Kentucky Derby: Fierceness Gets Top Marks For Friday Breeze

Also working toward next Saturday’s Derby was Amerman Racing’s Endlessly, who worked a half-mile in :47.80 under jockey Umberto Rispoli, who flew in last night for the work and returned to Santa Anita following the breeze.

Also working Friday morning over a fast track were six candidates for the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) to be run next Friday. The workers were Tarifa (five furlongs in :59.20), Thorpedo Anna (five furlongs in :59.40), Gin Gin (five furlongs in :59.60), Into Champagne (five furlongs in 1:00), Ways and Means (four furlongs in :46.20) and Where’s My Ring (four furlongs in :46.60).

Manama Gold, who worked four furlongs in :48.60, was taken out of Oaks consideration by trainer Todd Pletcher.

Derby candidates scheduled to work Saturday morning are Sierra Leone, Catching Freedom, Dornoch, Just a Touch, West Saratoga, Domestic Product, Encino, Society Man and Mystik Dan. Scheduled to work toward the Oaks is Regulatory Risk.

CATALYTIC – Tami Bobo, Julie Davies and George Isaacs’ Catalytic was back on the track Friday with exercise rider Olaf Hernandez, shortly after he received a new set of shoes.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. arrived from South Florida on Thursday, and was on hand to supervise the shoeing and the easy mile-and-a-half gallop when he took to the track at 9:10 Friday morning.

“He’s galloping well,” said Joseph, who also gave Catalytic some time to stand in the starting gate. “He’s getting over the track really well. So far, so good.”

Catalytic, the Florida Derby (G1) runner-up behind probable Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness, is scheduled to work Sunday.

“Before we shipped from Florida, we weren’t sure what to do, if we should work him at Gulfstream or wait until we got here,” Joseph said. “The weather is looking good for this weekend, so hopefully it stays like that.”

Joseph is looking forward to taking part in something different that Churchill is doing this year – holding the Derby and Oaks post position draws between races Saturday night.

“That’s very different, something quite unique,” he said. “Anything that helps generate interest with the fans. It will be something to see. It’s always good to be creative.”

CATCHING FREEDOM/ENCINO/JUST A TOUCH – All was well in trainer Brad Cox’s Barn 22 Friday as his Derby trio of Catching Freedom, Encino and Just a Touch all galloped about 1 ½ miles around 6 a.m.

“It was a solid day of training for them ahead of their breezes tomorrow,” Cox said. “We’re looking forward to seeing good works out of all of them tomorrow ahead of next Saturday.”

DOMESTIC PRODUCT/SIERRA LEONE – Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook Smith’s Sierra Leone continued to give trainer Chad Brown a favorable impression, galloping a mile and a half under Kriss Bon. The son of Gun Runner is slated to have his final major workout in advance of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday with Bon set to be in the saddle during the 7:30 a.m. reserved training period for Derby/Oaks horses.

Klaravich Stables’ Domestic Product put in his mile and a half gallop shortly after 8 a.m. Friday and is also set to work at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday with Tyler Gaffalione in the irons.

“Tyler Gaffalione is going to breeze Domestic Product, and Kriss Bon is going to breeze Sierra Leone,” Brown said. “Tyler is riding Sierra Leone (in the Derby) but he knows Domestic Product and (jockey) Irad (Ortiz Jr.) has to be in New York, so he’s going to cover for him.

“Both of those horses are doing great.”

DORNOCH/SOCIETY MAN – Two-time graded stakes winner Dornoch, owned by West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing and Pine Racing Stables’, made a strong impression Friday with a solid gallop during the 7:30 a.m. training period under the watchful eye of trainer Danny Gargan.

Dornoch opened his season with a victory in the Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park on March 2, but will have to rebound off a fourth-place run in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on April 6. The son of Good Magic didn’t have ideal shipping conditions for that race, however, because of inclement weather and also didn’t get the smoothest of breaks away from the starting gate that day.

“I think he’s training better heading into this race than he was for the Blue Grass,” Gargan said. “He reared at the start (of the Blue Grass) a little bit, nobody noticed that. But he did rear a bit. Then he broke awkward and had to sit in the pocket. Hopefully this time he can get a clean break and keep his face clean. We don’t need to be on the lead but we’d like to be right there.”

