ARCADIA, Calif. – Kentucky Derby hopefuls Exaggerator and Danzing Candy worked in Southern California on Saturday, two weeks after finishing first and fourth in the $1,000,690 Santa Anita Derby on April 9.
Exaggerator worked five furlongs in 1:00 at Santa Anita, while Danzing Candy worked six furlongs in 1:12 at the San Luis Rey Downs Training Center in San Diego County.
A trio of possible starters for the Kentucky Oaks worked Saturday morning at Keeneland, preparing for a race that is suddenly wide open with the defection of unbeaten champion Songbird earlier this week.
Fair Grounds Oaks winner Land Over Sea, among those now likely to vie for favoritism, worked five furlongs in 1:02.14 on Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch’s watch, going late in the morning over a chewed-up track. The filly was pumped up as she tugged exercise rider Jonny Garcia through the early going.
Grade 1 winner Gomo's run of bad luck continues, as trainer Doug O'Neill said the filly is at a Lexington, Ky., vet clinic being treated for a virus that will keep her out of the Kentucky Oaks on May 6 at Churchill Downs.
Gomo finished a creditable fourth in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks last month. It was her first start since winning the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland last fall, after which a bone chip kept her out of the Breeders' Cup.
Unbeaten champion Nyquist got a little help from his friends in his penultimate work for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday morning at Keeneland.
Nyquist and regular exercise rider Jonny Garcia went in company with Grade 1-winning stablemate Ralis and Flavien Prat for a "maintenance" five furlongs in 1:01.78 on Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch's watch. The latter colt is pointing to the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard.
Three listed stakes, each worth $100,000, will usher in opening weekend of the 54-day Belmont Park spring/summer meeting that opens Friday. The opening-day feature is the $100,000 Affirmed Success, a six-furlong race for New York-breds, despite the fact that Affirmed Success is a Kentucky-bred.
Loki’s Vengeance, who won the Affirmed Success last year, is expected to run, as are Between the Lines, Bond Vigilante, Drama King, Escape to the Moon, Eye Luv Lulu, Little Popsie, Weekend Hideaway, and possibly Ostrolenka.
After having his three-race winning streak snapped in the Grade 3 Bay Shore, Awesome Gent will make his next start in the $100,000 Gold Fever Stakes on May 6 at Belmont Park.
Awesome Gent won a pair of New York-bred races before taking the Jimmy Winkfield impressively. Awesome Gent was no match for Unified in the Bay Shore, losing by 15 3/4 lengths.
“Awesome Gent seems to have rebounded well,” trainer Pletcher said. “We’ll toss it out and blame the wet track.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When trainer Michael Pino brought a string to New York for the winter, he called it an experiment to see if he belongs on this circuit.
With eight wins and a .500 in-the-money percentage from 40 starters during the winter and spring meets, Pino did well enough to remain here at least through the summer.
“I was pleased with everything,” Pino said. “Learning experience. I’ll try to stay.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Wood Memorial winner Outwork went to school Friday morning at Belmont Park, and by all accounts, he was a model student.
Working behind two horses, Outwork breezed four furlongs in 48.61 seconds over the training track in preparation for the May 7 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
In his first four races, Outwork was either on the lead or pressing the pace outside in the clear. That included the Wood Memorial, where he pressed Matt King Coal from the outside and then held off Trojan Nation to win by a head.
KeenelandWeather: CloudyTemperature: 58Training Track: Fast
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The first of Daily Racing Form’s workout reports leading up to the 2016 Kentucky Derby was supposed to start with a real bang, with likely favorite Nyquist scheduled to put in his penultimate work for the race Friday at Keeneland. But Mother Nature stepped in to alter those plans, with overnight rain leading trainer Doug O’Neill to postpone the work until Saturday.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ten days into the Keeneland spring meet, and Wesley Ward already had four 2-year-old winners. Tack on another one at Aqueduct, and there’s little danger of Ward losing his reputation as a 2-year-old master anytime soon.
Ward said Friday while home in south Florida that it’s been an exciting start to a year that will take him back to the Royal Ascot meet in England in June.
“We’ll nominate them all to the big races over there,” said Ward, referring to Big City Dreamin, Con Te Partiro, Silvertoni, Lady Aurelia, and the New York winner, Lady Stardust.
