LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tyler Gaffalione finally took a leg up on Soup and Sandwich for the colt’s penultimate Kentucky Derby breeze on April 17 at Churchill Downs. It was the moment he’d been waiting for since Jan. 28, when he watched the gray colt win his debut by 7 1/4 lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr. at Gulfstream Park.

“I’ve been following this horse since his first race,” Gaffalione said. “I texted [trainer Mark Casse] after the race that day, and said, ‘If it ever comes up, I’d love a chance to ride this horse.’ ”

Among those who welcomed the elevation of the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby at Turfway into a 100-point Kentucky Derby prep after Churchill Downs’s acquisition of the track was Kentucky trainer Wesley Ward, who would rather stay home than chase points on the road. Ward did just that with Like the King, who won the Jeff Ruby and goes next in the Kentucky Derby.

“Them buying the track certainly is great for me, because it’s my winter home track,” Ward said. “I’ll keep them right here and under my thumb rather than going to another jurisdiction.”

Like the King is looking for his first victory on dirt in the Kentucky Derby, and Wesley Ward will be saddling the colt as his first starter in the classic. But Ward has someone in his camp who knows the ins and outs of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby well, and who has given him additional confidence that his colt’s synthetic and turf abilities could be an asset.

Catch the Moon has already established herself as a star broodmare. A win by her son Midnight Bourbon in the Kentucky Derby would put her in the stratosphere.

Catch the Moon, an unraced Malibu Moon mare, has produced four graded stakes winners, all by different stallions, from four starters. Midnight Bourbon will be the second Derby starter for the 12-year-old mare at a relatively young age. Her first representative was Girvin, 13th in 2017.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Brad Cox’s Kentucky Derby contingent was reduced by one Sunday morning when Caddo River was withdrawn from Derby consideration.

Winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn and most recently second there in the Arkansas Derby, Caddo River breezed here at Churchill on Friday but was found Saturday afternoon to have an elevated temperature, Cox said. On Sunday morning, Caddo River’s bloodwork came back showing signs of an infection and the decision was made to skip the Derby.

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Cloudy 
Temp: 53 
Main Track: Muddy 
Turf: Good

Before trainer Steve Asmussen sent his two Kentucky Oaks runners, Clairiere and Pauline’s Pearl, out to work at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, one of Asmussen’s two Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Midnight Bourbon, had a spirited gallop under exercise rider Wilson Fabian.

His tail tied while training over a wet track, Midnight Bourbon galloped about 1 3/4 miles, Asmussen said. Going down the backstretch the first time, Midnight Bourbon increased his tempo, going at nearly a two-minute-lick clip.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Top California jockey Flavien Prat has ridden Hot Rod Charlie once, finishing fifth as the 2-1 favorite in a maiden race on turf at Del Mar last September.

A lot has changed since then for Hot Rod Charlie.

This month, Prat has been reacquainted with Hot Rod Charlie in workouts, just in time to renew the partnership in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 1.

On Saturday at Santa Anita, Prat was aboard Hot Rod Charlie for a six-furlong workout in 1:13.60 less than an hour before post time.

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Cloudy
Track: Fast 
Temp: 52

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Those trainers who decided to roll the dice and stick with the original plan to work their Kentucky Derby and Oaks prospects on Saturday at Churchill Downs, even in the wake of a gloomy forecast, were rewarded with a fast track throughout the morning as the inevitable showers did not arrive until a couple of hours after training ended.

Get Her Number, a Grade 1 winner in 2020 who was fourth in the Arkansas Derby on April 10, will pass on the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs next Saturday.

Trainer Peter Miller said late Saturday morning that he was not entirely satisfied with the colt’s five-furlong workout in 1:02.20 at the San Luis Rey Downs training center in California earlier in the day.

“He worked good, but not great,” Miller said. “My gut tells me we should pass. My gut says don’t do it.”