LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Nehro might well be picking up that label as the “buzz” horse for the 137th Kentucky Derby, and trainer Steve Asmussen isn’t all that happy about it.
“I don’t want any ‘Mushes’ on the bandwagon,” Asmussen said slyly. “I don’t want them bringing any of their bad luck around.”
Your browser does not support iframes
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Another day in Louisville and another torrential downpour to greet the early arrivals at Churchill Downs on Monday morning for the beginning of a very busy training session which featured the final workouts of five potential Kentucky Derby starters, including Grade 1 Derby prep winners Midnight Interlude and Brilliant Speed, both of whom went out during the special Derby-Oaks training session at 8:30 a.m.
LOUISVILLE, Ky - Heavy showers greeted the horses when the racetrack opened for training but did not keep three likely Kentucky Derby starters from working before dawn Monday morning at Churchill Downs.
With the racetrack sealed and sloppy, Santiva worked a half-mile in 49.99 seconds, Watch Me Go five furlongs in 1:02.00, and Nehro four furlongs in 50.72.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Mr. Commons, third in the Santa Anita Derby last month, will not be sent to Churchill Downs for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby because he is not certain to gain a starting berth, trainer John Shirreffs said on Sunday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Rosie Napravnik made her first trip to the Churchill Downs winner’s circle Saturday night - first two trips actually - and now hopes for another first next Saturday when she rides Pants On Fire in the 137th Kentucky Derby. No female rider has ever won the Derby.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Comma to the Top’s function in the Kentucky Derby is hereby expanded beyond his primary role as pacesetter. The California-based Comma to the Top now commands attention as a legitimate candidate to win the race.
Comma to the Top had his final Derby workout on a warm, sunny Sunday morning at Hollywood Park. He went five furlongs in 1:00.40, after which trainer Peter Miller and Patrick Valenzuela exchanged high-fives.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Trainer Eoin Harty said Sunday morning at Hollywood Park that Anthony’s Cross will not ship from California to run in the Kentucky Derby, owing to concerns regarding a temperature the colt had in recent days.
Harty said the colt has not been affected in a major way and still could run in the $70,000 Alydar Stakes at Hollywood next Sunday, May 8, or in the May 14 Peter Pan at Belmont Park. The colt galloped Sunday at Hollywood Park instead of having what would have served as a potential pre-race breeze for the Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Owner Mike Repole has never been at a loss for words, though he was tamped down a bit after his Uncle Mo suffered his first career defeat in the Wood Memorial three weeks ago. But after Uncle Mo worked in company with stablemate Stay Thirsty on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, Repole, who owns both colts, vowed that Uncle Mo would return to the position he held for months prior to the Wood, as the favorite for next Saturday’s 137th Kentucky Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Kathleen O’Connell confirmed Sunday morning that jockey Rafael Bejarano will have the mount in the 137th Kentucky Derby on longshot Watch Me Go.
Bejarano, a former Churchill Downs riding champion who has become a top jockey in Southern California, replaces Luis Garcia, who rode Watch Me Go in his last five starts, including a 43-1 upset in the Tampa Bay Derby. Watch Me Go most recently was sixth as the favorite in the April 9 Illinois Derby.
While horsemen in Kentucky had to navigate through the muddy waters that was the Churchill Downs main track Sunday morning, trainer Graham Motion was able to bask in the sunshine and dry conditions in northeast Maryland as he watched Toby’s Corner work six furlongs in 1:15 over the Tapeta surface at the Fair Hill Training Center in preparation for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Exercise rider James Slater, a steeplechase jockey, was aboard for the workout.
