NEW ORLEANS, La. – Timberlake, a leading hope for the Kentucky Derby, had his last work for the Arkansas Derby on March 30 when he breezed a strong five furlongs Saturday at Fair Grounds.   Working outside Big To Do, a Fair Grounds debut maiden winner March 1, Timberlake was timed by trainer Brad Cox in 1:00.40 to the wire, galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.40 and seven furlongs 1:27.20 – and leaving his trainer in a state of relative exuberance.  “It was a very, very, very good work,” Cox said later Saturday morning.  Flavien Prat, who has yet to ride Timberlake in a race, will be named on the colt when entries for the Arkansas Derby are taken March 24.  :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2024: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Timberlake was Cox’s first 2-year-old of 2023 to make the races, debuting June 15 at Ellis Park with a disappointing sixth-place finish as the even-money favorite. Cox added blinkers for Timberlake’s second outing, which yielded a blowout win that produced an 87 Beyer Speed Figure, very high for a juvenile racing on July 21. Timberlake, though, ran below his best again in the Sept. 4 Hopeful at Saratoga, finishing second but regressing to a 69 Beyer. Blinkers came off for the Champagne Stakes, run over a wet track at Aqueduct, where Timberlake posted a 4 1/4-length score that propelled him to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.  Timberlake was fine, not great, in the Juvenile, finishing a well-beaten fourth before getting a winter break at WinStar Farm, which co-owns the colt with Siena Farm, and joining Cox’s string at Fair Grounds. Timberlake made his 3-year-old debut Feb. 24 in the Rebel Stakes, which he comfortably won over Common Defense, who was to race Saturday in the Louisiana Derby. Timberlake earned a 93 Beyer, equaling his last two figures of 2023.  Timberlake tries a distance longer than 1 1/16 miles for the first time in the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby, and on pedigree he’ll love the added ground. By Into Mischief, Timberlake’s female family quickly veers to European turf. His Ireland-bred dam, Pin Up, is by the American stallion Lookin at Lucky, but the other damsires in his female line are the great Sadler’s Wells, the England-bred Darshaan, and the France-bred Crystal Palace.   A few seconds after Timberlake broke off, the talented 3-year-old filly Impel breezed five furlongs in 1:01.80, working outside Crypto Mo as she prepares for the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. Impel, a Juddmonte Farms homebred, has started her career with a sharp debut win at Fair Grounds and an eye-catching first-level allowance victory at Oaklawn.  “She’s a monster,” Cox said.  * Another Fair Grounds-based Arkansas Derby hopeful, Mystik Dan, worked five furlongs Saturday in 1:01.80 for trainer Kenny McPeek. Lat Long, most recently third in the Lecomte Stakes, went five furlongs in 1:01.60, while McPeek’s talented 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna was timed in 1:01.40 for five furlongs.  * Trainer Michelle Lovell worked her exciting 3-year-old Doncho on Saturday, the Lafayette Stakes-bound gelding going five furlongs in 1:04.60, much slower than typical for a colt who has started his career with a pair of fast Fair Grounds wins. Lovell also worked the veteran sprinter Just Might, who was back on the tab for the first time since acting up in the starting gate and being scratched from a recent Fair Grounds allowance race because of superficial injuries.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.