Sole Volante breezes on turf at Palm Meadows, will train up to Kentucky Derby

Sole Volante breezed five furlongs over the turf in 1:02 on Friday morning at Palm Meadows, his first work since a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes.

Sole Volante worked in company with stablemate Kelsey’s Cross, breaking a couple of lengths behind and finishing a head back while going easily throughout. The pair breezed inside the dogs but well off the inside fence.

Sole Volante won his first two career starts on grass but has competed over the main track ever since, becoming a Kentucky Derby contender earlier this season after winning the Grade 3 Sam Davis and finishing second behind King Guillermo in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby. He never factored in the Belmont, finishing nearly 16 lengths behind Tiz the Law.

The Ellis Park Derby was mentioned as a possible target for Sole Volante but after going six weeks without a work trainer Patrick Biancone now plans on training the son of Karakontie up to the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

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“Patrick said he was really happy with the way he worked coming back this morning,” said Dean Reeves, the principal owner of Sole Volante along with Biancone’s daughter Andie. “He said he was blowing a little bit, but not much for his first work. It was something to get him started and now we’re ready to move forward. He just wasn’t ready to push to make the race at Ellis.”

Reeves says Biancone plans to do all his work with Sole Volante at Palm Meadows before likely shipping to Churchill Downs about a week before the Derby.

“He has the turf course at Palm Meadows and that’s what he’s most comfortable training him over,” Reeves said.