Rich Strike stabled at Churchill for a week before shipping for Belmont Stakes

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike was scheduled to arrive Wednesday afternoon at Churchill Downs, where the colt will be stabled for about a week before leaving May 26 for Belmont Park.

Trainer Eric Reed said Rich Strike will breeze for the first time since his historic 80-1 Derby triumph “either Saturday or Sunday, depending on weather” and will remain here until shipping to New York more than two weeks ahead of his next scheduled start in the Belmont Stakes on June 11.

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“He really comes alive there at Churchill,” Reed said Tuesday from his Mercury training center on the outskirts of Lexington. “This way, we’ll start getting his mind back on racing. He’s done great at the farm but he kicks it up a notch when he’s at the racetrack.”

Rich Strike, owned by the RED-TR Racing of Rick Dawson, was withheld from the Preakness, marking the first time since Gato Del Sol in 1982 that a Derby winner skipped the Preakness without an extenuating circumstance.

New rider on scene

Mickaëlle Michel, a French jockey with extensive experience on the dirt tracks of Japan, arrived Tuesday in Louisville to begin riding races at Churchill within the next week or so.

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Michel, 26, was the 2018 champion apprentice in her native country before moving to Japan, where she gained a sizable following after becoming the first woman to be granted a Japan Racing Association jockey’s license in 2020. She has 187 career wins. Jane Buchanan is her agent.

Lobo hits a ‘Mountain triple’

Trainer Paulo Lobo, who runs longshot Eron Do Jaguarete in the Friday feature, went 3 for 3 on Monday night at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia with Passo a Frente ($4.40), Quari Master ($2.20), and Quicky Desire ($4.60), all for Brownwood Farm.

Lobo, a 53-year-old native of Brazil, remains best known in the United States for winning the 2002 Kentucky Oaks with Farda Amiga for Brazilian-based Jose De Camargo, Old Friends, and Winner Silk.

“Twenty years later, and the owners are still so very happy about it,” Lobo said.