Weyburn works slow seven furlongs for Pennsylvania Derby
ELMONT, N.Y. – Weyburn, the Grade 3 Gotham winner, worked seven furlongs in 1:31.75 over the Belmont Park training track Friday morning in preparation for a scheduled start in the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby next Saturday at Parx.
Breaking off from the half-mile pole, Weyburn broke off extremely slow, going his opening quarter in 27.37 seconds. It wasn’t until after the wire – he got there in 54.00 seconds – when he began to pick it up, going his last three furlongs in 37.75 seconds. The move came a week after he went five furlongs in 59.60 seconds.
“I didn’t want him to go fast but I wanted him to go seven furlongs,” trainer Jimmy Jerkens said. “I didn’t want to come back and go 59 again. It was good. Even though he went super slow, sometimes when you have horses that get on the muscle early in a race, no matter how slow you went, you ask them to get off the bridle and they don’t. But he went along nice.”
Weyburn worked in blinkers and will retain that equipment, which he has worn in his last six starts. Jerkens did work the horse on Sept. 3 in Saratoga without blinkers and had thought about taking them off for this race.
Jerkens said he is still trying to get a rider for Weyburn.