Bob Baffert upon his initial arrival here Derby Week, Yakteen was the center of attention on Monday morning in the Churchill Downs stable area, his first day here after Messier and Taiba arrived on Sunday from California.
Brian Lynch suspects Classic Causeway might have displaced his palate in his last race, perhaps accounting for the colt’s poor performance, so the trainer is tweaking a couple of things.
A little after 8:30 Monday morning, trainer D. Wayne Lukas was sitting in his office at Churchill Downs talking about Ethereal Road, whom Lukas the day before had been contemplating entering in either the Kentucky Derby or Pat Day Mile on Saturday. He will now saddle the horse in the 148th Kentucky Derby.
It was heartbreak on Kentucky Derby entry morning for the one-eyed New York-bred gelding Un Ojo, who was not entered for Saturday's classic after emerging from his final work with a bruised hoof.
Much has been made of Tim Yakteen, a former assistant to trainer Bob Baffert, saddling his first Kentucky Derby horses this year in Taiba and Messier, both of whom were transferred to Yakteen due to a Baffert suspension. But flying far under the radar is another former Baffert employee, Bhupat Seemar, who will also saddle his first Derby starter in Summer Is Tomorrow, the runner-up in the Group 2 UAE Derby.
Almost all of the final works for the Kentucky Derby are now complete after Dubai-based Summer Is Tomorrow logged a half-mile breeze on Monday morning.
The weather created a bit of havoc, both locally and out of town, on the training schedules for two of the key players in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, although in the end both Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter and Florida Derby hero White Abarrio not only completed their important final preps without incident but to rave reviews as well.
The rain had lifted, the air was fresh and the morning glorious around 8:30 on Sunday at Churchill Downs. A little earlier, trainer Steve Asmussen had sent out Epicenter, the Louisiana Derby winner, for his final workout in advance of Saturday’s 148th Kentucky Derby, a drill that was so impressive Asmussen could barely contain his excitement.
Trainer Brad Cox said Sunday morning that his three Kentucky Derby starters – Cyberknife, Zozos, and Tawny Port – had emerged from their Saturday workouts in “fantastic” condition.
