LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Like the King, who punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby by winning the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on Turfway's Tapeta, began his serious preparations for the Derby with an in-company work on the turf Saturday morning at trainer Wesley Ward's Keeneland base.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Hot Rod Charlie, the Louisiana Derby winner, worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 on Saturday morning at Santa Anita as he moves on toward the Kentucky Derby on May 1, but it was the person on his back, as much as the quality of the work, that was noteworthy.
Flavien Prat was up for trainer Doug O’Neill, who said Prat would have the mount pending the decision of the colt’s regular rider, Joel Rosario.
Rosario is also the regular rider of Concert Tour, who was set for his final Derby prep later Saturday in the Arkansas Derby for trainer Bob Baffert.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – As trainer Jorge Abreu watches Mystic Guide turn into the top older horse in training, he is getting excited for Liveyourbeastlife’s return to racing.
Last summer at 3, Liveyourbeastlife finished second to Mystic Guide in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. Liveyourbeastlife came back to run last in the Preakness Stakes before being put away for the rest of the year. This year, Mystic Guide has won the Dubai World Cup and the Grade 3 Razorback.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After a winter vacation in South Florida, Firenze Fire is back in New York where on Friday the 11-time stakes winner worked five furlongs in 1:00.99 over the Belmont Park training track in preparation for his 6-year-old campaign.
Trainer Kelly Breen said Firenze Fire is pointing to the Grade 3, $150,000 Runhappy Stakes at Belmont Park on May 8. Firenze Fire won the Runhappy in 2019, one of five stakes victories Firenze Fire owns at Belmont Park. In 2017, Firenze Fire won the Grade 1 Champagne.
Rock Your World galloped 1 1/2 miles on Friday at Santa Anita, six days after his win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in his main-track debut.
Unbeaten in three starts, Rock Your World is scheduled to have workouts on April 17 and April 24 at Santa Anita in advance of the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The initial thought when Known Agenda stepped out on the racetrack Friday morning at Palm Beach Downs to work for the first time since his victory in the Grade 1 Florida Derby was the fact he was not equipped with the blinkers that have seemed to take him to the next level in his last two starts. The second impression, after watching Known Agenda breeze a very easy half-mile in 50.37, is that he’s probably not the type of horse who is going to wow anybody, blinkers or not, in the morning.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Maxfield, the Godolphin homebred who was defeated for the first time when third in the March 6 Santa Anita Handicap, will make his next start in the Grade 2, $400,000 Alysheba on the April 30 Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill. Jose Ortiz, who rode the colt in his first three starts, has the mount back.
Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield won his first five races, including four stakes. He was ridden by Florent Geroux in his last three starts.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After 38 years of a standout riding career in the U.S., it appeared Martin Pedroza might have been finished. The 55-year-old Panama native, who booted home more than 3,900 winners and endeared himself through the years to California racing fans, had abruptly stopped riding in October 2019 for personal reasons, and he had no deep-seated desire to ride races any longer.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The retirement of Simply Ravishing this week further served to illustrate just how much turnover has occurred in the highest echelons of the current 3-year-old filly division.
With the April 30 Kentucky Oaks just ahead, the division has undergone wholesale changes at the top. The horses who dominated as 2-year-olds of 2020, including Simply Ravishing, have been non-factors since the calendar turned. In that context, all the leading candidates for the Oaks are new faces.
Golden Gate Fields will reopen to a limited number of fans beginning on Friday, April 16.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, initial attendance will be limited to 400 fans who will be seated in the clubhouse C level. All fans must wear masks and observe social distancing.
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