Wood trio put in final serious Derby works

ELMONT, N.Y. – The Belt Parkway was the conduit for the major activity Friday in preparation for the 140th Kentucky Derby.

One had to navigate the eight-mile stretch of highway – during rush hour no less – from Belmont Park to Aqueduct in order to see the three New York-based 3-year-olds put in their final serious workouts leading up to the Run for the Roses.

At Aqueduct, Withers and Gotham winner Samraat worked a mile in 1:45.91 shortly after 7 a.m. Eastern.

At Belmont Park, shortly after 9:30 a.m., Withers and Gotham runner-up Uncle Sigh worked five furlongs in 1:00.18 about 15 minutes before Wood Memorial winner Wicked Strong breezed seven furlongs in 1:27.11.

None of the works were overly flashy, but all were indications that these horses came out of the April 5 Wood in good order.

Samraat, under exercise rider Rodney Paine, came onto the track at 7:15 and, accompanied by a stable pony, backed up to the three-sixteenths pole. He galloped leisurely through the lane and was kept three to four paths off the rail as he got into his work, which started at the seven-eighths pole, toward the end of the clubhouse turn.

Samraat strolled through fractions of 13.85 seconds, 27.29, 40.98, 54.62, and 1:07.79 for the first five furlongs while purposely kept off the rail by Paine. Samraat, being asked by Paine, picked things up through the stretch and went his final three furlongs in 37.12 and was guided to the rail entering the clubhouse turn where he galloped out an additional eighth in 12.81 seconds around the turn. After completing the mile in 1:45.91, Samraat galloped out 1 1/8 miles in 1:58.72 and pulled up 1 1/4 miles in 2:14.14.

[KENTUCKY DERBY WORKOUTS: Video analysis, news, and times]

This was the seventh time Samraat has worked a mile. He put in two one-mile breezes at Palm Meadows leading up to the Withers, a race he won by a length over Uncle Sigh, and two more one-mile breezes at Palm Meadows before he ran in the Wood Memorial.

Rick Violette, who trains Samraat, said he wasn’t looking for anything fancy from his horse, who had a hard race when beaten 3 1/2 lengths by Wicked Strong in the Wood three weeks ago.

Violette said 1:45 “was the objective; let him squeeze him a little bit at the end without breaking any watches and just to kind of get it done. If he had gone in 1:47, or even a little slower, that wouldn’t have mattered. I really didn’t want him to go too fast. He’s fit, he runs well off of this, so we just kind of needed to do it. Time was only important if we had gone too fast, and I didn’t want that.”

Violette said while most horses work five or six furlongs, their trainers instruct their riders to gallop out a mile.

“It’s a more constructive way in getting a mile in 1:45, finishing,” Violette said. “It’s worked for him and there’s just no reason to change.”

Across town, at Belmont Park, trainers Gary Contessa (Uncle Sigh) and Jimmy Jerkens (Wicked Strong) waited to work their horses until after the second renovation break (9:30) at the training track.

Uncle Sigh was among the first horses on the track, jogging to the three-furlong pole alongside a stable pony. With former jockey Nick Santagata maintaining a firm hold of the reins, Uncle Sigh galloped slowly and smoothly through the stretch before picking it up around the far turn.

The official order was a five-furlong move from the five-furlong pole, but Santagata, as instructed by Contessa, let Uncle Sigh run a little from the six-furlong pole and he went that eighth in 14.25 seconds. From the five-furlong pole to the quarter pole, Uncle Sigh went in 36.04 seconds and then he came through the lane in 24.14 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.47 and seven-eighths in 1:29.43.

This was Uncle Sigh’s second work in blinkers – equipment he will wear for the first time in the Derby – and Contessa believes they have helped.

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

“He seems to be much more focused and a little bit more serious and I think that’s what he needs,” Contessa said.

As Uncle Sigh was leaving the track, Wicked Strong was backing up for his work.

Wicked Strong, with Kelvin Pahal up, backed up to the three-furlong pole and lightly galloped alongside the pony until the three-sixteenths pole.

Wicked Strong didn’t break off until the half-mile pole and he went in fractions of 13.09 seconds and 25.15 for the opening quarter.

Wicked Strong, mostly on his own, went his final quarter in 24.30 seconds. After hitting the wire, Wicked Strong continued out through another solid three furlongs in 37.66. He pulled up a mile in 1:40.72.

Jerkens said he liked the work because it should give him “good stamina and it’s not so fast where it will get him all nervous.”

Uncle Sigh and Wicked Strong were both scheduled to van to Churchill on Saturday. Uncle Sigh will leave early in the morning while Wicked Strong will leave in mid-afternoon so as not to arrive at Churchill during the hullaballoo of the opening-night card.

Both horses are expected to have some kind of blowout mid- to late week.

Samraat will be flown to Churchill Downs on Monday and have “a light week” according to Violette.