Dornoch’s stablemate Society Man hit the track for his gallop at 5:45 a.m. on Friday. Both horses are slated to breeze during the 7:30 a.m. training period on Saturday.

Society Man is owned by the partnership of Reeves Thoroughbreds, West Paces, GMP Stables and Carl and Yurie Pascarella and well outran his odds when he finished second in the Wood Memorial (G2) at odds of 106-1.

“I was kind of shocked when I entered, I thought we’d be 30- or 40-1, but when he went off a 100-1, I was a little shocked by that,” Gargan said. “We liked him going into the race, he’d been training good. He’d been a workmate for Dornoch going into the Remsen (G2), he was probably the only horse I had who could breeze with him. He kept up with him and he was right there all the time. That’s when I got a little high on him then.”

ENDLESSLY – Amerman Racing’s Endlessly got right on it early Friday morning at Churchill Downs working a half-mile in :47.80 (out five furlongs in 1:00) at 5:30 shortly after the track opened for business. Umberto Rispoli was in from his California base to handle the drill and will be in the saddle when the horse runs next.

Now, where he runs next is currently the question.

“All options are now open,” said trainer Michael McCarthy, who oversaw the early drill. “I liked his move this morning, very pleased with it. Now we’ll see what’s next.”

Endlessly, a homebred by Oscar Performance, has yet to run on a dirt track in any of his six races (with five wins) to date. He has been a turf or synthetic ace so far, including four stakes wins. And that has led to a friendly debate among his connections.

Endlessly could continue on the proven path and start next Saturday in the $600,000, Grade 2 American Turf on the Churchill lawn. Or he could take a shot at the $5 million, Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, contested at a mile and a quarter on the main track.

“I’m going to have a conversation with Mr. Amerman now and see what we’re going to do,” McCarthy said. “It’ll be interesting.”

FOREVER YOUNG (JPN) – Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young (JPN) warmed up in the mile chute during the morning’s first harrow break and then galloped a mile and a half under Yusaku Oka.

According to Kate Hunter, Asia representative for the Kentucky Derby, Forever Young would gallop at a two-minute lick in the morning.

GRAND MO THE FIRST – Granpollo Stables’ Grand Mo the First arrived at Churchill Downs at 11:39 p.m. Thursday after vanning to Louisville from Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Victor Barboza Jr. was en route to Louisville on Friday.

Grand Mo the First walked the shedrow this morning and is scheduled to go to the track in the morning.

HONOR MARIE – It was a scheduled walk day at trainer Whit Beckman’s Barn 37 after TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) runner-up Honor Marie worked a sharp half-mile in :59.20 Thursday.

JUST STEEL – BC Stable’s Just Steel gave those watching the Derby/Oaks contenders during the special 7:30 a.m. training period an eyeful of his large frame as he jogged with the pony with trainer D. Wayne Lukas looking on.

“I’m jogging him today with the idea that I could do something tomorrow or the next day,” Lukas said, referring to when his charge might have his final pre-Derby breeze.

A 17-hand son of Justify, Just Steel captured the Ed Brown Stakes at Churchill Downs last November and is coming into the Derby off a second-place run in the Arkansas Derby (GI) on March 30.

“He’s really big, he’s 17 hands and he’s just finding himself now,” Lukas said. “He’s going to get better as he gets older but he’s starting to find himself and get the idea.”

MYSTIK DAN – Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing and Daniel Hamby III’s Mystik Dan galloped a light mile-and-a-half for trainer Kenny McPeek under Martin Reyes.

Mystik Dan, the winner of the Southwest (G3) and most recently finished third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park, is scheduled to work Saturday with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who has the Derby riding assignment.

RESILIENCE – With co-owner Ric Waldman in attendance, Wood Memorial (G2) winner Resilience put in an easy gallop at 7:30 Friday morning and may have his final breeze Sunday, according to trainer Bill Mott.

Resilience, who is owed by Waldman in partnership with Emily Bushnell, took four tries to break his maiden but has won two of his past three outings. In the Wood Memorial, Mott said he saw what his charge was capable of when he finally put him mind toward the business at hand.

“I think it seems like the last couple races, the last race in particular, he was more focused,” Mott said. "We closed his blinkers up a bit and it seemed to get him a little more focused. Instead of paying attention to what the other horses were doing, he was minding his own business. That’s really helped him. We always kind of felt that there seems to be a little bit more there, like he’s leaving a little left in the tank. Last time he finally showed that.”

