HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Mage has already come a long way in a short time, having progressed from a debut maiden victory on Jan. 28 to a second-place finish in the $1 million Florida Derby just nine weeks later while earning a spot in the 2023 Kentucky Derby in the process. The relatively inexperienced but extremely talented 3-year-old showed no signs of regressing from those efforts when he breezed a very easy and impressive five furlongs in 1:01.09 on Sunday at Gulfstream Park.       With exercise rider J.J. Delgado aboard, Mage eased away from the five furlong pole, cruised to a 36.77 three-eighths split, was purposefully allowed to fan well off the rail turning for home, as is commonplace for the barn, and finished up very willingly while still totally on his own to the wire. Mage remained wide while galloping out strongly into the clubhouse bend in 1:14.27 then continued with plenty of energy down the backstretch, not pulling up until going all the way back around to the three-eighths pole a second time.  “The exercise rider said he was just cruising and he was just sitting there, the horse did it all by himself,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father Gustavo Delgado. “He’s definitely doing very well at the moment.” :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Mage, beaten a length by Kentucky Derby favorite Forte following a slow start and wide trip in the Florida Derby, will likely have one more work locally before being given a final and more serious breeze the following week at Churchill Downs. Delgado also said no rider has been confirmed as yet for Mage in the Derby with Luis Saez, who was aboard in the Florida Derby, keeping his regular seat, as expected, aboard Tapit Trice. “We’ve had a lot of riders show an interest and I think the jockey picture should take better form by the end of the week,” the younger Delgado said.   About 20 minutes earlier, the Kentucky Oaks-bound Dorth Vader also turned in a very sharp five-furlong breeze, completing the distance in 59.31 under jockey Jesus Rios. Dorth Vader, winner of the one-mile, Grade 2 Davona Dale as a 46-1 outsider earlier this winter, is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. She posted splits of 23.44, 35.21 going easily throughout before galloping out six panels in 1:12.81, ultimately easing up after a mile in 1:42.21. “She’s really doing well, knock on wood,” trainer Michael Yates said a short while after the work. “Watching her work this morning, it looked like she was just galloping out there. And I think she’ll move forward off her last start.” Yates said he felt Dorth Vader may have raced a little greenly stretching out around two turns in the Gulfstream Park Oaks for only the second time in her career and first since a third-place finish in the My Dear Girl Stakes six months earlier. Dorth Vader held a short advantage leaving the furlong grounds of the 1 1/16-mile Oaks before tiring to finish 2 1/4 lengths behind the late-running winner Affirmative Lady. “I almost feel like she was a little bit confused going around two turns for the first time in such a long while in her last start,” Yates said. “She made the lead, but as soon as she saw Saez (on Affirmative Lady) come up inside her, I think it kind of surprised her and she leaned in while staying on her left lead.”  Yates, who has not committed to a rider yet for Dorth Vader in the Oaks, said his filly will likely have only one more work, presently scheduled to come locally, before the race. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.