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.
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Raining Temperature 61 Track Sloppy
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The brief respite from all the rain that has plagued the Louisville area over the past couple of weeks ended early Sunday morning with heavy rains throwing a bit of a curveball at trainers trying to put the all important final touches on their Kentucky Derby prospects.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No Kentucky Derby winner has finished worse than fourth in his previous start since Iron Liege was fifth in the Derby Trial in 1957. Four hopefuls for the 137th Derby will try to buck that long-standing trend by rebounding in a big way Saturday at Churchill Downs – Santiva, Stay Thirsty, Soldat, and Watch Me Go.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Dialed In, the Florida Derby winner and likely favorite for the May 7 Kentucky Derby, and Soldat, the Fountain of Youth Stakes winner, both arrived at Churchill Downs around 2 p.m. Eastern time Saturday.
KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS: Track all the 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Whatever apprehension owner Barry Irwin and trainer Graham Motion had about running Animal Kingdom in next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby was alleviated Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, when Animal Kingdom, who heretofore has raced exclusively on grass and Polytrack, worked sharply over the dirt.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sunland Derby winner Twice the Appeal was the only potential Kentucky Derby starter to work before the renovation break at Churchill Downs on Saturday, breezing six furlongs in 1:15.62 seconds under jockey Calvin Borel.
KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS: Track all the 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Juan Arias has heard the jokes before, and he’s got a witty reply. Told he looks damn good for a guy who won the Kentucky Derby 40 years ago with Canonero II, Arias said, “I spent all my Canonero money on surgeries.”
Arias is 45. The only connection he has to Canonero is that both were young in 1971. Canonero was 3, Arias 5. But Arias, a former jockey who is from Panama, has the same name as the Venezuelan trainer who engineered Canonero’s improbable Derby victory.
Derby Week is officially upon us, and Nick Zito was a little bit confused. Not about Dialed In. Not hardly. As far as Zito was concerned, the Florida Derby winner was living up to his name, tuned to his trainer’s satisfaction and ready to rumble for the roses.
Zito was more amused than confused, really, as he packed up his stable on Thursday afternoon at the Palm Meadows training center in South Florida. On Saturday, Dialed In was scheduled to head for Louisville with nine of his best friends, while the rest of the Zito string would reassemble in New York.
