By My Standards, Spinoff target Kentucky Derby for next starts

NEW ORLEANS – Although they will take different paths to get there, the top two finishers in Saturday's Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds are set to make their next starts in the Kentucky Derby on May 4, and the beaten favorite, War of Will, still has the Derby in play following a freak incident leaving the gate.

By My Standards, making his stakes debut, was a 22-1 upset winner of the Louisiana Derby over Spinoff, who was making his 3-year-old stakes debut. By My Standards got a Beyer Speed Figure of 97, the best of his career. He also earned 100 points on the system used by Churchill Downs to determine the Derby field, which guarantees him a spot in the race.

Bret Calhoun, who trains By My Standards, on Sunday said his colt would ship straight to his barn at Churchill Downs this week and would train there right through the Kentucky Derby.

“He cooled out well,” Calhoun said. “He leaves Tuesday, arrives Wednesday. We’ll get him bedded down and hope everything goes well through the first Saturday in May.

"It will be nice not having to move around. We can be in one place."

Calhoun had had a slow Fair Grounds meeting. He said Saturday's win was "great timing for us," especially having a top 3-year-old in the spring.

"I always said I didn't want to get Derby fever unless I had a legitimate colt, and he's a legitimate colt," Calhoun said. "He's definitely a horse that's moving forward."

Going into the Louisiana Derby, By My Standards owned only a maiden win in four starts, that coming on the undercard of the Risen Star Stakes last month. Since that race, Calhoun said By My Standards has been a different horse.

"He's trained unbelievable. They say you want a 3-year-old on the improve this time of year, and he's that," Calhoun said.

Spinoff is “most likely to train up to” the Derby rather than squeeze in another prep, trainer Todd Pletcher informed in a text Sunday. He earned 40 points, which should be sufficient to make the Derby field.

Pletcher, a two-time winner of the Derby, is based at Palm Beach Downs in the winter. He said Spinoff was scheduled to return there Monday to continue training for the Derby. In recent years, Pletcher has shipped to Kentucky in time to have one work over the Churchill Downs track, but that decision is often made closer to the race and is frequently weather dependent.

War of Will, who finished ninth at 4-5, was reported "much improved this morning" on Sunday by his trainer, Mark Casse, who had said Saturday night following the race that War of Will was "off significantly." War of Will’s hind end dropped alarmingly soon after leaving the gate before he was able to regain his proper stride and finish the race.

“It’s pretty clear he strained something,” said Casse, who theorized War of Will strained ligaments when he caught his patella. That would be one step removed from a stifle locking up, which would have prevented War of Will from continuing with the race.

"Right after the race, when we got back to the barn, he was walking really off in his right hind," Casse said. "We think it was a freak deal and he's going to be fine. He's feeling a lot better this morning. We feel fortunate. Forget about losing the race. His health is the most important thing.”

Casse said War of Will would go to Keeneland on Tuesday with his main string of horses.

"We'll go over him completely, but he could be back training pretty quickly," Casse said.

If that timetable plays out, and with nearly six weeks now until the Kentucky Derby, War of Will remains under serious consideration for the Derby, Casse said.

War of Will won the Lecomte and the Risen Star earlier in the Fair Grounds meet, giving him 60 points, which would be more than enough to make the Derby field.