ARCADIA, Calif. -- Kentucky Derby aspirants Dortmund and Firing Line worked shortly after 7:45 Saturday morning at Santa Anita.
Dortmund broke off first, and went five furlongs in 58.80 seconds under jockey Martin Garcia for trainer Bob Baffert. He had a couple of tag-team workmates -- one early, one late -- who couldn't keep up.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two weeks away from the Kentucky Derby, the activity from Derby hopefuls is picking up at Churchill Downs. Three potential Derby starters, International Star, Danzig Moon, and Keen Ice, recorded workouts Saturday morning – with each work noticeably different than the others.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Carpe Diem, who figures as the third or fourth wagering choice in the upcoming Kentucky Derby, had his first breeze since winning the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, going a half-mile Saturday morning in 48 seconds over a fast track at Keeneland.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Trainer Todd Pletcher had a plane to catch. So the action started early, before dawn, at the Palm Beach Downs training center on Saturday where Pletcher worked three of his Kentucky Derby candidates -- Materiality, Stanford, and Itsaknockout -- shortly after which he boarded a private jet which got him to Lexington in time to see one of his leading Derby hopefuls, Carpe Diem, breeze at Keeneland later that morning.
\ELMONT, N.Y. -- Tencendur began his career as a horse that looked like he was going to be a one-run closer. Over the course of the winter and into the spring he has done a transformation of sorts.
Whether it’s the addition of blinkers or maturity -- or a combination of the two -- Tencendur has started to become more tactical.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Any reservations trainer Rick Violette had regarding how his Kentucky Derby hopeful Upstart would be affected by the sinus infection he contracted over the weekend were erased in 59.47 seconds, the time it took the Florida Derby runner-up to work a half-mile and gallop out five furlongs Friday at Palm Meadows.
Frammento, still hoping to make the Kentucky Derby field after finishing fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes, returned to the work tab Thursday at Keeneland, going an easy four furlongs in 51.20 seconds under Sophie Doyle.
“You’ve just got to keep him together, that’s all,” trainer Nick Zito said of the maintenance move.
As a general rule, handicappers appreciate horses who outrun their odds and view with skepticism those who have lost multiple times as a favorite. The former group is viewed as overachievers; the latter as underachievers.
So, as it applies to this year’s Kentucky Derby, who are the overachievers and underachievers, at least in terms of how the public has bet them?
The end of the Kentucky Derby prep season last week marked the third year where Derby berths have been secured under the new points system announced in 2012. On the whole, it has worked well, providing a clearer and more cohesive path to Louisville than the graded-stakes-earnings plan it replaced.