STRONGHOLD – Eric and Sharon Waller’s Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold continued to train forwardly at Churchill Downs Friday morning as he prepares for a run in Kentucky Derby 150 on Saturday, May 4.

Trainer Phil D’Amato, in from California to oversee his charge’s preparations, sent the Ghostzapper colt out during the 7:30 special training period for Derby/Oaks horses after having put his favorite exercise rider – Sherri Alexander – up for the exercise that covered roughly a mile and one half of a steady gallop.

D’Amato’s propensity for Alexander is understandable; she’s his wife. She’s also a veteran horsewoman who knows how to do well with a good horse.

D’Amato will continue on in Louisville through Sunday, when he has a “probably five furlong” drill slated for Stronghold with rider Joe Talamo scheduled to be in the tack. The trainer will then catch a plane back to his California headquarters to tend to some business before returning to Kentucky on Tuesday for the balance of the week.

T O PASSWORD (JPN) – Tomoya Ozasa’s T O Password arrived at Churchill Downs at 4:45 a.m. Friday after spending 42 hours in quarantine in Chicago following a flight from Japan.

Undefeated in two starts in Japan going a mile and eighth, T O Password is trained by Daisuke Takayanagi and will be ridden in the Derby by Kazushi Kimura.

“I’m very lucky to run in the Kentucky Derby,” Takayanagi said before T O Password left Japan. “I am honored to join the history of running in the 150^th one.

“I didn’t change any training with T O Password going into the Derby. We have a long travel schedule and it’s a lot different environment compared to Japan. I’d like to make a similar Japanese training style over the Churchill Downs track.

“T O Password had a good jump out of the gate in his last two starts, so naturally he had good position. But we aren’t sure if we’ll have that good of a position in the Kentucky Derby.”

TRACK PHANTOM – L and N Racing, Clark Brewster, Jerry Caroom and Breeze Easy’s Track Phantom had a routine 1 ½-mile gallop Friday around 5:45 a.m.

The Steve Asmussen trainee will add blinkers for the Kentucky Derby and has been galloping with them for the past two weeks.

WEST SARATOGA – Harry Veruchi’s West Saratoga was scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs Friday afternoon from Lexington.

Trained by Larry Demeritte, West Saratoga is slated to work three furlongs Saturday morning with jockey Jesus Castanon in the irons.

ALSO ELIGIBLES – Welch Racing’s Epic Ride worked an easy half-mile in :51.20 at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Kentucky, and is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs this evening for trainer John Ennis.

Epic Ride would need one defection from the top 20 point earners and invitees on the Road to the Kentucky Derby to be included in the main body of the race when entries close Saturday morning.

Trainer Jeff Engler reported Mugatu is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs Friday and train Saturday.

Here are the horses (with jockeys and trainers) that are qualified for the Kentucky Derby and those on the also-eligible list (in alphabetical order with AEs listed last in preference order):

Catalytic (Jose Ortiz, Saffie Joseph Jr.); Catching Freedom (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox); Domestic Product (Irad Ortiz Jr., Chad Brown); Dornoch (Luis Saez, Danny Gargan); Encino (TBA, Brad Cox); Endlessly (Umberto Rispoli, Michael McCarthy); Fierceness (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher); Forever Young (JPN) (Ryusei Sakai, Yoshito Yahagi); Grand Mo the First (Emisael Jaramillo, Victor Barboza Jr.); Honor Marie (Ben Curtis, Whit Beckman); Just a Touch (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox); Just Steel (Keith Asmussen, Wayne Lukas); Mystik Dan (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek); Resilience (Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott); Sierra Leone (Tyler Gaffalione, Chad Brown); Society Man (Frankie Dettori, Danny Gargan); Stronghold (Antonio Fresu, Phil D’Amato); T O Password (JPN) (Kazushi Kimura, Daisuke Takayanagi); Track Phantom (Joel Rosario, Steve Asmussen); West Saratoga (Jesus Castanon, Larry Demerritte).

Also Eligibles: Epic Ride (Adam Beschizza, John Ennis); Seize the Grey (TBA, Wayne Lukas); Mugatu (Joe Talamo, Jeff Engler).