Samraat, Uncle Sigh work for Derby

Samraat and Uncle Sigh have remained on virtually the same schedule all winter and into the early spring. On Friday, however, they had vastly different agendas. Both put in workouts at Belmont Park two weeks ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

Gary Contessa, the trainer of Uncle Sigh, is making a couple of significant changes to his colt’s equipment after his fifth-place finish in the Wood Memorial, and on Friday he wanted to test them out.

Equipped with blinkers and glue-on shoes on all four feet, Uncle Sigh worked a strong five furlongs in 1:00.07 over the Belmont training track. Uncle Sigh, the runner-up to Samraat in the Withers and Gotham before running fifth in the Wood, worked in company with the 3-year-old maiden Tough Daddy.

About 2 1/2 hours earlier, Samraat, coming out of a runner-up finish in the Wood Memorial, worked a half-mile by himself in 48.77 seconds over Belmont’s main track.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Contessa said he has been toying with the idea of putting blinkers on Uncle Sigh for a while, but the horse had been running too well to make a change. After Uncle Sigh broke poorly in the Wood and found himself lost behind horses early, Contessa decided to make the change.

“I think the Wood stamped him as a horse that needs blinkers,” Contessa said by phone from Ocala, Fla., where he was preparing for the upcoming sale of 2-year-olds in training.

Uncle Sigh has been training in blinkers since the Wood, and his exercise rider, the former jockey Nick Santagata, believes they’ve made a difference.

“With the blinkers off, he would look around a little bit,” Santagata said. “With the blinkers on, he pays attention a little bit more.”

Contessa noted that Uncle Sigh had been battling “minor foot issues” through the winter. He said farrier Ian McKinlay put glue-on shoes on Uncle Sigh’s hind feet Monday and then put them on the front feet Thursday.

Uncle Sigh began Friday’s work about four lengths behind Tough Daddy. Uncle Sigh seemed eager to go after his workmate but responded when Santagata asked him to stay behind. After working the first three furlongs in 36.65 seconds, Uncle Sigh came along the inside of Tough Daddy, who was purposely guided off the rail, and Uncle Sigh shot through adeptly, getting his last quarter in 23.42 seconds. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.15 and pulled up seven furlongs in 1:26.69.

“Gary wanted to simulate racing conditions this morning; it was perfect,” Santagata said. “I sat behind, he ate dirt – the last couple of races, he hasn’t been eating dirt – and he responded well.”

Shortly after 7 a.m., Samraat, with exercise rider Rodney Paine in the irons, worked a half-mile by himself over the main track. Samraat broke off at the three-furlong maker – right on the middle of the far turn – and went his first eighth in 12.45 seconds, according to Daily Racing Form. From the quarter pole to the wire, Samraat went in 24.26 seconds and then went his last eighth in 12.06. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.18.

“It was perfect,” trainer Rick Violette said. “I don’t know that if we did it again we’d want to adjust anything. It was in hand. He stretched his legs. He’s acting like he just went out there for a little jog. He changed leads and pulled up good.”

Belmont is just the latest locale for Samraat, who despite not having raced anywhere but Aqueduct has been well traveled this winter. Samraat, who shipped back and forth twice from Florida, went to the Fair Hill training center after the Wood to take advantage of that facility’s hyperbaric chamber. He wound up at Belmont when a barn at Aqueduct was placed under quarantine due to a suspected case of equine herpesvirus.

◗ Santa Anita Derby runner-up Hoppertunity worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 at Santa Anita on Friday.

– additional reporting by Steve Andersen