DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – One of the most eagerly anticipated workouts in the lead-up to this year’s Kentucky Derby took place in relative anonymity shortly after sunrise Thursday at Palm Beach Downs. There, likely Derby favorite Renegade breezed four furlongs in 48.91 seconds in front of some half-dozen spectators, including his trainer, Todd Pletcher. Breaking inside his Mike Repole-owned maiden stablemate Powershift, who earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure in his debut, Renegade covered his first furlong in 12.56 seconds, with the team picking up the pace gradually thereafter. The pair completed their final quarter-mile in 24.29 before continuing out with good energy into and around the turn, galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.88 before easing up after three-quarters in 1:15.36. Powershift was steadily urged to keep pace with Renegade, who was nudged along just a tad at the end. “I thought he worked very well,” Pletcher said of Renegade. “He’s a steady work horse, not one who usually works the bullet. He did it nicely today. He looked good, galloped out with good energy, which is part of our program – emphasizing the gallop-out.” Pletcher said he faced the decision of whether to work Renegade either two or three times after shipping him back to Florida following his impressive four-length victory in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 28. That performance followed his 3 3/4-length triumph eight weeks earlier in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. “I’m very comfortable with his fitness level, so I decided to go with just two works leading up to the Derby,” Pletcher explained. Barring a change in plans, the second of those works will also take place at tranquil Palm Beach Downs rather than the highly frenetic setting that defines training hours during Derby week at Churchill Downs. “I’m watching the forecast all the time, both locally and in Louisville. But for now, the plan is to breeze here Thursday, ship Friday, and arrive at Churchill Downs very early, around 4 a.m. on Saturday,” Pletcher advised. All Derby horses must be on the Churchill grounds by 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 25. “The weather has been pleasant and conditions are perfect here. Both Renegade’s set, and when we worked the Oaks fillies later, they were the only horses out on the racetrack at the time,” Pletcher noted. “And I can’t find any statistics that tell you that horses who work over the track [at Churchill] do better [than those that don’t]. Mindframe was the last of our horses to get there last year, and he ran pretty well in the [Churchill Downs Stakes].” Pletcher’s Kentucky Oaks fillies are Zany, who suffered her first defeat in four starts when runner-up in the Grade 1 Ashland earlier this month at Keeneland, and She Be Smooth, who won the Grade 2 Davona Dale before finishing third in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. Working about 30 minutes after Renegade, they completed four furlongs in tandem in 24.03 and 48.83 seconds before also continuing out a full three-quarters in 1:16.16, with Zany clearly best of the pair on the gallop-out. “I thought the fillies went nicely,” Pletcher advised. “Zany has always done everything pretty easily, like she did this morning. She was on cruise control throughout, switched leads on cue, and did all that really well.” Like Renegade, Zany and She Be Smooth are scheduled to have their final Oaks workouts here next Thursday. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2026: Top contenders, point standings, news, and more The star of the morning at Palm Beach Downs was Disruptor, who completed five furlongs going solo in 1:00.39. He covered his final quarter in 23.69 seconds without ever being set down for his best and galloped out in eye-catching fashion, easing up after seven furlongs in 1:26.40. Disruptor is coming off a one-length victory over the odds-on Disco Time going 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 3 Challenger at Tampa on March 7. “He’s a brilliant work horse. He doesn’t need company, but that was a phenomenal work this morning, as good as it gets,” Pletcher enthused. Pletcher said he is considering both the seven-furlong Churchill Downs Stakes on Derby Day and the 1 1/16-mile Alysheba a day earlier on the Oaks undercard for Disruptor’s next start. “The way he’s been training and the way he galloped out today, he might be even better going longer,” said Pletcher. Grande, a popular but fully extended winner of the Grade 3 Ghostzapper in his last start, is also under consideration for the Alysheba. He breezed four furlongs in 49.53 seconds in company with stablemate Vibe before being asked a bit more on the gallop-out, easing up after six furlongs in 1:16.42. Grande worked without the blinkers he has worn in each of his last two starts. “That’s kind of him, especially without blinkers,” Pletcher said of Grande’s work. “He does about as much as you ask him to do in the morning. He’s also under consideration for the Alysheba, depending on what we decide for Disruptor. If he doesn’t run there, he could go to the Pimlico Special.” :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports are available now.